Calendar Class of October 26, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

In the hilltop town of Sermoneta is the castle of the Caetani family, the creators of the garden featured in yesterday's snapshot. Below the castle, tucked away in a corner along the winding streets, is a world of tiny people from the past, preserved for posterity by the woman who created it all, who sits day in and day out at the doorway to welcome any passerby. Every sort of pre-industrial craft is represented here by figurines who move, akin to the incredible presepe of Naples. Called C'era Una Volta, which means "Once Upon a Time," the exhibit represents the vast array of activities that once flourished in a medieval town like Sermoneta, which would have required a larger population than the community possesses today. There is something fascinating about seeing a moving world in miniature. Hours upon hours of my childhood was spent creating worlds such as these in the loft of my parents' kitchen. Apparently, the dedicated artist at the doorway who labored over these tiny details felt the same fascination, to our delight.

Liturgical: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel Excerpt, Luke 18:9-14: Jesus addressed this parable: "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Pope Leo's Mass for the Jubilee of Synodal Teams and the Sunday Angelus address today.

Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Are You Revolving Around God- Or God Around You?

Fr. Plant's Homily-Scripture Lesson: Two Men Went to the Temple to Pray

Today is World Mission Sunday.

Life really is one big mission. For the purposes of the "quarter stages of human ages" formula I've come up with for our "Four Cycles of Life Studies," this is how I've defined the life mission according to each "season of life."

The Apprentice Stage (0-25 years old): Discerning One's Mission

The Missionary Stage (25-50 years old): Living Out One's Mission

The Teacher Stage (50-75 years old): Teaching the Mission

The Sage Stage (75-100 years old): Passing on Wisdom Gained from the Mission

Sanctoral: Pope St. Evaristus (1st century) was the fifth Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church and was elected to succeed Pope St. Clement I. During this time the Roman empire was ruled by Trajan. Not many details have been recorded about the life of Pope St. Evaristus, however he is known to have ordained deacons to help serve the faithful in Rome. He is thought to have suffered martyrdom and is buried near St. Peter in the Vatican.

Human: Last natural case of smallpox is discovered in Merca District, Somalia, and is considered the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination-- 1977

The history of smallpox dates back at least 3,000 to 4,000 years, with evidence of the disease found in ancient Egyptian mummies. It was one of the most feared infectious diseases, causing significant mortality and morbidity throughout history. The ancient practice of variolation, which involved inoculating individuals with material from smallpox sores, was used in Asia and Africa before the development of the modern vaccine. Smallpox had a profound impact on populations, notably contributing to the decline of indigenous peoples in the Americas after European contact.

Natural: It's National Pumpkin Day!!

Can Birds Predict the Weather? In Roman times, this was called "Augury." Augury was a Greco - Roman religious practice of observing the behavior of birds, to receive omens. When the individual, known as the augur, read these signs, it was referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin: auspicium) means "looking at birds".

Watch birds in flight. Birds flying high in the sky usually indicate fair weather. As the adage goes …

• Hawks flying high means a clear sky. When they fly low, prepare for a blow.

• Geese fly higher in fair weather than in foul.

Italian: Farsene una ragione (to come to terms with / to resign oneself)

Farsene is the combination of the reflexive verb farsi, which combines the verb fare (to do / to make) and the reflexive pronoun si (oneself), and the particle ne (meaning “of something”). Note that when combined, si becomes se.

Unfortunately, farsene isn’t particularly easy to define on its own, but if we translate it literally, it’s something close to the long-winded “to make use for oneself of it.”

Quote: "Dear brothers and sisters, let us do the same. Let us not be afraid to acknowledge our mistakes, lay them bare, take responsibility for them and entrust them to God’s mercy. That way, his Kingdom — which belongs not to the proud but to the humble and is built through prayer and action, by practicing honesty, forgiveness and gratitude — can grow in us and around us.

Let us ask Mary, the model of holiness, to help us grow in these virtues."

--Pope Leo XIV in his Angelus address today