thepastisalreadywritten

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 21)

On January 21, the Roman Catholic Church honors the virgin and martyr, St. Agnes, who suffered death for her consecration to Christ.

Although the details of Agnes' life are mostly unknown, the story of her martyrdom has been passed on with reverence since the fourth century.

On the feast day of the young martyr – whose name means “lamb” in Latin – the Pope traditionally blesses lambs, whose wool will be used to make the white pallium worn by archbishops.

Born into a wealthy family during the last decade of the third century, Agnes lived in Rome during the last major persecution of the early Church under Emperor Diocletian.

Though he was lenient toward believers for much of his rule, Diocletian changed course in 302, resolving to wipe out the Church in the empire.

Agnes came of age as the Church was beginning to suffer under a set of new laws decreed by Diocletian and his co-ruler Galerius in 303.

The emperor and his subordinate called for churches to be destroyed and their books burned.

Subsequent orders led to the imprisonment and torture of clergy and laypersons for the sake of compelling them to worship the emperor instead of Christ.

Meanwhile, Agnes had become a young woman of great beauty and charm, drawing the attention of suitors from the first ranks of the Roman aristocracy.

But in keeping with the words of Christ and Saint Paul, she had already decided on a life of celibacy for the sake of God's kingdom.

To all interested men, she explained that she had already promised herself to a heavenly and unseen spouse.

These suitors both understood Agnes' meaning and resented her resolution.

Some of the men, possibly looking to change her mind, reported her to the state as a believer in Christ.

Agnes was brought before a judge who tried first to persuade her and then to threaten her into renouncing her choice not to marry for the Lord's sake.

When the judge showed her the various punishments he could inflict – including fire, iron hooks, or the rack that destroyed the limbs by stretching – Agnes smiled and indicated she would suffer them willingly.

But she was brought before a pagan altar instead and asked to make an act of worship in accordance with the Roman state religion.

When Agnes refused, the judge ordered that she should be sent to a house of prostitution, where the virginity she had offered to God would be violated.

Agnes predicted that God would not allow this to occur, and her statement proved true.

Legends say that the first man to approach her in the brothel was struck blind by a sudden flash of light, and others opted not to repeat his mistake.

But one of the men who had at first sought to make Agnes his own, now lobbied the judge for her execution.

In this respect, the suitor obtained his desire when the public official sentenced her to die by beheading.

The executioner gave her one last chance to spare her life by renouncing her consecration to Christ.

However, Agnes refused, made a short prayer, and courageously submitted to death.

St. Agnes, who died in 304, was venerated as a holy martyr from the fourth century onward.

She is mentioned in the Latin Church's most traditional Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Four artistic references in Squid Game (2021). 🦑

📹 thefilmzone / Instagram

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Just wait for it! The way they play with each other is too cute. 🌭💃🔊

[thepastisalreadywritten]

🛌💤🔍

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 20)

Sebastian was the son of a wealthy Roman family.

He was educated in Milan. He became an officer of the Imperial Roman Army and Captain of the Guard.

He was a favorite of Emperor Diocletian. During Diocletian's persecution of the Christians, Sebastian visited them in prison, bringing both supplies and comfort.

He is reported to have healed the wife of a fellow soldier by making the sign of the cross over her.

During his time in the army, he converted many soldiers and a governor.

Charged as a Christian in 288 in Rome, Sebastian was tied to a tree, shot with arrows, and left for dead.

However, he survived, recovered, and returned to preach to Diocletian, where the emperor then had him beaten to death.

He is venerated in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church as the patron saint of athletics, archery and plagues.

He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and shot with arrows.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

BORN ON THIS DAY

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones; 20 January 1965), is a member of the British royal family.

She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

🐶🎶🔊

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Timelapse of the moon rising behind Taipei 101. Shot from 4.85 km away with a 500 mm lens. 🌚

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Shrimps and prawns are not the same. This is a simple list of aspects that differentiate them. 🦐

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 19)

Saint Canutus, King of Denmark,  succeeded his elder brother Harold on the throne of Denmark in the year 1080.

He began his reign by a successful war against the enemies of the state and by planting the faith in the conquered provinces.

Amid the glory of his victories, he humbly prostrated himself at the foot of the crucifix, laying there his diadem, and offering himself and his kingdom to the King of kings.

After having provided for the peace and safety of his country, he married Eltha, daughter of Robert, Earl of Flanders, who proved herself a spouse worthy of him.

The justice of Saint Canutus as sovereign was well known. He applied himself to the reform of all internal abuses.

For this purpose, he enacted severe but necessary laws for the strict administration of justice, the repression of violence and tyranny by the powerful, without respect to persons.

He favored and honored holy men, and granted many privileges and immunities to the clergy.

His charity and tenderness towards his subjects made him study all possible ways to make them a happy people.

During a rebellion in his kingdom, the king was surprised at church by the rebels. He confessed his sins and received Holy Communion.

Stretching out his arms before the altar, he was struck down on his knees by the enemies of his Christian reign on 10 July 1086.

He was the first Danish king to be canonized. He was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as patron saint of Denmark in 1101.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

7 Ecumenical Councils and the heresies they fought. ➕

[thepastisalreadywritten]

💛🤞💛

[thepastisalreadywritten]

🤍🌤️🤍

[thepastisalreadywritten]

HAHA! 👶🔊🐶

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (January 18)

Saint Charles was born John Charles Marchioni on 19 October 1613 in Sezze, Italy. He was an Italian professed religious from the Order of Friars Minor.

His family was extremely pious. They lived in a rural area, and as a child, Charles worked as a shepherd. 

Due to his lack of education, it is said he learned only the basics and could barely read and write.

He joined the Franciscans as a lay brother in Naziano, where he served as a cook, porter and gardener.

Charles was known for his holiness, simplicity, and charity. 

He was generous to travelers and sought out spiritual advice. In 1656, he worked tirelessly with victims of the plague. 

He also wrote several mystical works including his autobiography titled "The Grandeurs of the Mercies of God."

Tradition states he was called to the bedside of the dying Pope Clement IX for a blessing.

Charles told the Pope that they would meet again on January 6.

Charles died on 6 January 1670 in Rome of natural causes, fulfilling his promise to meet Pope Clement IX.

He is buried in the Church of Saint Francis in Rome.

He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 22 January 1882. He was canonized by Pope John XXIII on 12 April 1959.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Iraqi museum discovers missing lines from the 'Epic of Gilgamesh'

It's not unusual for fantasy epics to endure for years. (Right, Game of Thrones fans?)

But even George R.R. Martin would be shocked to learn about century-and-a-half wait for a new chapter of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world's oldest written stories. 

The Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq has discovered 20 new lines to the ancient Babylonian poem, writes Ted Mills for Open Culture. 

The Epic of Gilgamesh, which dates back to 18th Century BC, was pieced together from fragments that tell the story of a Sumerian king who travels with a wild companion named Enkidu.

As Mills explains, scholars were well aware that new fragments of the poem could possibly turn up — modern readers are most familiar with a version discovered in Nineveh in 1853 and during the war in Iraq, as looters pillaged ancient sites.

The Sulaymaniah Museum acquired the tablet in 2011, as part of a collection purchased from a smuggler, according to Osama S.M. Amin at Ancient History Et Cetera.

"The collection was composed of 80-90 tablets of different shapes, contents and sizes.

All of the tablets were, to some degree, still covered with mud. Some were completely intact, while others were fragmented.

The precise location of their excavation is unknown, but it is likely that they were illegally unearthed from what is known today as the southern part of the Babel (Babylon) or Governorate, Iraq (Mesopotamia)."

The tablet is three fragments joined together, dating back nearly 3,000 years to the Neo-Babylonian period.

An analysis by the University of London's Farouk Al-Rawi reveals more details from the poem's fifth chapter, according to Amin.

The new lines include descriptions of a journey into the "Cedar Forest," where Gilgamesh and Enkidu encounter monkeys, birds and insects, then kill a forest demigod named Humbaba.

In a paper for the American Schools of Oriental Research, Al-Rawi describes the significance of these details:

The previously available text made it clear that [Gilgamesh] and Enkidu knew, even before they killed Humbaba, that what they were doing would anger the cosmic forces that governed the world, chiefly the god Enlil.

Their reaction after the event is now tinged with a hint of guilty conscience, when Enkidu remarks ruefully that … "we have reduced the forest [to] a wasteland."

The museum's discovery casts new light on Humbaba, in particular, who had been depicted as a "barbarian ogre" in other tablets. 

As Mills writes:

"Just like a good director’s cut, these extra scenes clear up some muddy character motivation and add an environmental moral to the tale."

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Oldest Baby Grave

A 6,000 year-old baby with teeth was found cradled in mother's arm in Netherlands grave.

Archaeologists said it was the oldest baby grave ever found in the Netherlands.

The grave, uncovered at a site in Nieuwegein in the province of Utrecht, dates back to the Stone Age.

Scientists noticed that the right arm of the approximately 30-year-old woman's skeleton was bent at a strange angle.

It was crooked instead of straight — the usual posture of other skeletons at the site.

Closer inspection showed bone fragments of an infant by her arm and revealed that the woman was buried cradling a baby.