The Twelve Days of Christmas

I'm taking a few days off after Christmas and my regular prayer posts will resume on Monday, December 31.  

Here are the first two installments of posts for the Twelve Days of Christmas which begin on Christmas Day.  (This series has nothing to do with partridges in pear trees!)   Yesterday, December 25, was a little busy and I didn't get to posting this first installment on time; the second follows below.

The First of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 25



The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.

On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus. Today's is the work of Canadian sculptor, Timothy P. Schmaltz and it is titled, simply, Warmth.

The folds of Mary's garment make a shelter in which she and her child huddle. Prayer is like that: a shelter for huddling with the Lord...

It's not difficult to imagine Mary cuddling her son just as imaged here. What a gift to be able share the warmth of one's body with the one whose heart would burn with love for all his brothers and sisters.  And of course, as Christ's sisters and brothers, we know Mary as our Mother and pray for a place within that loving and protecting mantle.

The Christmas season is a good time to remember how God, like a mother, holds each of us to the breast, warming and shaping us to the contours of those divine arms that treasure and hold us safe in love...



The Second of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 26



The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.

Although St. Joseph quietly fades from the gospel narrative by the end of Luke's second chapter, we know that he was present through Jesus' 12th year (Luke 2:41-52)

We might ponder how Joseph experienced those early years in Jesus' life.  Timothy P. Schultz is a contemporary Canadian sculptor, a father himself. Perhaps that's why his art so often puts Jesus in Joseph's embrace. Timothy's work above, A Quiet Moment, portrays Joseph's larger-than-life love for his wife and foster son...

Joseph, you were called to a great love and a deep trust
in God's plan for your and your wife, Mary.

You responded with a love greater than most can imagine,
a trust deeper than most can dream.

Teach us, Joseph, to love even when we do not understand,
to trust when we do not see the purpose.

Stretch our hearts to a larger-than-life love,
enfolding of all the gifts God gives us...

Twelve Days 2012

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The seventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Icon of the Wedding Feast at Cana

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For previous entries, click here. Twelve Days 2012

The Seventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 31
  
When did Mary begin to recognize and understand who her son was? We picture Mary with Jesus in her arms but how did she relate to Jesus the teenager, Jesus the young man, Jesus the adult? When did she begin to understand the angel's message of who her son would be?  When did she begin to see where Jesus' preaching would lead him? How did Mary come to understand that she was the Mother of the Son of God? 

Perhaps she began to see more clearly the relationship she shared with Jesus at the wedding feast at Cana. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." (And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."

Mother Mary,
Why did you bring the problem with the wine to Jesus?
What did you expect him to do?
What had you already seen and heard from him
   that led you to trust that he would help?

When he told you his hour had not yet come,
   did you know the hour of which he spoke?
Did you know the suffering that would be his?
Did you know the suffering that would be yours
   when his hour came?

So simply and confidently you told the servers,
"Do whatever he tells you."
Help me to have that same simple confidence in him
   and in his love for me.
Teach me to trust in him as you did...

As you told your son they'd run out of wine,
   will you tell him when I run out of joy?
      of trust?  of faith?  of hope? 
Help me to trust that he will supply
   whatever I truly need.

You told the servants to do whatever he asked of them.
Help me do willingly whatever he asks of me,
   trusting in his grace and help...

He turned the water into wine!
Will you ask him to make a good choice wine
    of the waters of my daily life?

Mary, Mother of Jesus and of us all,
intercede for us with your Son
in the everyday Cana of our lives...

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us...


Twelve Days 2012
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The sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas

This beautiful icon was written by Aidan Hart.  Seldom is the Holy Family imaged as it is here with Christ as a young man and Joseph "still in the picture."  (Be sure to click on the image to see a larger version.)

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For the previous entries, click here. Twelve Days 2012

The Sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 30

The Feast of the Holy Family falls on the Sunday in the Octave of Christmas, December 30. Here are the lyrics to a beautiful hymn for this celebration.    (Tune: Tallis' Canon)

Thomas Tallis - Tallis' Canon


All praise to you, our God this night,
For all the blessings of the Light.
Keep us, O keep us as we sing
Beneath the shadow of your wing.

We thank you, God, for family
In every way it comes to be.
In fam'ly life your love made flesh
Unfolds the myst'ry of the creche.

With Mary, true to her deep call,
With Joseph, guardian of us all,
With Jesus, brothers, sisters we
Are drawn to you as family.

Praise God who gives each blessing birth,
Praise Jesus Christ of heav'n and earth,
Praise Spirit making new and free,
Praise to the Holy Trinity.

- Ellen Oak (2008)


Twelve Days 2012

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The third of the Twelve Days of Christmas

 The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For the previous day's entries, click here.

The Third of the Twelve Days of Christmas: December 27

As a man, with no children of my own, I can only hope and imagine that mothers have moments in their hearts when they feel what Mary is imaged to be experiencing in the sculpture above by Timothy P. Schmaltz which he titles, Maternal Bond.

O Mary,
Mother of our brother, Jesus,
and Mother of us all,
you were one with your child
in your arms
as you were one with your child
in your womb...

As you knew the wonder and joy
of holding the fruit of your womb
in your embrace,
lead us to know the joy and wonder
of being held in the arms
of the One who filled yours...

Renew in us a spirit of awe
that our God has chosen
to live among us,
as One like us in all things
but sin.

In these days of Christmas joy,
hold us, your sons and daughters,
with our brother, Jesus,
in the bond we share with you,
the mother of Christ's body,
the Church...



Twelve Days 2012
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The twelfth of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Adoration of the Magi by Andrea Mantegna

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For previous entries, click here. 
 Twelve Days 2012
 
The Twelfth of the Twelve Days of Christmas: January 5
 
It's all in the eyes!

(Click on the image for a larger version!) 

The magi offer the Christ Child their gifts, but they still gaze up and off into the distance. Perhaps they're still inquiring of the star: "Is he the One to whom you've drawn us?"

What do you read in the faces of the magi?

And Joseph... Joseph keeps his eye on these wealthy visitors... "How came they knocking on my door?" he must be wondering. 'The gifts are extravagant! What do these strangers want? What do my wife and the child need from me in this moment?"

Not surprisingly, Mother Mary simply keeps her eye on the child of her womb. Might she see in this unexpected visit an inkling of the unexpected twists and turns her son's life will take? But see, too, how she offers the child, holding him forth, already aware that she will, in the end, need to give him away to all who come looking for him...

The Infant's eyes and visage tell us clearly that he has no need of these fine offerings... He wants something from each of us but what he desires doesn't come in a coffer or vase... What he desires comes only in our hearts...

Child of Mary's womb,
apple of Joseph's eye,
welcome us when we come to you:
to visit, to pray,
just to draw near...

Set our gaze on only that star
whose light leads us
along the path of your truth...

Teach us to make of our hearts
the finest gift we have to offer
to you and to others...

When we wonder if we have found you
- or lost you,
deepen our faith
in your faithful pursuit
of us, our lives and our love...

Shine, appear and reveal
the beauty of your face to us
that we might never fail to see you
in all we meet and know...

Guide us, Jesus, by your perfect light...


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The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Maria Lactans by Leonardo da Vinci

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For previous entries, click here. 
 Twelve Days 2012
The Ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas: January 2

This fine essay speaks to an image of Mary we seldom see in contemporary art: Maria lactans (Mary nursing). Earlier artists were less reluctant to paint and sculpt the Madonna and Child in this way. Here's an exploration of this theme through the centuries.
 
As we contemplate Mary and her newborn son, the image of him nursing at her breast offers us an intimate epiphany of Mary as the Mother of God.

These words from St. Ephrem's hymn on the Nativity delight in this natural and maternal nourishment:

Mary bore a mute Babe
though in him were hidden all our tongues.

Joseph carried him,
yet hidden in him was a silent nature older than everything.

The Lofty One became like a little child,
yet hidden in him was a treasure of Wisdom 
that suffices for all.

He was lofty
but he sucked Mary's milk,
and from his blessings all creation sucks.

He is the Living Breast of living breath;
by his life the dead were suckled, and they revived.

Without the breath of air no one can live;
without the power of the Son no one can rise.

Upon the living breath of the One who vivifies all
depend the living beings above and below.

As indeed he sucked Mary's milk,
he has given suck -- life to the universe.

As again he dwelt in his mother's womb,
in his womb dwells all creation.

Mute he was as a babe,
yet he gave to all creation all his commands.

For without the First-Born 
no one is able to approach Being,
for he alone is capable of it.





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The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Holy Family by Timothy Schmalz

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For previous entries, click here. 
 Twelve Days 2012
The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas: January 4

The Schmalz studio gives us this beautiful image of the Holy Family. Every family faces the question of how to bond into a unity that nourishes and supports each of the its members and the family as a whole at the same time.

I have no doubt that the Holy Family had to face the same question. How did Mary come to understand how God had touched her life and at the same time grow close to Joseph, her husband? How did Joseph learn to accept his foster-son, Jesus, as his own? How did Jesus find ways to love his family while at the same time growing in the knowledge that he had to "be about his Father's business?"

None of these dynamics would have been easy or simple - all required surrender to God and others - and the sacrifice of one's own needs and understanding and desires...

Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
teach us in our families and in the Church
to respect one another
and to accept the many different ways
God shapes our lives and calls us to serve... 

Bind us together as one,
especially in the things that make us different.. 

Keep us as one
as we grow in your love and in love of one another... 

Give us the patience we need
to grow as a family
and to grow as a parish family 
in the life of the Church... 

Draw us together,
knit us as one,
especially when we are tempted
to stand apart from each other...

Let our desire to be faithful to you
be the fidelity that keeps us together...

Amen.


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12 Days of Night Prayer for Christmas - 7

 

When do the Twelve Days of Christmas begin?   On Christmas Day itself - leading us to TWELFTH NIGHT, the eve of Epiphany, January 6.  Through these dozen days, Night Prayer will focus each evening on one of the many gifts the Christmas season brings us.  Tonight: the gift of a new year...  No partridges in pear trees here - but you can sing my 12 days to the familiar tune!

 

On the seventh day of Christmas,

the good Lord gave to me:

    A New Year beginning,

    Hope for tomorrow,

    - Friends as good as gold -

    Faith in God above,

    Angels sent from heaven,

    Shepherds keeping watch

    And a Child born in Bethlehem town!

 

It's the eve of 2023, Lord,

and I want to thank you for the gift of a new year

   -  but what's a new year to you?

You're timeless, you're eternal,

    you're the One who always was, 

        who is and always will be...

You don't live by a calendar, schedule or day planner:

    no clocks tick in heaven where it's always day

        - the day you made -

    where there is no night - but only light -

        a light no darkness can extinguish...

Marking time in days and weeks, 

    in months and years and centuries -

that's our naive attempt, Lord, 

    to grasp what's far beyond our reach:

the timeless You who came in time

    to draw us to eternity...

 

I'm completing the 365 days of 2022

    and a new count starts tomorrow

but for you, Lord, 

    all is always, ever now...

 

Though you guide each step I take

    and you know my every thought

you neither grieve the year now past

    nor anticipate the new one

for in you is only now

    and in you is only peace...

Save me then, O Lord, 

    from drowning in my past

and keep me mindful, in the moment,

    lest the future's draw beguile me

and turn my heart and mind

    from the day that you have made,

    the day that's now at hand,

    the only day I have,

the day when you invite me,

    in silence, grace and prayer,

to meet your timeless presence

    dwelling deep within my soul...

 

Not at midnight, Lord, but now,

not tomorrow, Lord, but now,

not next year, O Lord, but now:

    you meet me where I am,

    you meet me as I am,

    you meet me in the moment,

    in this moment, only now

and draw me into you,

into your heart, into your peace,

into your timelessness already 

    abiding in my heart...

 

Not at midnight, Lord, but now,

not tomorrow, Lord, but now,

not next year, O Lord, but now:

    you are present, you are here,

    all around me and within me,

    above me and below me,

    before me and behind me...

 

Make me mindful of your presence,

    this night and at this hour,

and in every single moment

    of the life I live in you...

Protect me, Lord, while I'm awake

and watch over me while I sleep

that awake, I might keep watch with you

and asleep, rest in your peace...

 

Amen.

AULD Lang Syne (with) NEW Added Lyrics  

    by Robert Burns  and Anna Gilbert 

        performed by Peter Hollens

 

If a widget doesn't appear below, click here!

 

 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind; 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne*

 

Looking back on all the years gone by:

How I loved 

How I’ve lost 

When I cried 

The memories in my heart I will carry with the scars 

As my light 

For my journey on 

 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind; 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne

 

When I picture what the world could be:

We are kind 

We are one 

We are free 

There’s no hatred in our hearts 

And no one to tear apart 

All the joy 

For our journey on 

 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind; 

Should old acquaintance be forgot, in the days of auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

We'll take a cup of kindness, dear, for the days of auld lang syne

 

Let’s live in love and kindness dear 

In the days of auld lang syne

* Translated literally, Auld Lang Syne  means old long since, or more figuratively, old times or back in the day.

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The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas

Father by Timothy Schmalz

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and end on January 5, the day before the traditional date for Epiphany.  On these 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany, we'll look at some images of Mary and Joseph and Jesus.  For previous entries, click here. 
 Twelve Days 2012
The Tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas:  Thursday, January 3

Here's yet another fine sculpture from the studio of Timothy Schmalz. Simply titled, Father, there's an exchange of glances here that is telling - but what does it tell?


Joseph is looking quite serious.  Is he worried? mystified? confused?

The Child Jesus seems more content, understanding, at peace...

We know very little of the relationship shared by Jesus and Joseph. Did Jesus grow up as Joseph's apprentice? What ordinary, human father-and-son dynamics marked their relationship? What did Joseph make of his son who left the workbench to become an itinerant preacher?

Only Mary and Jesus shared a relationship more rare than the one shared by the Lord and his foster father...

Joseph,
we wonder and marvel at your love and care for Mary
and for her son, Jesus...

Our prayer leads our imagination
to see you teaching Jesus how to use
the simplest tools of your trade...

How proud you must have been
of what he crafted with his own hands,
standing by your side...

Certainly your heart ached
to give him that blessing that only a father
can give to his son;
but Jesus was yours, and not yours
and another's blessing was already upon him...

But in turn, Jesus had a blessing for you
in return for your trust in his Father,
your fidelity to Mary,
your care for your holy family...

Joseph, bless all fathers in this holy season
and bless the gifts that are theirs to share
with their sons...

Help fathers and sons to live and grow in peace,
the peace you shared with Jesus,
the peace he shared with you... 

As the gift of a father's blessing
is so important for a son,
so give all fathers your blessing
and strengthen them in God's love...

Joseph, mysterious man of faith,
foster father of Jesus, hidden from our view,
be at our side as you were with Jesus
and with his Mother
and bless the work that's ours
in the new year ahead...

Amen.

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