On the Eighth Day of Christmas...

God does not command us to live in hair shirts and chains, or to

chastise our flesh with scourges, but to love Him above all things

and our neighbour as ourselves - St Charles of Sezze

Have you ever seen Angels We Have Heard on High played with four people using the same piano? Not only that but four people playing different parts of a grand piano at the same time? Neither had we until we saw this fantastic version by The Piano Guys. Enjoy!

 

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...

O Holy Mary! My Mother; into thy blessed trust and special custody,
and into the bosom of thy mercy, I this day, and every day, and in the
hour of my death, commend my soul and body - St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Yesterday we spent a bit of time reflecting on the year just gone and here we are at the start of a brand new year, a 365 day adventure, how exciting!

This year some milestones will be reached, some people may be celebrating their 16th or 18th birthdays and have massive decisions to make about college and university. You may go on holiday to a fantastic place, learn to drive, take up a new hobby or fine tune your skills in something you already do. Why not give yourself a challenge and try something new? You've got a fantastic year ahead of you, full of promise and opportunity and it is up to you to grab it with both hands.

Now here's a little task for you guys today, first of all go and find a year or tin somewhere that you can keep sealed. There's bound to be an empty sweetie tin or jar of sauce somewhere you can clean up after all of the Christmas festivities! Write 'Good Things 2014' on a label or a bit of paper it and stick it to the jar.

During the year make note of anything good that happens to you; achievements, surprises, moments that make you laugh or simply memories you want to keep safe. Put these notes into the jar and next New Year we will remind you to take a look inside and reflect on all of the blessings you've received during 2014.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas...

It should be our principal business to conquer ourselves and, from day

to day, to go on increasing in strength and perfection - St Francis De Sales

It's fair to say that most people use today to reflect on the year just gone; the things that we've been successful with and the things that didn't go too well for us. Blogger Tsh from the 'Art of Simple' website has created a reflection to help us look back at the last year. Read through these questions with your friends or print a copy and note down your answers then keep them somewhere safe.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

Amen, amen, I say to thee, When thou wast younger, thou didst gird thyself
and didst walk where thou wouldst. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt
stretch forth thy hands, and another another shall gird thee and lead thee
whither thou wouldst not. And this he said, signifying by what death he
should glorify God. And when he had said this, he saith to him: Follow me

So this may not strictly be a Christmas themed game but we liked it anyway! Why not try "Saint or Ain't" and see if you can pick out the 25 genuine saints from the list below. Be careful as you only get 25 guesses so can't afford to make any mistakes. Good luck!

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...

All the glory of the king's daughter is within golden borders,

Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be

brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.

Today is the feast of the Holy Family and this presents us with the opportunity to recognise that our family stretches far beyond those who we share our home with. As Catholics we belong to a huge family consisting of all of the other Catholics around the world and it's important that we don't lose sight of that. We won't always get on with everybody in life but through sharing our faith with others we will be able to forge friendships with even the most unexpected people.

On Christmas Eve I was given a bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates from a lovely elderly gentleman called Tommy who I speak to each week before mass. He never fails to make me laugh with his weekly joke he has in store for me and although we talk for only a couple of minutes it is something that obviously has an impact on him and myself too for that matter. When he gave me the flowers he said thanks for making him smile each week yet I am sure that I'm the one who walks away smiling after another punchline delivered with plenty of laughter.

I don't need thanks from Tommy, yet his words of gratitude let me see just how valuable that little bit of conversation can be. He could even forget the punchline of his jokes (and he sometimes he does!) but what is important is simply two people taking a little bit of time out to talk to each, what's so hard about that eh? Should our churches be filled with quietness or buzzing with happiness and gentle laughter? I know which I would prefer and I reckon my pal Tommy would agree with me too!

On the Third Day of Christmas...

But the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever: the

thoughts of his heart to all generations. To deliver

their souls from death: and feed them in famine.

Today is the feast of the Holy Innocents which looks at how King Herod ordered all boys under the age of 2 to be killed. He knew that a new King had been born in Jesus and felt threatened by that so his response was to order all of the boys in his Kingdom to be killed. Mary and Joseph had already fled Bethlehem as Joseph had been visited by an angel in his dreams and told to keep Jesus safe.

During our 12 Days of Christmas reflection last year we prayed for the families in Newtown, Connecticut where 20 children and 6 adults were killed during a a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It seems fitting today to think about those families again, a year on from that tragedy, in the hope that this Christmas they can find peace in their hearts amongst the sadness they will feel at the loss of their children.

RIP Charlotte, Daniel, Olivia, Josephine, Ana, Dylan, Madeleine,
Catherine, Chase, Jesse, James, Grace, Emilie, Jack, Noah,
Caroline, Jessica, Avielle, Benjamin and Allison and staff
Rachel Davino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy,
Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach and Victoria Soto