Calendar Class of September 5, 2025

A Carpe Diem Snapshot:

Seize the Sophie! The girls wasted no time in roping Miss Sophie Divozzo into their jewelry-making experiments this morning, as if no time at all had passed since Valentina, at one year old, first took Sophie's hand and kept her busy for hours walking up and down the farm paths picking flowers and singing to the goats. At just 16, Sophie spent some weeks with us one summer, when there were just three little Assafs, and we have the most delightful memories, full of songs, kittens, goats, and cappuccino. Now that we are no longer on a farm, we currently lack the goats, but all the other elements are still present, including Sophie's sunny disposition and baking skills (an apple pie project is currently underway). Welcome back, Sophie!

Liturgical: Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Then light shall rise for you in darkness,

and the gloom shall become for you like midday;

Then the LORD will guide you always

and give you plenty even on the parched land.

He will renew your strength,

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring whose water never fails.

Isaiah 58:6-11

Today's Gospel reflections from Bishop Barron.

Sanctoral: St. Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God’s thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. “God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire: “to quench His thirst for love and for souls.”

During the last years of her life, despite increasingly severe health problems, Mother Teresa continued to govern her Society and respond to the needs of the poor and the Church. By 1997, Mother Teresa’s Sisters numbered nearly 4,000 members and were established in 610 foundations in 123 countries of the world. In March 1997 she blessed her newly-elected successor as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity and then made one more trip abroad. After meeting Pope John Paul II for the last time, she returned to Calcutta and spent her final weeks receiving visitors and instructing her Sisters. On 5 September Mother Teresa’s earthly life came to an end. She was given the honour of a state funeral by the Government of India and her body was buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity. Her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people of all faiths, rich and poor alike. Mother Teresa left a testament of unshakable faith, invincible hope and extraordinary charity. Her response to Jesus’ plea, “Come be My light,” made her a Missionary of Charity, a “mother to the poor,” a symbol of compassion to the world, and a living witness to the thirsting love of God.

Less than two years after her death, in view of Mother Teresa’s widespread reputation of holiness and the favours being reported, Pope John Paul II permitted the opening of her Cause of Canonization. On December 20, 2002, he approved the decrees of her heroic virtues and miracles.

—Excerpted from the Vatican Website

Human: The most important Roman festival began today – Ludi Romani. Initially, during the festival, games, races and theatrical events were organized to celebrate the god Jupiter, but later the religious significance of the festival was forgotten. On September 13 (the original date of the festival), a sacrifice of a cow was offered in the temple of Jupiter, while the entire Senate and town officials attended the feast. The statue of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva were dressed and laid on the beds to feast together with mortals. Then the procession went to Circus Maximus, where the games took place. The feast was to be established by Tarquin the Elder after the capture of the city of Apiolae or, as indicated by Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Cicero, after the victory of the Romans over the Latins in the battle of Lake Regillus in 496 BC (the so-called votum). The festival was celebrated every year from 366 BC.

(It is possible to view some fragments of the "Capitoline Triad"- Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva- in the Capitoline Museums today!)

Great Fire of London ended – 1666, Russia’s Peter the Great imposed a tax on beards – 1698, First Continental Congress opened, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – 1774

Natural: Lake water DNA analysis showed no evidence of the Loch Ness Monster (but perhaps a giant eel) – 2019 (or, it could have existed but is now extinct. )

Italian: Allettante (tempting / attractive)

Quote: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.” --St. Teresa of Calcutta

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”-St. Teresa of Calcutta

"Oftentimes, we don't recognize the many gifts that God pours out to us in our daily lives. What we do recognize are daily annoyances, burdens, difficulties, and inconveniences. These win our attention. These get us complaining. These get us in a bad mood and sap our energy. Wouldn't it be a tragedy if, after we started receiving even more gifts and graces through our consecration [to Mary], we didn't change this negative attitude? Yes, it would be...St. Mother Teresa lived in some of the poorest environments on earth. She had to put up with burning heat, bad breath, stuffy rooms, nagging fatigue, endless responsibilities, bland food, hard beds, body odor, cold water bathing, and an agonizingly deep spiritual aridity. Yet, despite all this, she radiated joy. She smiled. She marveled at the good things God did in her life and in the lives of others, and she pondered the countless loving details arranged by Our Lady. Seeing and recognizing all this, she didn't complain. –Michael E. Gaitley, MIC