Calendar Class of November 16, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe Venerabilis Collegium Anglicum! This morning we went to the Venerable English College for Sunday Mass and were privileged to witness there an induction of an instituted acolyte by an archbishop! The English really have enduring style and know how to keep the beauty of liturgical tradition alive, as you can see from this photo. Plus, they have great accents. Please say a prayer for Barnabus (speaking of traditional things, how about that name?) as he officially begins his journey of service to the Church.

Liturgical: Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Commentary on the Sunday Mass Readings for the Thirty-Third Sunday, Cycle C:The First Reading is taken from the Prophecy of Malachi 3:19-20 and concerns the day of retribution, of judgment when the Lord will punish the wicked and reward His faithful ones.

The Second Reading is from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 3:7-12, in which he addresses those few in the community who were unwilling to earn their daily bread and were abusing the charity of their fellow Christians.

The Gospel is from St. Luke, 21:5-19. The reason why these verses of St. Luke's gospel was chosen for today's Mass is that the Church wants us all to do a bit of spiritual stock-taking this morning. As next Sunday will be the special feast day of the Kingship of Christ, today's Mass is really the last of our liturgical year. Next Sunday, we begin our new liturgical year, the First Sunday of Advent. To help us to be honest with ourselves in our stock-taking we are reminded today that this world will come to an end one day. We do not know when or how, but that end will come. It will be followed immediately by the general judgment. Christ will come in power and glory to judge the whole human race. Each one will receive the sentence he merited while on earth. The just will enter with Him into eternal glory. The wicked will go to their place of suffering, sorrow and remorse.

Today is World Day of the Poor.

Pope Leo's Mass for the Jubilee of the Poor and his Sunday Angelus address.

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: The Old World Has Been Shaken

Fr. Plant's Homily-Scripture Lesson: Not a hair of your head will be lost.

Sanctoral: St. Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), also known as Gertrude of Helfta, was born on the feast of Epiphany in Thuringia (modern Germany). She was sent to be educated at the Benedictine monastery in Helfta at the age of four or five, possibly as an orphan or as a child dedicated to God by her parents. She proved to be an extremely bright and determined student who became engrossed in her secular studies, but was negligent of her prayer life. She remained in the monastery and made her profession as a nun. At the age of 26 she entered a time of spiritual crisis, after which she began to receive visions of Christ who chastised her for not leaving room for God in her academic pursuits. This caused Gertrude to abandon her secular studies in total devotion to Sacred Scripture and the works of the Church Fathers. These theological studies, along with continued visions and messages from Jesus, became the basis of her work as one of the great writers and mystics of the 13th century. St. Gertrude had a lasting impact on the Church in an age where academic and religious literature was dominated by men, and she is the only female saint to earn the title "The Great." She was one of the early saints who, along with her companion in the monastery, St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn, spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. St. Teresa of Avila chose St. Gertrude the Great, the patron saint of nuns, as her model and guide.

On November 16, the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Her feast day was originally June 10, but was moved to November 16, the day of her death, upon the renewal of the Church's Lirutgical calendar. Some continue to celebrate her feast on June 10, but many, including all of Scotland, celebrate her feast today.

Margaret was born into royalty in Hungary around 1045. Her father was Edward Atheling, heir to the English throne, and her mother was Princess Agatha of Hungary. Her family returned to England when she was 10 years old, but the Norman Conquest forced them into exile. By this time, her father had died, and her mother fled with the children. They boarded a ship which crashed onto the coast of Scotland, where they remained.

In 1070, at the age of 25, Margaret married the king of Scotland, Malcolm Canmore. As queen, Margaret's faith had a strong influence on her husband’s reign. She softened his temper and led him to practice virtue. She dignified the court, providing an example of purity and reverence that led others to follow in her path. She and the king prayed together and fed the hungry, offering a powerful witness of faith to the people they served.

In addition to being a model wife and mother, Margaret worked tirelessly to bring justice and relief to the poor of Scotland. She also built churches and encouraged practices of religious devotion. In her private life, she exhibited great prayerfulness and piety. Her influence was seen not only in her husband's life, but throughout all of Scotland.

Margaret died in 1093, just four days after her husband and one of her sons were killed in battle. She was canonized in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV and named patron of Scotland in 1673.

Human: 534-- Second and final revision of the Justinian Code is published, a codified set of imperial and classical laws initially begun in 528-

1776-- Sint Eustatius, now part of the Netherlands, became the first foreign government to recognize the U.S.

1945--United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is established

Natural: How to Propagate Succulents: A Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide

Also: Homemade Green Bean Casserole

Italian: Fa un freddo cane! (It’s freezing cold!)

The most plausible origin of the expression has its roots in the now bygone practice of leaving the dog outside to guard the house, even in extreme temperatures. Although they were able to withstand the cold, the poor conditions in which they lived made them extremely aggressive towards any intruder who dared to approach the property.

A second possible origin is the way in which the Eskimo populations measured the cold. The colder it was outside, the more dogs they would allow indoors to warm the house with their body heat.

A final interpretation draws an association between the painful bite of a dog and the sensation of the bitter cold entering one’s bones.

Quote: "Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: The Blessed Sacrament ... There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that: Death. By the divine paradox, that which ends life, and demands the surrender of all, and yet by the taste (or foretaste) of which alone can what you seek in your earthly relationships (love, faithfulness, joy) be maintained, or take on that complexion of reality, of eternal endurance, which every man’s heart desires." —J.R.R. Tolkien