Calendar Class of September 19, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Carpe Aranea! September is Spider Season! I captured a snapshot of this huge beauty yesterday afternoon and was shocked to see such a large specimen in Michigan. After all, we Michiganders can boast that our state is free of any large or poisonous arachnids, apart from the brown recluse, which, as the name suggests, is a shy and retiring spider not out for our blood. There is also the Northern Black Widow, but I am going to pretend I don't know that. There are five large and scary looking spiders creeping around Michigan. The creature on my front porch was a fishing spider, which is no surprise as we live on a lake. It moved up from the waterfront to its winter home (our house) this month, because spiders are "migratory" too, as this article explains (written in the context of the UK but the climate is similar). Knowing the science behind this month's invasion of spiders does help put our fears into context, but if you watched this movie as a child, those irrational fears run deep.

Liturgical: Friday of the 24th Week of Ordinary Time

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 Timothy 6:2c-12

Sanctoral: St. Januarius (d. 305 A.D.), also known as San Gennaro, was the Bishop of Benevento, Italy. Little is known of his early life. He was arrested and imprisoned for his faith while visiting other Christians in jail during the persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian. Many attempts were made to kill him, but one after another they failed. He was thrown into a fiery furnace, but he came out unscathed. He was then thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheater, but they did not attack. He was finally beheaded, and his blood was collected by Christians and kept in a sealed glass vial for veneration. The vial of blood is still kept today in the Naples cathedral, and it has continually demonstrated miraculous properties for which no scientific explanation has been offered. St. Januarius' blood liquefies and becomes fresh on particular occasions throughout the year, especially his feast day, for which the saint has become famous. This phenomenon has been occurring with regularity for centuries, and is one of the "blood miracles" that is historically well-documented among the relics of certain saints. He is the patron saint of blood banks and the city of Naples, Italy.

Human: Roman History on this Day--The festival of Minerva (also on March 19 and June 19) was celebrated- it was a time when the Romans were offering gifts in honor of Minerva – the goddess of wisdom, art and craft.

86 AD – Emperor Antoninus Pius was born, one of the so-called five good emperors. During his reign the Jewish, Brit and Mauritanian uprisings occurred. He was famous for the erection of the Antoninus Wall. The period of his reign is the time of prosperity and peace often called Pax Romana. He expanded the maintenance fund (alimenta for girls) introduced by Trajan, which was supposed to improve the population status of the Empire. His reign and his successors (Marcus Aurelius) inherited the "best period" in the history of the Roman Empire, according to scholars.

National POW/MIA Recognition Day

Observed each year on the third Friday in September, this is a time for Americans to honor the service and sacrifice of those who have been prisoners of war (POW) or are still missing in action (MIA). It is also a time to recognize how difficult this is for their families, to honor their courage, and to offer support. The day also serves to renew the commitment to account for all those missing from past wars and conflicts, and to work toward locating the remains of fallen soldiers and returning them home for burial.

Birthday of Arthur Rackham (artist) – 1867, Rachel Field (children’s author) – 1894, William Golding (author) – 1911

On a return trip from Canada, while in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Betty and Barney Hill claimed to have been abducted for two hours by a UFO. After going public with their story, the two gained worldwide notoriety. The incident is the first fully documented case of alien abduction. – 1961

The mummified remains of Ötzi, a Copper Age “iceman” were discovered in the Ötztal Alps, near the Italian/Austrian border. – 1991

Frogs’ eggs fell from the sky in Berlin, Connecticut – 2003

Natural: Ember Days

Ember Days happen four times a year at the start of each season. Traditionally observed by some Christian denominations, each set of Ember Days is three days, kept on a successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. These three days are set apart for fasting, abstinence, and prayer. The first of these four times comes in winter, after the Feast of St. Lucia, December 13; the second set comes with the First Sunday in Lent; the third set comes after Whitsunday/Pentecost Sunday; the four and last set comes after the Feast of the Holy Cross. Their dates can be remembered by this old mnemonic:

“Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria.”

Which means:

“Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, are when the quarter holidays follow.”

In Latin, Ember Days are known as the quattuor anni tempora (the “four seasons of the year”). Folklore has it that the weather on each of the three days foretells the weather for three successive months. 

As with much folklore, this is grounded in some common sense since the beginning of the four seasons cue the changes in weather as well as a shift in how we keep harmony with the Earth and respect our stewardship of the Earth, our “garden of Eden.”

Italian: Ululare (to howl / to wail)

The verb ululare (and its English cognate to ululate) descends from the Latin verb ululare, meaningto howl or to wail. The Latin root carried the same meaning as the modern Italian word, and almost certainly originated from the howling sound associated with it.

Quote: Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things which you have not known.-Jeremiah 33: 2-3