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Merry Third Day of Christmas (Feast of St. John the Apostle)

Vouthon

Dominus Deus tuus ignis consumens est
Staff member
Premium Member
:christmastree: Merry Christmas!!!
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:christmastree:

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On the third day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree.


Today is the 3rd celebratory day of the Octave* of Christmas and the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist.

(*An Octave is a period of eight days in which a feast of the Church is celebrated for that whole period as though it were all the same day. e.g. some of the prayers and antiphons this morning at Mass say, “Today is born our saviour, Christ the Lord.” Christmas Day is the first day in the eight-day celebration of the Octave of Christmas.)

For any secular celebrants who may be reading this - to you guys, I continue to wish you "Happy Holidays" and hope you're now exercising away the Christmas dinner and yule-log by this point (I've certainly got back to weight-lifting and jogging myself!) to fight the flab in preparation for New Years Eve ;)

Christmastide as a whole lasts until Twelfth Night (5th January) on the feast of the Epiphany, when decorations and the tree are traditionally taken down.

Legend has it that the carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written between 1558 and 1829 as a catechism song for young Catholics who were forbidden to practice their faith. Each number signifies a teaching of our Faith.

The three hens represent: the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that the infant Jesus received from the Magi; the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity, which can be given by God alone; the three persons of the Blessed Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and also the three days Christ spent in the tomb.


Why St. John the Evangelist is celebrated during Christmas


First of all, some commentators have pointed out St. John’s emphasis on the divinity of Christ in his Gospel as being an apt reason for celebrating him in the Christmas octave.

The St. Andrew Daily Missal makes this point in its description of the feast.



It is God whom we adore at Bethlehem during Christmas time. Thus it was natural that St. John, the chief evangelist of the divinity of Christ, should be found beside the crib, to disclose the greatness of the Infant who reposes therein.
Dom Prosper Gueranger makes a different point in his Liturgical Year, explaining how St. John is honored for his example of virginal love.


Nearest to Jesus’ Crib after Stephen, stands John the Apostle and Evangelist. It was only right that the first place should be assigned to him, who so loved his God that he shed his blood in his service…But next to the sacrifice of Blood, the noblest the bravest and which most wins the heart of Him, who is the Spouse of souls, is the sacrifice of Virginity.

Now just as St. Stephen is looked upon as the type of Martyrs, St. John is honored as the Prince of Virgins. Martyrdom won for Stephen the Crown and palm, Virginity merited for John most singular prerogatives which, while they show how dear to God is holy Chastity, put this Disciple among those who by their dignity and influence are above the rest of men.
While we ponder the mysteries of Christmas, we are already looking forward to Jesus’ supreme act of salvation, his sacrifice on the cross.



THE COLLECT

MERCIFUL Lord, we beseech thee to cast thy bright beams of light upon thy Church, that it being enlightened by the doctrine of thy blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John may so walk in the light of thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
Thanks for this, quite interesting, I'll have a different take on the 'Twelve Days of Christmas'.

While we ponder the mysteries of Christmas, we are already looking forward to Jesus’ supreme act of salvation, his sacrifice on the cross.

Yes, both Advent and Christmas are in the shadow of the Cross.
 
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