Calendar Class of November 27, 2025
- Andrea Kirk Assaf
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Liturgical: Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time; Opt. Mem. of Thanksgiving Day (USA)
And now, bless the God of all,
who has done wondrous things on earth;
Who fosters people’s growth from their mother’s womb,
and fashions them according to his will!
May he grant you joy of heart
and may peace abide among you;
May his goodness toward us endure in Israel
to deliver us in our days.
Sanctoral: Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
In the year 1830, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Labouré, a Daughter of Charity in Paris, and told her that God had a mission for her. Standing upon a globe, the Virgin Mary held a golden ball which she seemed to offer to God, and on her fingers were rings with gems that emitted rays of light. She told St. Catherine, "These rays symbolize the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask." Afterward, the ball, symbolizing the world and each person, disappeared, and she held her hands outstretched in the manner of a loving mother, while rays of light continued to cascade upon the globe at her feet as she stood atop the serpent's head. Framing the image in an oval were the words, "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." St. Catherine then saw an image of an M upon which was a cross. Underneath the M was Our Lord's heart crowned with thorns and Our Lady's heart pierced by a sword. Surrounding this image were 12 stars. The Blessed Virgin instructed St. Catherine to have a medal made of these images, and she promised many graces to all who wear it.
Extra: Read the inspiring story of the converson of Alphonse Ratisbonne. For a an entire book on the subject see The Conversion of Marie-Alphonse Ratisbonne by Baron Theodore de Bussieres. This miracle occured in Rome at the Basilica of Sant' Andrea delle Fratte.
Human: Happy Thanksgiving!
Many people assume that the United States has celebrated Thanksgiving Day since the time of the pilgrims as a sign of thanksgiving for the harvest season. This is not exactly true. President Abraham Lincoln instituted the holiday in 1863 during the Civil War. However, he did not have the harvest in mind. He wanted Americans to celebrate the holiday as a sign of unity and thanksgiving to God.
"I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens” (President Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation, October 3, 1863).
There is no American holiday that so closely resembles the symbolism and meaning of the sacrament of the Eucharist. We celebrate Thanksgiving as a sign of American unity and thanksgiving to God who has given us great gifts.
—Excerpted from The Religion Teacher
Natural: What was the weather like on the "First Thanksgiving"?
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway--
Thanksgiving comes again!
—Unknown
Italian: How to say Happy Thanksgiving in Italian-- Buon Giorno del Ringrazimento!
Extra: Istanbul or Constantinople? Turkiye or Turkey? With Leo XIV in Istanbul today for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, attention has turned to the turnabout of the name of this city, and country. Here is an explanation regarding Türkiye, and here is an explanation regarding Istanbul. And here is the song that is already playing in your head-- the older version and the newer version.
Quote: "One could say that the question about life is one of the most profound concerns of the human heart. We entered life without having done anything to decide to do so. The questions of all ages gush forth from this fact, like an overflowing river: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is the ultimate meaning of this journey?
Indeed, living invokes meaning, direction, hope. And hope acts as the deep-seated drive that keeps us walking in difficulty, that prevents us from giving up in the fatigue of the journey, that makes us certain that the pilgrimage of existence will lead us home. Without hope, life risks appearing to be a parenthesis between two eternal nights, a brief pause between the before and the after of our journey on earth. To hope in life means instead to anticipate the destination, to believe as certain what we still cannot see or touch, to trust and to entrust ourselves to the love of a Father who created us because he wanted us with love, and wants us to be happy."
-- Pope Leo XIV, from his catechesis on hope from the General Audience yesterday. Full text here.
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