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Monday Night at the Movies
Roberto Rossellini The
Flowers of St. Francis 1950
🌸 Film Summary
- Structure: Episodic, each scene introduced like a chapter from a medieval devotional text. There’s no overarching plot—just moments of grace, folly, and humility.
- Characters: Real Franciscan monks play most roles, with only one professional actor (Aldo Fabrizi as the tyrant Nicolaio). St. Francis is portrayed by Brother Nazario Gerardi.
- Tone: Gentle, whimsical, reverent. The film blends neorealism with spiritual allegory.
- Key Episodes:
- Brother Ginepro gives away his tunic and food, returning naked but joyful.
- Francis embraces a leper, doubts his leadership, and sends his brothers out “spinning” into the world.
- St. Clare visits, bringing quiet radiance.
- The friars face rejection, hardship, and comic misunderstandings with serene joy.
✨ Catholic Lessons and Reflections
Rossellini’s film is rich with spiritual insight, especially for those drawn to Franciscan and Benedictine rhythms:
1. Joyful Poverty
- The friars embrace radical simplicity—not as deprivation, but as freedom. Ginepro’s cheerful nakedness becomes a symbol of spiritual nakedness before God.
2. Embodied Mercy
- Francis hugging the leper is a Eucharistic act—an embrace of the suffering Christ. It invites viewers to seek Christ in the margins.
3. Humility and Folly
- The friars are often bumbling, mistaken, or laughed at. Yet their foolishness becomes holy—echoing Paul’s “foolishness of the cross.”
4. Communal Rhythm
- The film models a life of shared prayer, work, and wandering. It’s a visual Rule of Life—gentle, rhythmic, and open to grace.
5. Prophetic Simplicity
- In contrast to Nicolaio’s tyranny, the friars offer a counter-cultural witness: peace, vulnerability, and nonviolence.
Christopher’s Corner
· Eat waffles and Pray for the assistance of the Angels
o Spirit Hour: Raise a glass of orange wine to toast the day.
· Foodie National Noodle Day.
· Monday: Litany of Humility
· Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Call it an excuse to party: the 3-day Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival begins. In mainland China, the annual festival is the second biggest holiday of the year (right behind the country’s spring festival).
o channel your inner Mad Hatter with a whimsical hat or tea party.
o Show some love to badgers by researching these intriguing creatures or even going for a woodland hike.
· Bucket List trip[9]: USA 70-degree year trip:
🏞️ Week 41 Travel Plan: Salt Lake City → Moab
Theme: Humility and Hospitality
Dates: October 6–12 (Week 41)
Style: Pilgrimage-infused vacation with symbolic stops, gentle hikes, and communal invitation
🌄 Day 1: Salt Lake City (Oct 6
Symbol: Salt of the Earth
- Morning: Visit the Salt Lake Temple grounds (even if closed, walk the perimeter prayerfully)
- Midday: Reflective lunch at a local café—write a short blessing for the week ahead
- Evening: Sunset walk at Ensign Peak—humble ascent, overlooking the city
Ritual Prompt: “Lord, make me salt—preserving, healing, hidden.”
🛤️ Day 2: Drive to Helper, UT (Oct 7
Symbol: Hospitality in Hidden Places
- Stop in Helper—a small town with art galleries and coal mining history
- Visit the Western Mining & Railroad Museum
- Optional: Share a simple act of hospitality (buy a stranger coffee, leave a note of encouragement)
Reflection Prompt: “Hospitality is not grandeur—it’s presence, welcome, and warmth.”
🏜️ Day 3–4: Moab Arrival + Canyonlands (Oct 8–9)
Symbol: Desert Humility
- Explore Canyonlands National Park—choose one gentle hike (Mesa Arch or Grand View Point)
- Evening: Quiet journaling or prayer at Moonflower Canyon
- Optional: Prepare a symbolic meal (bread, olives, fruit) and share with fellow travelers
Ritual Prompt: “In the desert, pride dissolves. Hospitality becomes survival.”
🏕️ Day 5: Arches National Park (Oct 10 )
Symbol: Thresholds and Welcome
- Visit Delicate Arch or Windows Section—pause at each arch as a symbolic threshold
- Midday: Read or write a reflection on Mary as the “Gate of Heaven”
- Optional: Leave a small offering (stone, flower, prayer) at a trailhead
Reflection Prompt: “Every arch is an invitation. Every threshold, a welcome.”
🌌 Day 6: Moab Town + River Walk (Oct 11 )
Symbol: Flowing Mercy
- Morning: Walk along the Colorado River Pathway
- Afternoon: Visit a local vineyard or café—practice “creative hospitality” (e.g., bless the space silently)
- Evening: Stargazing—reflect on Abraham’s hospitality under the stars
Ritual Prompt: “Hospitality flows like water—quiet, persistent, life-giving.”
🕊️ Day 7: (Oct 12)
Symbol: Marian Welcome
- Morning: Gentle Marian devotion—pray the Rosary at sunrise near Mill Creek Parkway
- Midday: Prepare a symbolic meal or vineyard act (if possible)—honor Mary’s humility and hospitality
- Evening: Write a short reflection or blog post to share the week’s journey
Reflection Prompt: “Mary welcomed the Word. I welcome the weary.”
Day 8 of Leafing the World Behind, This day centers on St. Josephine Bakhita, the virtue of Idealism, and its deep connection to Courage, as explored in Character Is Destiny: Catholic Edition.
🌿 Leafing the World Behind: Day 8
Saint: St. Josephine Bakhita
Virtue: Idealism
Virtue Connection: Courage
Symbolic Act: Release a leaf into flowing water
Location: Near a stream, fountain, or sink—any place where water moves
🕊️ Introduction: On Purpose
To leave the world behind is not to abandon it, but to reorient our gaze. We step away from the noise not to escape, but to remember what is worth returning for. This pilgrimage is not a retreat into isolation—it is a choreography of reawakening. Each day, we leaf behind illusions, attachments, and distortions, so that what remains is purpose: clear, luminous, and rooted in grace.
Idealism, in this rhythm, is not naïve optimism. It is the fierce belief that goodness is real, that dignity is non-negotiable, and that beauty can rise even from chains. It is the refusal to settle for cynicism. It is the courage to dream with God.
🌺 Saint of the Day: St. Josephine Bakhita
Born in Sudan, kidnapped into slavery, and later freed in Italy, Josephine Bakhita’s life is a radiant arc of suffering transfigured into joy. She did not merely survive—she forgave. She did not merely endure—she loved. Her idealism was forged in fire: a belief that even in the darkest systems, grace can break through.
She once said, “If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that had not happened, I would not be a Christian.” This is not submission—it is transfiguration. Her idealism was not abstract; it was embodied in mercy, in daily acts of love, in her quiet witness as a Canossian sister.
🛡️ Virtue Connection: Courage
Courage, as explored in Character Is Destiny: Catholic Edition, is the virtue that faces fear with faith. It’s not the absence of fear—it’s the refusal to let fear rule. St. Josephine Bakhita’s life radiates this quiet, maternal courage. Like Gianna Molla, her strength was not loud or dramatic—it was sacrificial, enduring, and rooted in love.
She stood in the wind of oppression, not for glory, but for mercy. Her idealism was not detached from reality—it was courage incarnate. To forgive her captors, to embrace religious life, to radiate joy after trauma—this was courage that heals, courage that hopes, courage that refuses to be defined by chains.
Let her witness remind you: idealism without courage is fragile. But idealism with courage becomes a force of transfiguration.
🍃 Symbolic Act: Release a Leaf into Flowing Water
Find a leaf—any leaf—and hold it in your hand. Let it represent the ideal you carry: the dream of justice, the hope of healing, the vision of a world remade. Then release it into flowing water. Watch it drift. Let it go—not to forget, but to entrust. You are not the savior. You are the witness. Let the current carry your ideal into God’s hands.
If no stream is nearby, use a sink or pour water gently over the leaf. The act is the same: surrender with trust.
🔥 Reflection Prompt
- What ideal have you been tempted to abandon?
- Where have you seen beauty rise from suffering?
- Can you name one person whose idealism has stirred your own?
Write, walk, or pray with these questions. Let St. Josephine’s witness remind you: idealism is not weakness. It is the strength to love when the world says hate. It is the courage to hope when the world says despair.
OCTOBER
6 Monday St. Josemaria Escriva
Sukkoth-German American Day Chinese-Mid-Autumn Festival
Jonah,
Chapter 1, verse 9-10:
“I am a Hebrew,” he replied, “I FEAR the LORD,
the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
Now the men were seized with great fear
and said to him, “How could you do such a thing!”—They knew that he was fleeing
from the LORD, because he had told them.
Jonah tries to flee the Lord, are we any wiser. We often choose the wrong path. Jonah was motivated but not by love. He wanted justice and not mercy for Nineveh.
According to the Gemini AI: In Jonah 4:11, God asks Jonah,
" And should I not be concerned over the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot know their right hand from their left, not to mention all the animals?”
The mention of animals in this verse may indicate that God cares about all creation, including plants, and humans. Some say that God cares about animals because he created them and cares about their experiences. Others say that the mention of cattle may be more understandable when read alongside Genesis 2, which describes the creation of humans and their task of serving the created order. In the story of Jonah, God tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach against it because of its wickedness[1]. The king of Nineveh repents and issues a proclamation that asks people and animals to turn from their evil ways and call out to God. God relents of his plan to destroy Nineveh and does not do it.
God has a deep, longing desire
for a relationship with us, like how a person physically thirsts for water; it
signifies that God actively seeks our love and connection, yearning to be close
to us and fill our spiritual needs.[2]
I thirst!”[3]
In the night and the day that followed the Last
Supper, Jesus was betrayed by one of his own. He was delivered over to the
authorities in such humiliating powerlessness that even those who thought they
loved him fled. He who came to reveal to us the God who is Love, fell into the
hands of loveless men. Then, before the eyes of John, the only apostle who was
present at the Lord’s execution, and his mother Mary, he died an appalling
death. Here at the center of the mystery of our redemption, the full measure of
the “marvelous exchange” begins to be unveiled. The Son of God not only became
the Son of Man, fulfilling beyond expectation the great hope contained in the
psalms and the prophets. Jesus came to be the purifying flame of Love in our
midst, unsettling a world that had become comfortable in its estrangement from
God. He came to pour his Spirit on us and reconcile us to the Father. When St.
Paul tells us that the Son of God “emptied himself”, he does not mention only
Jesus’ birth. When the Son of God took on our humanity, his “exchange” with us
goes all the way to the end: “Being found in human form, he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”. Elsewhere, St. Paul points
to the same unfathomable mystery of solidarity with sinners that John the
Baptist had glimpsed at the Jordan: “For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. When we
gaze with Mary and John on Christ, who “died for our sins in accordance with
the Scriptures”, we come face to face with all the consequences of the
Incarnation. In joining himself to his creation, the Son of God took on all our
fate. He took on even the thirst of a world suffering its self-inflicted
estrangement from God. Even death. For centuries, the faithful people of Israel
thirsted for God like the dry earth. They prayed, “My throat is parched. My
eyes grow dim with waiting for my God”. All of humanity thirsted, for by
sinning, we had rejected the source of our life. We had defended ourselves
against the God who is Love. Yet our suffering in “this time of God’s absence”
was as nothing before the terrible cry Mary and John heard at the foot of the
cross. “Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the
scripture), ‘I thirst!’. The tortured, dying man thirsted for water – but also
for love. He thirsted for our love, for he had come to espouse mankind to
himself. And although he was “true God from true God … consubstantial with the
Father,” he thirsted even for God. John could not have imagined such a use – or
fulfillment – of the words of the psalms as when the Son of God cried out his
thirst to his Father:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
When John heard this, he somehow
understood. Those words were written for this day. They were prayed through the
centuries so that Jesus might sum up all human thirst for God, all suffering
and forsakenness, in himself. These words were handed down from generation to
generation so that when the Son used them to express his own thirst, suffering,
and forsakenness to his Father, our words would become divine words of
unbreakable, unsurpassable love. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,”
Jesus cried. Finally, “he bowed his head” and handed over the Spirit that bound
Father and Son. He made even his death a revelation of the unbreakable
communion of Love that is God. When a Roman centurion pierced Jesus’ side with
a spear, John, Mary, and the centurion himself saw blood and water – a sign of
Christ’s divinity and humanity – gush forth over the parched earth. The
covenant was established. It would never be broken. The divine bridegroom had
truly loved us “to the end”. Even the centurion, an unbeliever who knew neither
the psalms nor the prophets, recognized this radiant humility and saw the glory
of this love: “When the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus
breathed his last, he said,
‘Truly, this man
was the Son of God!’”
Estrangement,
Mercy, and the Thirst That Redeems
On October 6, the
calendar converges with quiet symbolism: the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva,
German-American Day, and the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Each invites
reflection—on sanctity in the ordinary, reconciliation across heritage, and
reunion under the fullness of the moon. But the lectionary reading from Jonah
1:9–10 pierces deeper. “I am a Hebrew,” Jonah confesses. “I fear the LORD, the
God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” The sailors are seized with
fear—not because Jonah believes, but because he is fleeing the very God he
claims to fear.
Are we any wiser?
We
often choose the wrong path, motivated not by love but by a desire for justice
on our terms. Jonah wanted Nineveh condemned, not converted. He feared mercy
more than wrath.
In Jonah 4:11,
God’s question unsettles our narrow vision: “Should I not be concerned over the
great city of Nineveh… not to mention all the animals?” This divine concern
stretches beyond human borders. It echoes Genesis 2, where humanity is tasked
with serving creation, not dominating it. In Nineveh’s repentance, even the
animals fast and cry out—a communal turning that includes all life. God
relents, not because Nineveh deserves it, but because mercy is His nature. This
mercy culminates centuries later in the cry of Christ: “I thirst.” On the night
of betrayal and abandonment, Jesus—Love incarnate—falls into the hands of
loveless men. Before the eyes of John and Mary, He dies a death that unveils
the full measure of the “marvelous exchange.” The Son of God becomes Son of
Man, not only in birth but in suffering, thirst, and death.
St. Paul writes
that Christ “emptied himself… obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” He
became sin, though He knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of
God. At the foot of the cross, John hears the tortured cry: “I thirst.” It is
not only for water, but for love—for our love. Jesus thirsts for reunion, for
the healing of estrangement, for the communion we were made for. Even His
forsakenness becomes a prayer: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
These words, handed down through generations, become divine when spoken by the
Son. They sum up all human longing and suffering, and in His final
breath—“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”—He hands over the Spirit
that binds Father and Son. His death becomes a revelation of unbreakable love.
When the centurion
pierces His side, blood and water gush forth—a sign of divinity and humanity
poured out over the parched earth. The covenant is sealed. The divine
bridegroom has loved us to the end. Even the centurion, an outsider who knew
neither psalms nor prophets, recognizes the glory: “Truly, this man was the Son
of God.” In this moment, all estrangement is met with mercy. All thirst is met
with love. And all fleeing is met with a God who never stops pursuing.
St. Josemaria
Escriva[4] was born in 1902 at Barbastro Spain. He was ordained
in Saragossa in 1925 and by divine inspiration founded Opus Dei which opened a
new way for the faithful to sanctify themselves in the midst of the world. He
died on June 26, 1975, and was canonized a saint on October 6, 2002.
Opus Dei[5]
Work, family life, and the ordinary events
of each day are opportunities for drawing close to Christ, and making Him known
to others. As the Second Vatican Council taught, every baptized person is
called to follow Christ closely, by living according to the Gospel and making
its teachings known to others. The aim of Opus Dei is to contribute to that
evangelizing mission of the Church, by fostering among Christians of all social
classes a life fully consistent with their faith, in the middle of the ordinary
circumstances of their lives and especially through the sanctification of their
work. The following are some of the main features of the spirit of Opus Dei:
·
“Divine filiation is the foundation of
the spirit of Opus Dei,” said its founder, Saint Josemaría Escrivá. A Christian
is a child of God by virtue of baptism. Thus the formation provided by the
Prelature seeks to foster among the Christian faithful a deep awareness of their
being children of God, and helps them act accordingly. It fosters confidence in
divine providence, simplicity in their dialogue with God, a deep awareness of
the dignity of each human being and of the need for fraternity among all
people, a truly Christian love for the world and for all human realities
created by God, and a sense of calm and optimism.
·
Ordinary life. “It is in the midst of the most material things of
the earth that we must sanctify
ourselves, serving God and all mankind,” said Saint Josemaría. The family,
marriage, work – all of our activities – are opportunities for drawing close to
and imitating Jesus, trying to practice charity, patience, humility, diligence,
integrity, cheerfulness, and all the other human and Christian virtues.
·
Sanctifying work means to work with the spirit of Christ, to work
competently and ethically, with the aim of loving God and serving others, and
thus to sanctify the world from within, making the Gospel present in all
activities whether they be outstanding or humble and hidden. In the eyes of God
what matters is the love that is put into work, not its human success.
·
Prayer and sacrifice. The formation given by Opus Dei encourages prayer and
sacrifice in order to sustain the effort to sanctify one’s ordinary
occupations. Thus members strive to incorporate into their lives certain
practices of Christian piety, such as prayer, daily Mass, sacramental
confession, and reading and meditating on the Gospel. Devotion to our Lady
occupies an important place in their
hearts. Also, in striving to imitate Christ, they try to acquire a spirit of
penance by offering up small sacrifices, particularly those that help them
fulfill their duties faithfully and make life more pleasant for others, such as
renouncing small pleasures, fasting, almsgiving, etc.
·
Unity of life. Saint Josemaría explained that Christians working in
the world should not live “a kind of double life. On the one hand, an interior
life, a life of union with God; and on the other, a separate and distinct
professional, social and family life.” On the contrary: “There is just one
life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which has to become, in
both soul and body, holy and filled with God.”
·
Freedom. The members of Opus Dei are ordinary citizens who
enjoy the same rights and are subject to the same obligations as any other
citizen. In their professional, family, political, financial or cultural
activities, they act with freedom and personal responsibility, not involving
the Church or Opus Dei in their decisions, nor presenting those decisions as
the only Catholic solutions. This implies respecting the freedom and the
opinions of others.
·
Charity. To meet Christ is to find a treasure that one cannot
stop sharing. Christians are witnesses to Jesus and spread his message of hope
among their companions, with their example and their words. “Side by side with
our colleagues, friends and relatives and sharing their interests, we can help
them come closer to Christ,” wrote Saint Josemaría. The wish to make others
know Christ, which is a direct consequence of charity (that is, love of God
above all things and of one’s neighbor as oneself), cannot be separated from
the desire to contribute to finding solutions to the material needs and social
problems of one’s surroundings.
Sukkot (Camping
with Christ)[6]begins at sunset
Sukkot
(Hebrew: סוכות), meaning
Tabernacles, is the autumnal 'foot festival'
in which the Jews are commanded to leave their permanent houses and to dwell in
booths for seven days. The idea behind this is to remember that the Israelites
lived in booths in the Wilderness for forty years. Additionally, when the Temple
stood in Jerusalem, this was a pilgrimage holiday to celebrate the harvest.
It is most likely our Lord did this
every year as He was a devout Jew.
Tabernacles are typically built out of wood, sheets and have a roof of a
natural product, such as leaves, palm branches, through which the stars can be
seen at night. The Succah must be built of certain dimensions (not too low or
too high) and should have three or four walls. On Succot, it is customary
for Jewish men buy a set of the four kinds/species comprising a lulav (a palm
branch), an etrog (a citron), hadassim (myrtle) and aravot (willows).
Sukkot Facts & Quotes
·
Sukkot
is also a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the
Festival of Ingathering. No work is permitted on the first day, but some
work is allowed on the intermediate days which are known as Chol Hamoed.
·
Each
day of Succot is associated with Ushpezin (visitors), one of seven Succah
visitors. Each day has its visitor, starting with Abraham. The
other visitors are Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David and Solomon.
Hebrews 11:8 “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out
to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not
knowing where he was going.”
·
The
book of Ecclesiastes is typically read in Synagogues. This book relates
to the futility of man under the sun but concludes optimistically with the
notion that we should just do our thing and serve God.
·
There
is a special Priest's (Cohen's) blessing performed at the Western Wall during
Succot. The Western Wall is the last surviving wall of the Holy Temple in
Jerusalem at the side of the Temple Mount. Thousands of Priests, who are
believed to be descendants of the original priests, assemble at the Western
Wall and perform blessings.
·
In
the days of Nehemiah, an original Bible was found with the passages relating to
the building of a Succah.
a.
All
the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told
Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which
the Lord had commanded for Israel (Nehemiah 8:1).
b. They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month (Nehemiah 8:14).
Sukkot Top Events and Things to Do
·
Purchase
or make your own Sukkah. They are typically designed to be assembled and
disassembled quickly - in less than two hours by two people.
·
One
can buy the four kinds (of material used to build Sukkot as per the Torah) or
order them from Israel. The four kinds include palm branches, an Etrog
(citron), three willow branches and two myrtle branches. The palm, myrtle and
willow are bound together in a palm holder.
·
See
the movie Ushpezim with English subtitles. It which relates to the
four kinds and a couple's efforts to buy a most beautiful four species set,
despite their poor economic situation. Ushpizin can be viewed on YouTube.
·
Read
the book of Ecclesiastes or watch a lecture about it. It was written by
King Solomon. It relates to the futility of life, apart from basic belief
and being righteous.
·
Attend
a local Succot fair.
A visit from
Abraham[7]
Genesis 22:9-10 “When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his
son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his
hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.”
Just as
the knife was being hurled downward, the angel of the Lord said “Do not lay
your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God,
seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Gen 22:12), and
“because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I
will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars
of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall
possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen 22:16-18).
Catechism of the Catholic Church on Abraham
·
60 The people
descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to the
patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God would
gather all his children into the unity of the Church. They would be the root on
to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe.
·
72 God chose Abraham
and made a covenant with him and his descendants. By the covenant God formed
his people and revealed his law to them through Moses. Through the prophets, he
prepared them to accept the salvation destined for all humanity.
·
146 Abraham
thus fulfils the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen":
"Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness."
Because he was "strong in his
faith", Abraham became the "father of all who believe".
·
165 It is then we
must turn to the witnesses of faith: to Abraham, who "in hope...
believed against hope"; to the Virgin Mary, who, in "her
pilgrimage of faith", walked into the "night of faith" in
sharing the darkness of her son's suffering and death; and to so many others:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let
us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer
and perfecter of our faith."
·
706 Against
all human hope, God promises descendants to Abraham, as the fruit of faith and
of the power of the Holy Spirit. In Abraham's progeny all the nations of the
earth will be blessed. This progeny will be Christ himself, in whom the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit will "gather into one the children of God
who are scattered abroad." God commits himself by his own solemn oath to
giving his beloved Son and "the promised Holy Spirit . . . [who is] the
guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it."
German American
Day[8]
German
American Day celebrates German culture and heritage in the United States.
This holiday also serves to remember 13 German families from Krefeld,
Germany that fled religious oppression in Germany. On October 6th, 1683, these
families established Germantown, Pennsylvania, the first distinctly
German-American settlement. In the centuries that followed, more than
seven million more German-speaking immigrants arrived on the shores of the US
and as of 2010, over 20% of the US population claims German ancestry. In 1983,
on the 300th anniversary of Germantown, President Ronald Reagan declared
October 6th as German American Day. President Reagan officially declared German
American Day four years later in 1987. Today, German American Day, a
celebration of German culture, identity and heritage, is celebrated annually on
October 6th.
German American
Day Facts & Quotes
·
The
current population of Germantown, PA is 26,563 inhabitants.
·
Wisconsin,
Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa are now home to the
largest number of German descendants in the US.
·
After
the Second World War, around 375,000 Germans immigrated to the US. In the 50s
and 60s alone, around 786,000 Germans immigrated to the US.
·
Albert
Einstein was a German immigrant, a Jew who opted to remain in the US when the
Nazi party came to power in 1933.
·
The world will not
be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing
anything.
- Albert Einstein
German American
Day Top Events and Things to Do
·
Read
some popular stories by German writers including Hansel and Gretel, The
Trial and The Man Without Qualities.
·
Spend
some time learning more about the religious oppression in Germany in 1683 in
order to further understand why the founding 13 families fled the country and
arrived in Philadelphia.
·
Enjoy
a glass of mulled wine. It is a common drink found at Christmas markets all
through Germany.
·
Enjoy
a German movie. Some of our favorites: Victoria (2015), Land of Mine
(2015) and Downfall (2004).
·
Learn
more about the Nazi Regime from WW2 in order to better understand how the
population of German Americans grew so quickly around that time.
Bible in a Year Day 92 Jephthah's Vow
Today's readings are Judges 9-11, Ruth 4,
and Psalm 137. In the reading from Judges, we hear about the rise and fall of
Abimelech, as well as the misguided and heartbreaking vow Jephthah makes to God
in return for victory over the Ammonites. We also conclude the book of Ruth
with the marriage of Boaz and Ruth.
Full Harvest Moon
According to the almanac today is a Full
Harvest Moon; plan to have a feast with your children or grandchildren and talk
about the family.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite
in the work of the Porters of St.
Joseph
by joining them in fasting: Today's Fast: Authentic Feminism
·
Religion
in the Home for Preschool: October
·
Litany of the Most Precious Blood
of Jesus
·
Offering to the
sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1] Thus,
we are told that the greatest sin Nineveh was that of violence, which in turn,
is most often a by-product of godlessness, idolatry and perverted, illicit sex
as exemplified in Sodom (Gen 19:4, 5). Violence was not unique to Nineveh, it
was (and still is) a very common sin.
[2]
Gemini
[3]http://www.kofc.org/en/resources/cis/cis403.pdf?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiT0RSaU16TmxNemM0T0RFeSIsInQiOiJQWHBpQmtXaHI1dEVzTVhTQWV4TzFLZU9pR0ZiNXMwRGcyU2l3b1J2cERXRkVsTGhXME01S20rZ1g3RVQ3ZEJSTkQ5TXdMRjFmc0RiV3I3ZVRGQ0lwdnRUWXBEWFUrc2QzWlk2dU1zeTFcLzF4blUwY1dOVkFqQkcxMDZXQ09rYWgifQ%3D%3D
[4]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-06-26
[9] Schultz,
Patricia. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler's Life List Workman
Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.
