If we’re focused on what we can get out of God and not what we can give to Him, then our worship is selfish. Christ is faithful, but when we expect something in return we put Him in a box. Shifting our focus on what we can give Him frees us to receive His love the way He wants to give it.
The Magi did exactly that, and to Christ the true present was their presence.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Twelve drummers drumming.
A few years ago I got to attend a drum line competition for one of my teens. I’d say it was pretty much like twelve drummers drumming. Actually, I had no idea that a percussion only band could sound like that. It was pretty cool. Today we come to the end of the song and the end of the Christmas season.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Eleven pipers piping.
Have you ever heard bagpipes? They have a distinct and loud sound. When in I was in high school, a family friend was visiting. She was an accomplished musician who played many instruments, including the bagpipe. For whatever reason that afternoon, she actually played the bagpipe in the house. It was so loud. It became my and my brother’s instant opinion that bagpipes are made for outside spaces or very, very large indoor spaces—never inside the house!
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Ten Lords-a-leaping.
The dancing continues today with the lords getting involved. For a better context of lord, think Lord and Lady, Duke and Duchess, Prince and Princess, etc. The United Kingdom has a “House of Lords,” which is part of the Parliament. Of course, I doubt they are physically leaping . . . or playing leap frog, for that matter.
So, let’s just jump (or leap) right in to what the ten leaping lords can represent.
Day 9 On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . Nine ladies dancing. Adding to the good food from yesterday, we now have dancing. Don’t these dancers evoke images of the great Christmas ballet, the Nutcracker? Not only are there at least nine ballerinas dancing, there are mice and nutcrackers and swords and more dancing. Can’t you hear Tchaikovsky’s music of the Sugar Plum fairies? Whether you like ballet or any kind of dancing, you will like what these nine dancers can represent. We talked earlier about the Gifts of the Holy Spirit [...]
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Eight maids-a-milking.
Today we begin the celebration phase of the song; we have had the perfect number of birds. Now, we have a festive gathering. Let the celebration begin!
We start with food. Have you ever milked a cow? The closest I ever came was visiting a dairy farm as a child. I remember looking at cows and the distinct, unpleasant smell. Moreover, I remember the end of these trips which always resulted in great ice cream. From milk comes a lot of great party food, including nacho cheese.
Whereas there are geese (day six) in my neighborhood, there are not swans. Never fear, though, there is a nearby lake whose owners brought in swans.
Or at least, there were swans. They were picked off and eaten one by one by a river otter who would hunt them from under the water. The swans had no chance of escape because their wings were clipped. The otter was eating a rather expensive supper because swans are not cheap.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Six geese-a-laying.
Today we have reached our half-way point of our 12 Days of Christmas. Are you still celebrating the birth of the Messiah or have you moved back in to your normal routines? Do you still have your nativity scene up, inching the magi closer to the stable each day as we get closer to Epiphany? Are you moving closer to Christ or away from Him?
The six geese-a-laying can represent the six days of creation.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Five golden rings.
When we get to day five in the song, the music slows down, and we take a break from birds to focus on something that most everyone finds valuable – gold. It would only make sense for a true love to give golden rings to his beloved. Actually, the five rings is where we see another variation on the lyrics. Sometimes it is golden rings and other times gold rings. Believe it or not, the gold rings actually stand for pheasants.
Actually, the lyric is colly birds. Yeah, four colly birds. Apparently there was something lost in translation from Europe to the United States, where we sing calling birds instead of colly birds.
What is a colly bird? I was hoping you’d ask.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . .
Three French hens.
French fries. French horns. French hens. Today, we have three of them.
Remember, each verse of the song can help us recall an aspect of our faith. We have a lot of options today as the number three is pretty popular in Church-talk; the number seven is, too, but we’ve got four days until we get to seven.
Yesterday we were able to thank the God for the gift of his only Son, the Word made Flesh. Today, we are reminded of the Word of God, the written tradition of the Church. The Old and New Testaments make up our story, our history of faith. Yes, they might be old, but they are still relevant today. Just as you may have heard some family story at Christmas dinner, the OT and NT is the family story of our Church.
We have four Nativity sets in my house: not out of overindulgence but out of sheer necessity. One set is for my five year old, who likes to take a more “interactive” approach to the Nativity, including putting Disney princesses and Barbies into the Biblical narrative. Last year when I asked why the baby Jesus was in Barbie’s convertible, she responded, “Barbie is baby-sitting, Daddy… the trip to Bethlehem left Mary and Joseph very tired.”
You may have a Nativity set beneath your Christmas tree or on a table inside your house. You almost certainly have one on display somewhere around your local Church…
Over the next 12 days, we’ll be taking a look at each verse of the 12 Days of Christmas song and see how it can relate to living out our Catholic faith.
Nicholas was known for his generosity. As tradition goes, he was so selfless that (although he, too, was poor) he helped his likewise poor neighbor support and pay for his daughters’ weddings. Nicholas snuck up to his neighbor’s house at night and dropped a handful of gold coins through the open window so that the eldest daughter could afford to get married. He would later repeat the generous act two more times. From there, the Santa legend grew into what we now know today – stockings, chimneys, a belly like jelly and all that good stuff.
Lately he had been having doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Was the bread and wine really transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus?
He said Mass at the Church of St. Christina. As Peter raised the Host and consecrated it blood started flowing out of it, onto his hands and the altar. God was telling him (and us) that yes, He is truly present in the host.
Peter was confused and tried to hide the blood.
Two monks got in a boat and rowed to the Church. When they saw that the water was halfway up the main doors they feared the worst. They pushed open the doors to the church and saw that the main aisle and the altar were completely free of water. The rest of the Church was filled with four feet of water, but the altar remained dry. The Blessed Sacrament was just as they had left it. They also saw that some papers, books and cloths which had been placed under the altar were dry.
Hey! Did you know? Around 750 AD., at a monastery called St. Longinus, a monastic priest was having doubts about the Lord’s presence in the Eucharist. One day, he was celebrating Mass and at the words of the consecration the host turned to flesh in appearance and the wine turned to blood. He quickly called the astonished congregation up to the altar to see for themselves.
I once had a very observant teen lean over (in the middle of Mass) and ask me, “Hey Mark, what does the “IHS” stand for on the gold box up there?”
The gold box he was referring to was the tabernacle, where the Blessed Sacrament (Jesus, fully present in the Eucharist) is reserved. While the middle of Mass wasn’t the best time to stop and give a lesson on Greek or Church history, I have to say I was proud of him for asking.
Most of us see things like I.H.S. all over our churches and sacred vessels, but don’t really stop to ask what it means.
I.H.S. stands for Incarnation High School … it’s the high school prep academy where Jesus went, just outside of Nazareth. Their mascot is the fightin’ footwashers …
The cheers exploded! There was singing and dancing. The outdoor arena was packed with 50,000 teens and the energy was tangible in the air because of their excitement. No, we weren’t at a Lady Gaga concert. We came for the greatest “Lady”—Our Lady, the Blessed Mother. It was the 22nd annual Medjugorje Youth Festival, and I was there to experience the pilgrimage of a lifetime!
