Calendar Class of September 17, 2025
- Andrea Kirk Assaf
- Sep 17
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 18
Liturgical: Wednesday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time
Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great: He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:14–16
Today's extraordinarily exuberant Papal Audience at the Vatican: the full text of the Pope's remarks here
An excerpt: "We struggle to stop and rest. We live as if life were never enough. We rush to produce, to prove ourselves, to keep up. But the Gospel teaches us that knowing how to stop is an act of trust that we must learn to perform. Holy Saturday invites us to discover that life does not always depend on what we do, but also on how we know how to take leave of what we have been able to do.
In the tomb, Jesus, the living Word of the Father, is silent. But it is precisely in that silence that the new life begins to ferment. Like a seed in the ground, like the darkness before dawn. God is not afraid of the passing time, because he is also the God of waiting. Thus, even our “useless” time, that of pauses, emptiness, barren moments, can become the womb of resurrection. Every silence that is welcomed can be the premise of a new Word. Every suspended time can become a time of grace, if we offer it to God.
Jesus, buried in the ground, is the meek face of a God who does not occupy all space. He is the God who lets things be done, who waits, who withdraws to leave us freedom. He is the God who trusts, even when everything seems to be over. And we, on that suspended Sabbath, learn that we do not have to be in a hurry to rise again; first we must stay and welcome the silence, let ourselves be embraced by limitation. At times we seek quick answers, immediate solutions. But God works in depth, in the slow time of trust. The Sabbath of the burial thus becomes the womb from which the strength of an invincible light, that of Easter, can spring forth.
Dear friends, Christian hope is not born in noise, but in the silence of an expectation filled with love. It is not the offspring of euphoria, but of trustful abandonment."
Sanctoral: St. Robert Bellarmine, Bishop and Doctor (1542-1621) was born in Montepulciano, Italy, and died in Rome. The son of noble parents, he entered the Society of Jesus, finishing his theological studies at Louvain, Belgium. His services to the Church were outstanding and many. He occupied the chair of controversial theology in Rome. He defended the Holy See against anti-clericals. He wrote books against the prevailing heresies of the day. His catechism, translated into many languages, spread the knowledge of Christian doctrine to all parts of the world. He was the Counsellor of Popes and spiritual director of St. Aloysius Gonzaga. He helped St. Francis de Sales obtain approval of the Visitation Order. As a religious he was a model of purity, humility and obedience; as a bishop and Cardinal, an example of great love for his flock.
In Vatican City, the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine is a public holiday, since it is the name day of Pope Leo XIV.
St. Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor (1098-1179) was born in the Rhine region of present-day Germany and died at the age of 81 in 1179 A.D. She was a Benedictine abbess, composer, writer, theologian, philosopher, mystic and visionary, and also well-versed in scientific natural history. She has been honored as a saint for many centuries, but officially canonized a saint and named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012. On January 25, 2021, Pope Francis ordered the inscription of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, into the General Roman Calendar.
Here is a video on St. Hildegard as the Patron Saint of Creativity.
Human: 14 AD – the Senate deified Augustus.
In the Late Roman Empire, deification, or apotheosis, was the formal process by which a deceased emperor was officially raised to divine status. It served a critical political function, solidifying the emperor's authority and unifying the empire by incorporating religious devotion to the ruler, now known by the title Divus (Divine). This process involved Senate decrees, public mourning ceremonies, the construction of temples and cult statues, and the establishment of priesthoods in the emperor's honor.
Formerly called “I am an American Day” (1940) and then “Citizenship Day” (1952), this observance’s long new name (2004) is called Constitution Day for short. It marks the anniversary of the date in 1787 when the final draft of the Constitution of the United States was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention after months of wrangling. The framers of the Constitution had been arguing constantly as they met in secret, but they had leaked reports to the press indicating that all was well. “So great is the unanimity, we hear, that prevails in the convention, upon all great federal subjects, that it has been proposed to call the room in which they assemble ‘Unanimity Hall.’” The Federalists (as they came to be called) argued through June and most of July and reached an agreement on July 16. After deciding to leave out a bill of rights — because everyone was worn-out and they thought there was no need for such a list — the framers completed the final draft on September 17 and made it ready for submission to the states for ratification. The American Bar Association and other organizations make an effort to mark this anniversary by sponsoring symposia and, in some cases, offering free legal advice.
The best time to plant your perennials is fall! Check out this great list of our favorite perennials for beginner (and seasoned!) gardeners.
Italian: Spunto (cue / idea / starting point)
Today we’ll be looking at the Italian word spunto, which derives from the verb spuntare meaning to sprout or to crop up.
Quote: A selection of quotes by Hildegard von Bingen
“The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature.”
“Like billowing clouds,
Like the incessant gurgle of the brook,
The longing of the spirit can never be stilled.”
“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of the Earth's greenings. Now, think.”
“There is the music of Heaven in all things.”
“The soul is the greening life force of the flesh, for the body grows and prospers through her, just as the earth becomes fruitful when it is moistened. The soul humidifies the body so it does not dry out, just like the rain which soaks into the earth.”
“Reason is the root, through which the resonant word flourishes.”
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