Calendar Class of October 7, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Happy Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary! In Rome there is a special Marian image venerated at the Domus Australia, gifted to the chapel there by soon-to-be-Saint Bartolo Longo (See the Etc. Category below). The image is called "Our Lady of Pompeii" and someone special joined us for vespers tonight to bless it...Pope Leo XIV!

Liturgical: Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the Rosary for victory. The Rosary, or the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is one of the best prayers to Mary, the Mother of God.

Here is an article with info about the Rosary and ideas for praying it with kids.

Sanctoral: The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Mark, pope (d. 336), who succeeded St. Sylvester and was pope for eight months during Constantine's reign. He zealously continued the great work of Church organization made possible by the period of freedom from persecution due to the Emperor's conversion. He built two churches in Rome, one of which, the titulus Marci, has become the church of St. Mark, and still exists. He died in 336.

It is also the commemoration of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (d. 303), Roman martyrs. Sergius and Bacchus were officers in the army of Emperor Maximian Herculeus. They were held in high esteem by the emperor until he admitted being a Christian. In the year 303 A.D., Sergius was beheaded and Bacchus was beaten to death.

Human: 186 BC According to the writings of Titus Livius (Livy), the Roman Senate issued a decree on this day banning the worship of Bacchus, the god of wine and fun, and the gathering of his worshipers. According to Livy, in the 2nd century BC bloody terror reigned. The consuls and their henchmen hunted down the followers of Bacchus, and 7,000 were captured in the city itself. Women were predominate among the victims of persecution. According to the custom, their relatives were to kill them. If no one in the family wanted to take on the macabre task, the unfortunates were handed over to the executioner paid by the state. The case was of a political nature – the reason for carrying it out was the existence of an organization independent of the authorities of the Republic, and not for religious reasons. Livy's account leaves no doubt that the motive for persecution was unauthorized rites of foreign origin (externo ritu), inconsistent with traditional Roman rites that could disturb the balance between the world of people and gods, i.e. peace with the gods (pax deorum).

Natural: The word "Rosary" comes from the Latin rosarium, or "rose garden". The symbol of the rose was significant in medieval culture, and a crown of roses was a sign of joy and honor.

Italian: Farsi in quattro (to put in a lot of effort)

While you could translate this idiom literally as “to work hard” or “to put in a lot of effort,” you can also capture its essence with idiomatic phrases like “to go above and beyond,” “to pull out all the stops” or “to go out of one’s way.”

President John F. Kennedy signed nuclear test ban treaty between United States, Britain, and Soviet Union – 1963

Quote: "You always leave the Rosary for later, and you end up not saying it at all because you are sleepy. If there is no other time, say it in the street without letting anybody notice it. It will, moreover, help you to have presence of God."

Saint Josemaria Escriva

Etc.: The image of Our Lady of Pompeii is central to a devotion that began when Bartolo Longo, a former occultist, promoted the Rosary in the spiritually neglected valley of Pompeii around 1872. In 1875, he acquired a damaged painting of Our Lady of the Rosary for the new sanctuary he was building, which was transported on a manure cart. After the image was restored and placed on the high altar, miracles began to occur, leading to it becoming a powerful symbol of the Rosary and a focal point for a growing pilgrimage site. Link here.