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Epiphany 2025
And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11 Since January 6th fell on a Monday this year, The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord was celebrated in the Catholic church yesterday on January 5th. As I told my friends yesterday, I’m kind of a purist for this season and dislike it when the Church moves these feasts out of (what I see) is convenience. This year, however, the timing of this feast observance was perfect had been a tough weekend for our family. My father-in-law, Bill, passed away on December 17th. We attended his wake and funeral Mass this past Friday and Saturday. The days were a mixture of sadness and beautiful recollections of memories shared by other family members and friends. Coming from those solemn couple of days into Mass this morning, it was refreshing to sing hymns of light and joy. They included We Three Kings of Orient Are along with What Child is This, The First Nowell and Joy to the World. Shout out to the pianist, Spencer, for that terrific list. January 6 marks The Epiphany, also known as the “Holy Light of the Manifestations.” The Epiphany recalls the visit of the Magi, the three wise men, to the Christ Child in Bethlehem. It is also about the revelation of the Jesus Christ to everyone who is in darkness. This day is a reminder that anyone can choose to follow the light of Christ, to follow in his ways and share His love with those around them. The Epiphany celebration was originally observed in the Eastern Church in 361 AD. It began as a commemoration of the birth of Christ with other events added later. These include the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana (transubstantiation of water into wine). I am not quite ready to close the Christmas season this year. Many years I am ready to...
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Merry 12th Day of Christmas
Merry 12th Day of Christmas As we close out these Merry 12 Days of Christmas, my thoughts turn to some of the Christmas celebrations of years gone by. I recall the gatherings of my young childhood when we would attend Christmas Eve Mass at Sacred Heart Mission followed by dinner at our Italian Nana’s house, in Hometown. Nana’s house was decorated so beautifully, with her nativity scene set up in the front bay window. The table would be set with so much food; we would raise a toast with small glasses of anisette. Dessert always included Nana’s wonderful pizzelle cookies. Gifts would be exchanged. Some of the family would go to midnight Mass at Our Lady of Loretto. At the end of the evening, Mom and Dad would load all six of us kids into the Volkswagen van. On the way home Dad would drive by homes in Hometown and Oak Lawn with all of their pretty festive lights and decorations. Of course, it was always freezing! On Christmas Day, my parents would host a celebration at their home in the Morgan Park neighborhood. My Grandma Lucille and other extended family would come. The preceding weeks were full of all the pre-holiday cleaning and baking. Mom would ask us 100 times if we cleaned this or that while we kids would grumble about having to clean this and that! The baking was always fun with fudge along with green and red oatmeal cookies being my favorite. The living room and dining rooms were beautifully decorated. We kids got to decorate the basement with an older tree and cast-off decor from years gone by. We did not light the tree lights until Christmas Eve. As the years passed, my siblings and I grew up and had our own families. New traditions were started with the families of our spouses. With each year that passes more changes have occured: loved ones left us for heaven; other family members moved away; and relationships changed. The memories of my childhood are still there but the new ones created with each new year get spun into a blanket of sorts that is never quite finished. Through it all a constant remains, and that constant is love. The love of family and friends. The love of traditions old...
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Merry 11th Day of Christmas
Merry 11th Day of Christmas Eleven pipers piping. Making music. This brings to mind another favorite hymn. This one is Here I Am, Lord. The opening lines always grab hold of me when we sing this hymn. Here I am, Lord Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night I will go, Lord If You lead me I will hold Your people in my heart How often do I say that, offer that...
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Merry 10th Day of Christmas
Merry 10th Day of Christmas Psalm 98 is used in today’s readings. Whenever I read these verses, I think of the joy-filled hymn, Sing a New Song. The refrain and first verse are my favorites: Sing a new song unto the Lord let your song be sung from mountains high Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing alleluia. Yahweh’s people dance for joy. O come before the Lord. And play for him on glad tambourines, and...
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Merry 9th Day of Christmas
Merry 9th Day of Christmas The other day I heard the old Alabama song from 1993 called Angels Among Us.. The lyrics got stuck in my head and I ended up adding the song to my music playlist. The words that make me think of all the angels in my life are these: I believe there are angels among us Sent down to us from somewhere up above They come to you and me in our darkest hours...
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Merry 8th Day of Christmas
Merry 8th Day of Christmas A New Years Day tradition I had with my mom was to attend 9:00am Mass at our church to observe the Solemnity of Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. My mom had a devotion to the Blessed Mother for as long as I could remember. Even though I went to Mass with my mom very often, it was always a special time for me to attend this particular Mass with her each year. This...
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Merry 7th Day of Christmas
Merry 7th Day of Christmas We are already a week into this Christmas season and time does not seem to slow down one bit. It makes me think of when I was a young girl and I would hear my Grandma Lucille talk about how time goes quicker and quicker – and I thought she was a bit nuts and old for believing that. Yet, here I am thinking the same thing. I love how pondering over...
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Merry 6th Day of Christmas
Merry 6th Day of Christmas! This ended up being a very busy day and I nearly missed getting together a post for this Merry 6th Day of Christmas! Our family is preparing for the funeral services of my father-in-law which will be held in the new year. We have been looking through photos, preparing readings and songs, and wading through so many memories of him and all of our other loved ones who have gone to heaven. This...
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Merry 5th Day of Christmas
Merry 5th Day of Christmas This is the time in the Christmas season when I hear many are packing up their Christmas trees and decor. It is only the fifth day of Christmas and there is still a lot to celebrate! Why Five Golden rings on the Fifth Day of Christmas? Five Golden Rings are symbolic of the Pentateuch, the first five Books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. Feast of the...
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Merry 4th Day of Christmas
Merry 4th Day of Christmas! This is one of those days that is a mixture of Christmas joy along with reflection on something terrible and destructive. The mixture of the feelings of both joy and terror happening at the same time can be confusing! Why four Calling Birds on the Fourth Day of Christmas? Four Calling Birds represent the four Gospels and Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Feast of the Holy Innocents I think one of...
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Merry 3rd Day of Christmas
Merry 3rd Day of Christmas! When I look at the different Nativity sets I have I think about the Blessed Mother with Joseph as they welcomed the baby Jesus into this world. I think of Mary as she held her new baby knowing he was a precious gift from God given to save all of us. Amazing! The Blessed Mother had an inspiring faith in receiving the gift of Baby Jesus! It makes me consider: how can I...
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Merry 2nd Day of Christmas
Merry 2nd Day of Christmas! Our family tradition – carried on from my mom – is to not put the tree or decor up until about a week before. No lights are lit until Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we begin the 12 Days of Christmas. We leave everything up to be enjoyed through Epiphany on January 6th. I often leave our decorations up until the end of January With the darkness of this time of year, I...
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Merry 1st Day of Christmas!
Merry 1st Day of Christmas! I have enjoyed sharing the meaning of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” for over a dozen years. It is one of my favorite carols and, like my mom, I have observed the 12 days of Christmas for as long as I can remember. I enjoy the tradition! This year we ended up not finishing our decorating until a few days ago. It has been a rough few months as we have the experienced...
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Epiphany 2024 Observed
Epiphany Observed – Sun. Jan. 7, 2024 I rather like the years when the Christmas season is extended a bit because of how the dates fall. This year, Epiphany was observed by the Catholic churches in our area today, Sunday, January 7, 2024, rather than on January 6th. The image today is a photo I took today at my church, Sacred Heart Mission. For most of the Christmas season, the Wisemen were a bit off to the side...
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Epiphany 2024
Epiphany – Sat. Jan. 6, 2024 And suddenly the star they had seen rising went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11 Holy Light of the Manifestations Today, January...
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Twelve Drummers Drumming
Merry 12th Day of Christmas – Fri. Jan 5, 2024 Today’s meaning for the 12th Day of Christmas reminded me again of my days as a catechist for seventh and eighth graders preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation. On the first day of class, I often did a study of the Apostles’ Creed with the students. Most times, the children did not realize it is basically summary of our Catholic faith in twelve points. Those were some fantastic...
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Eleven Pipers Piping
Merry 11th Day of Christmas – Thurs. Jan. 4, 2024 My mom and dad, when they chose to have each of my 5 siblings and me baptized as infants, promised to raise us in the Catholic faith. While my parents did not always agree with everything happening in the Church, I know they did their best to live their lives as a good faith example to their children. Of course, they were not perfect. None of us are...
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Ten Lords a-Leaping
Merry 10th Day of Christmas – Wed. Jan. 3, 2024 See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. (1John 3:1) This verse is from today’s first reading. On a good day it is easy to appreciate that I am a child of God. On a bad day, it is certainly more difficult – especially when dealing with frustrating situations or difficult people. As a child of God, and follower...
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Nine Ladies Dancing
Merry 9th Day of Christmas For many years, my mom gave me and my sisters a subscription to a magazine called Angels on Earth. It is a sweet little periodical that comes out 6 times a year and is filled with stories of everyday people and how their lives have been impacted by angels – either in the form of other people or some kind of angelic or spiritual presence. I still subscribe to this magazine...
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Eight Maids a-Milking
Merry 8th Day of Christmas – Mon. Jan. 1, 2024 Today the Solemnity of Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God is observed in the Catholic Church. This particular feast day is one which I always attended Mass with my mother. It was kind of our thing! The Entrance hymn was Hail Mary, Gentle Woman. This was a personal favorite of my mother’s. We sang it together often through the years. I sang it to her in...
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Seven Swans a-Swimming
Merry 7th Day of Christmas – Sun. Dec. 31, 2023 Time has moved swiftly this past week. Here we are on New Year’s Eve! Many of my friends have packed up their Christmas decorations already – some the day after Christmas! I am glad to continue to enjoy our Christmas tree, nativity and other décor of the season – especially the lights on these long, dark winter nights! Why Seven Swans a-swimming on the 7th Day of Christmas?...
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Six Geese a-Laying
Merry Sixth Day of Christmas! The beauty of God’s creation is amazing and yet I find I often take it for granted. Even in these short days of winter there is beauty to be found if one looks closely. Outside in the morning, I see squirrels at work stashing food for the season; birds hanging out under the awnings chirping their songs (and driving my cats nuts!), and the beautiful Christmas decorations reminding me yet again it is...
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Five Golden Rings
Merry Fifth Day of Christmas! Why Five Golden rings on the Fifth Day of Christmas? Five Golden Rings are symbolic of the Pentateuch, the first five Books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. On the occasions when I hear the “12 Days of Christmas” song playing, as soon as it gets to the line of “five golden rings”, I can hear my dad’s voice ring out. That part of the song always reminds me...
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Four Calling Birds
Merry Fourth Day of Christmas! Why 4 Calling Birds on the Fourth Day of Christmas? Four Calling Birds represent the four Gospels and Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Today is also the Feast of the Holy Innocents This feast day has always made me cringe as I think about how King Herod ordered all baby boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas who were aged two years or less killed. He was so fearful when he learned...
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Three French Hens
Merry Third Day of Christmas! Morning coffee by the light of the Christmas tree is so lovely! The quiet of this time gives me an opportunity to reflect on this beautiful Season. Why Three French Hens on the third day of Christmas? The three hens represent the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. These were given from God and poured into our hearts. The three hens are also symbolic of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and...
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Two Turtle Doves
Merry Second Day of Christmas! Even as some are taking down the Christmas tree and other decorations, I will continue to celebrate the season! Why Two Turtle Doves on the second day of Christmas? The two turtle doves represent the two parts of the Bible: Old Testament and New Testament. Two more ideas for the second day of Christmas Sometimes the day after Christmas can feel like a let down. The preparation for The Big Day is done. ...
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A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Merry First Day of Christmas! Since 2012, I have shared the meaning of each of the days from the beloved carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” This remains one of my favorite carols. I love the symbolism in the carol….and I simply love the actual twelve days of Christmas. My mom always celebrated the 12 days and I enjoy carrying on that tradition. I have always held off decorating for Christmas until the first week of December. This...
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Friday Dance & Stretch
Today’s workout is 6 dance/walk videos followed by a short stretch. The walking part of workout is approximately 26 minutes of dance/walk videos followed by 5 minute post-workout stretch. This is the fifth in a series of 7 playlists that will include dance/walk and stretching/yoga videos. My Friday Playlist is approximately 31 minutes long: The dance/walk selections today are from REFITREV and Dance Faith Fitness. The closing video is from FitnessBlender. You can find the playlist on my...