Calendar Class of October 1, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe cappuccino! Yes, indeed, we have arrived and consumed our obligatory cappuccino and cornetto straight away. Thus far, that is about all I've accomplished in October of 2025, a most important month for Kirks. Fortunately, we have another 30 more days ahead of us to redeem the time. Read all about this most auspicious of months below.

Liturgical: An overview of the Liturgical Calendar for October.

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated on October 7.

The Holy Father's Intentions for the Month of October 2025:

For collaboration between different religious traditions: Let us pray that believers in different religious traditions might work together to defend and promote peace, justice and human fraternity.

Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."

Luke 9:57-62

Sanctoral: Today is the Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873-1897), more popularly known as "the Little Flower." Although just an obscure cloistered Carmelite nun, she has had universal appeal since her death in 1897. St. Thérèse is the patroness of all foreign missions and patroness of France, and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope St. John Paul II in 1997.

The relics of St. Therese are coming to the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Michigan this fall.

Human: Welcome, October! Holidays, Fun Facts, Folklore

What is "Kirktober" and how do we celebrate it?

208 AD – the future Roman Emperor Alexander Severus (also called Alexianus Bassianus) was born in Emes. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He took the name Severus when in 218 AD he was adopted by his 14-year-old cousin, Emperor Elagabalus. During his 13 years of rule (222-235), Alexander showed a peaceful character. That was a time of prosperity and internal order. With time, however, his mother, Julia Mammea, known for her lust for power and wealth, contributed to his unpopularity. What was worse, his reign coincided with many external threats. Gentle by nature, the emperor had no military experience and was clearly reluctant to get into any wars. In order to mitigate conflicts, he sometimes decided to bribe and dialogue, as it was with the Germans. This fact undermined the emperor’s authority. Soldiers of Legio XXII Primigenia, seeing him as weak and unworthy of the emperor’s office, decided to kill him after the settlement with the barbarians.

Natural: October’s birth flowers are the cosmos and the calendula or marigold. Cosmos is a symbol of joy in life and love and peace. The calendula (aka garden, English, or pot marigold) represents winning grace, grief, or chagrin in the language of flowers. 

The October birthstone is the opal, which symbolizes faithfulness and confidence

Italian: Dente di leone (dandelion)

One of the words for a dandelion in Italian is dente di leone. However, it is also known by a number of other names including insalata matta (literally ‘crazy salad’), soffione (literally ‘big blower’ due to the fluffy white head of seeds that can be easily blown off) and dente di cane (literally ‘dog’s tooth. The official scientific term is tarassaco comune. It comes from the name of the Taraxacum genus,of which the dandelion is a member.

Quote: "Glorious October:  I think of it as the golden month. There's goldenrod in the fields; the sunshine is melted honey; the foliage flames with orange, red, and gold. The days are warm and mellow, the nights sharp and cool. A man feels alive and full of energy and only slightly sad."

~Charles H. Knickerbocker, Summer Doctor, 1963