Calendar Class of November 28, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe Civitas! Seize Community! One of the best parts of a Villa Magnolia Thanksgiving is never knowing who is going to be part of the community- the civitas- for this traditional American feast. We had around 50 dinner guests last night (I actually didn't take a head count but there was plenty of food for everyone). Another tradition we've begun is sharing something we are grateful for from this last semester in Rome. It's one of the tear-jerker moments of the semester for me. And last, but not least, the tradition of asking for volunteer cooks and bakers among the students has resulted in a most delicious feast every year, as each student makes what is their best and most beloved dish. Hope you all had a delicious and cozy Thanksgiving, and do stop by the Villa Magnolia next year if you are in town!

Liturgical: Friday of the 34th Week of Ordinary Time

Luke 21:29-33

Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Sanctoral: St. Catherine Labouré (1806 – 1876) was born in Burgundy, France, the ninth of seventeen children of a pious and prosperous farming family. Her mother died when she was nine years old. After her mother's funeral, Catherine kissed a statue of the Virgin Mary in her home, saying, "Now you will be my mother." Catherine was devout and simple, and did not learn to read or write. She cared for her family for many years and, drawn to the religious life, entered the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Paris at the age of twenty-two. In the year 1830, on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent de Paul, Catherine experienced her first apparition of the Blessed Mother. Mary entrusted to Catherine the mission of spreading devotion to her Miraculous Medal, the design of which she revealed to the saint in a vision. The Blessed Virgin appeared to Catherine two more times, and eventually the Miraculous Medal was mass-produced, widely promoted, and approved by the Church as a sacramental for public devotion. Catherine preferred anonymity and remained unknown as the visionary to whom Our Lady appeared, even to the sisters of her own convent. She continued to live a quiet life in service to the sick. After her death many miracles were ascribed to her relics. St. Catherine Labouré is one of the Church's incorruptible saints: her body is reposed in a glass casket in the chapel where she received the vision of Our Lady.

Human: Why is it Called Black Friday? When is Black Friday?

Birthday of William Blake (poet) – 1757, Friedrich Engels (philosopher) – 1820, Earl Grey (Canadian Governor General 1904 - 1911) – 1851

Death of Washington Irving (writer) – 1859

Natural: How Weather Shaped History: From Plagues to the French Revolution

Extra: Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes | The Old Farmer's Almanac

Also, a chilly day in history:

• Thomas Jefferson recorded in his journal: “It is so cold that the freezing of the ink on the point of my pen renders it difficult to write.” – 1796

• A storm on Lake Superior damaged 29 ships – 1905

• A Lake Superior storm caused waves 20 to 40 feet high – 1960

Italian: Allora (so / then / at that time)

Allora is an extremely flexible word in that it can function as an adverb, conjunction or adjective depending on how it is used in a sentence.

Quote: "Friends, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus speaks of the time when the plan of God will be fulfilled. Some philosophies defend a circular or cyclic understanding of time. They hold that time just continually circles back on itself, repeating like the cycles of the seasons. The modern philosopher Nietzsche spoke of the “eternal return of the same.” That’s a mythic consciousness, and it can be found all over the world.

But the Jews had a very different sense of time, what we might call “linear.” They felt that time was moving somewhere, that it had, under God’s direction, a purpose. The past was not simply there to be repeated endlessly; rather, the past was a preparation for a definitive future. It was an anticipation of what God would do, what God was going to accomplish. The Lord assures us that the kingdom of God is near and that we must prepare for its coming."

--Bishop Barron's Gospel reflections today