Calendar Class of November 5, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe Plenam Lunam! Look up! Tonight we will see the brightest supermoon of the year. Last night we were gifted this incredible preview as we climbed the hill in Villa Pamphilj. When I turned around to check on the progress of the girls walking behind me, this was right before our eyes. Without even planning it, we caught a moonrise at sunset. Read all about this special moon in the Natural Cycle lesson below.

Liturgical: Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Romans 13:8-10

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Pope Leo's Wednesday General Audience address today: Hour by hour, we have so many different experiences: pain, suffering, sadness, intertwined with joy, wonder, serenity. But through every situation, the human heart longs for fullness, a profound happiness. A great twentieth-century philosopher, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, born Edith Stein, who delved deeply into the mystery of the human person, reminds us of this dynamism of the constant search for fulfilment. “‘The human being”, she writes, “always longs to have being given to him anew, so that he can draw on what the moment gives him and at the same time takes away from him” (Finite and Eternal Being: An Attempt to Ascend to the Meaning of Being”, Rome 1998, 387). We are immersed in limitation, but we also strive to surpass it.

Sanctoral: St. Elizabeth of the Visitation (1st c.) was the wife of Zachary (Zechariah), a temple priest, and the cousin and close companion of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the one whom Our Lady visited in haste after the Annunciation. The Angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth was expecting a miraculous child in her old age. Upon hearing Mary's voice, who was then carrying the Son of God in her womb, Elizabeth's unborn child leaped in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was with Elizabeth that Mary first shared the joy of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. St. Elizabeth gave birth to St. John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. St. Elizabeth is described in the Gospel of Luke as “righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly.” St. Elizabeth shares a feast day with her husband, Zachary, on November 5th.

Human: "Remember, remember, the 5th of November" 1605-- Seething after years of persecution over their religion, a group of 13 English Catholics decided on this day to take action. Extreme action. Under the leadership of Robert Catesby, an outspoken critic of the Crown, they planned to set off a massive explosion during the Opening of Parliament ceremony, killing King James I and as many members of the legislature as possible. Read all the grisly details here.

Natural: What is a Supermoon? Tonight the Full Beaver Moon Rises. Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead. During the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts. November’s Moon names highlight the actions of animals preparing for winter and the onset of the colder days ahead. Digging (or Scratching) Moon, a Tlingit name, evokes the image of animals foraging for fallen nuts and shoots of green foliage and bears digging their winter dens. The Dakota and Lakota term Deer Rutting Moon refers to the time when deer seek mates, and the Algonquin Whitefish Moon describes the spawning time for this fish. About the seasonal change of November, this Moon has been called the Frost Moon by the Cree and Assiniboine peoples and the Freezing Moon by the Anishinaabe—for good reason, as winter is right around the corner!

Italian: Spigolo (corner / edge)

An important word to know if you have a baby or toddler wandering around the house is spigolo which means corner, angle or edge. It is used most frequently to talk about the edges of furniture (particularly tables), walls, boxes, and cubes.

Quote: "True conversion—the metanoia that Jesus talks about—is so much more than moral reform, though it includes that. It has to do with a complete shift in consciousness, a whole new way of looking at one’s life." -excerpted from today's Gospel Reflections by Bishop Barron