twelve days of christmas

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January 6, 2008

Epiphany is the Christian feast that celebrates the Incarnation and in particular the revelation to mankind that God took on human form. It is curious then that in the West we typically associate January 6th with the three wise men. It is true that these men from the East represent man's discovery of the Messiah, [...]

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The Twelfth Day of Christmas - Feast of St. John Neumann, Bishop

January 5, 2008

 In America it isn't easy being Catholic. Christmas always makes this particularly obvious as we're bombarded things we must buy, movies we must see and parties we must attend. Even the best in our culture would have us believe that the true meaning of Christmas is spending time with family. The belief in America as [...]

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The Eleventh Day of Christmas - Feast of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

January 4, 2008

Elizabeth Seton was born into the Bayley family in 1774, just two years before the American Revolution. She grew up in affluence among the socialites of New York City. Her mother was the daughter of an Episcopalian Rector and she died when Elizabeth was a youngster of three. Her father was a doctor and professor, [...]

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The Tenth Day of Christmas - The Holy Name of Jesus

January 3, 2008

In the New Testament, St. Paul writes that God the Father “bestowed on him (Christ Jesus) the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to [...]

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The Eighth Day of Christmas - Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

January 1, 2008

On December 31st we usher in the New Year with late night champagne, half-baked resolutions and epic movies. But in the midst of this activity the Church asks us to celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God; a feast day of epic proportions and fulfilled covenants, a dogma that sheds as much light [...]

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The Seventh Day of Christmas - The Feast of St. Sylvester, Pope

December 31, 2007

Pope St. Sylvester I was born in Rome to Rufinus and Justa in the late 200's. He was educated by a priest named Charitius or Carinus in literature and theology and was ordained a priest by Pope St. Marcellinus. He witnessed Constantine's triumph in 312 and upon the death of Pope St. Melchiades was elevated [...]

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The Sixth Day of Christmas - Feast of the Holy Family

December 30, 2007

The Feast of the Holy Family is dedicated to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, commemorating their life together in Nazareth and calling us to focus on Catholic family life. The feast is celebrated on the first Sunday after Christmas, unless Christmas falls on a Sunday, in which case it is celebrated on [...]

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The Fifth Day of Christmas - Feast of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

December 29, 2007

The Fifth Day of Christmas - the Feast of St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr. St. Thomas Becket is the OTHER St. Thomas, martyred for the Catholic Faith in England by a king named Henry over matters of Church governance. Thomas was born in London on the 21st of December in either 1117 or 1118 [...]

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The Fourth Day of Christmas - Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs

December 28, 2007

Herod was the king in Judea at the time Christ was born. He was an unpopular king, working as he did for the Romans, and his cruelty knew no bounds. He feared any threat to his power, and news of this newborn king troubled him. The wise men whom he had asked to report the [...]

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The Third Day of Christmas - St. John the Evangelist

December 27, 2007

St. John the Evangelist, frequently referred to as “the Beloved Disciple” in the Gospels, was one of the first disciples called by Christ and is considered the author of the Gospel of John, at least the first of the Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. He was also the only apostle not to [...]

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