Apostleship of the Sea

Confirmation Candidates from St Teresa's and St Patrick's got a large group of Christmas presents together to give to seafarers through the Apostleship of the Sea. They delivered the gifts on the Epiphany where the Captian of the m/v Federal Mattawa came to the dock to accept the gifts and talk to the young people. The ship had been at sea right through the Christmas season so they were very thankful for the presents they received.

Read more by visiting the Apostleship of the Sea website.

When the Song of Angels is Stilled...

“When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples.’

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

"For it is in giving that we receive..."

- Prayer of St Francis

So we have made it to the final instalment of our 12 Days of Christmas feature and we hope that you have enjoyed sharing this little journey with us. Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, the day in which the Magi finally arrive at the stable to welcome the baby Jesus into the world. They came baring gifts truly fit for a king and although we can't offer physical gifts to Jesus what can we offer him in our lives?

In many places the Epiphany is also a day of gift giving, much like Christmas day, mirroring the gifts given by the Magi who arrived at Jesus birth place on this day. We all enjoy and appreciate the gifts we are given at Christmas time but what happiness can we take from seeing others receive the gifts that we give? May we all see that our giving is not simply about the present wrapped up all nice and pretty but in the thing that cannot be seen, the love that is bundled up between all the paper and ribbons.

Archbishop of New York Timothy Cardinal Dolan writing for the NY Post today reflected on the act of giving by recounting a short story written by O. Henry called 'The Gift of the Magi'. The lady in this story has her hair cut, selling her hair to a wig shop, to gain enough money to buy her husband a platinum watch. The gentleman sells his pocket watch so that he can buy his wife elaborate hair clips. They exchange gifts with each other on this very day, the Epiphany, and realise that they have given up their most cherished possessions because of the love they have for one another. Surely this is the best gift that one person can give to another, that of selfless love?

Thank you to everyone who has joined us through our very first 12 Days of Christmas feature. Your feedback is much appreciated as we strive to bring more features like this to our blog!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

Well we have nearly made it, tomorrow will be the Epiphany when the Magi make it to the stable to greet the baby Jesus. The evening before the Epiphany is often known as 'Twelfth Night' and historically people thought that it was unlucky for you to leave decorations up in your home beyond this night. Let's take a look at some 'Twelfth Night' traditions...

Party Time
People would have parties to celebrate Twelfth Night and play jokes on friends and neighbours. Remember the Sing a Song of Sixpence and the line "when the pie was open the birds began to sing"? Well this came from a practical joke of hiding lives birds in pie cases and when you cut the pie the bird would fly out.

Cake
This was a fruitcake that contained items inside of it which had different meanings. Some of these items included a bean which meant you were the King or Queen and everyone had to do what you asked them to do, a twig which meant you were a fool and a clove which meant you were a villain.

Plays
Everyone has heard of Shakespeare's play 'Twelfth Night' right? This play supposedly took its name from the fact that it was first performed on Twelfth Night at around 1601 as it was common for plays or mummings (pantomimes) to take place on this night and we still have pantomimes to this day being performed at this time of year.

Yule Log
No not the cake that we all enjoy today! A Yule Log was a huge log which would be decorated and brought into a home where a blessing would be said in the hope it would bring good luck all year through. It also represented the need to keep the stable warm for the baby Jesus and would be kept burning right through to Twelfth Night.

Food
This was generally hot or spicy foods such as ginger snaps, spiced ale and a punch called wassail.

Did you Know?

In Queen Victorias time decorations were brought down on Twelfth Night and burned to signify the end of Christmas.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

Since today is the 10th Day of Christmas, what would be your top 10 best things about Christmas? Try to think about something from each day since Christmas Day. If you could download 10 memories from Christmas this year, what would they be, things that you could keep forever!

We are very quickly approaching the feast of Epiphany, when the Magi (the 3 wise men) came to visit Jesus bearing gifts. Our prayer should be a little like the last verse of In the Bleak Midwinter:

"Yet what can I give him, poor as I am,

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.

If I were a wise man, I would do my part.

Yet, what can I give him? Give my heart."

In your top ten memories from Christmas that you would like to download and keep forever? What are the things deep in your heart that you want to give to Jesus? You can't physically give him your heart, but what would you tell him if you were to visit the stable at Bethlehem like the Magi? What would you bring that would represent the thoughts in your heart for the Baby Jesus?

Maybe you have had an argument with a brother or sister that was really pointless and you want to give him your heart so you can receive his forgiveness and tender mercy. Maybe it has been difficult with family, and you would like a fresh start and for him to heal any hurts. Maybe you want to give him your thanks and praise for this being the best Christmas ever, or maybe you just want to say hi and let him know that you haven't forgotten about him, he would really appreciate that.

As we approach Epiphany on Sunday, bring these things to him in the manger. If you go to Church on Sunday (which we totally encourage you to do!) go and visit the crib there and present these things to him through your heart.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...

So, who has lost their Christmas cheer already? Who has given up or got bored with the presents that you were so excited about just a weeks ago? Who is already thinking about getting back to school next week and contemplating doing some revision or homework?

Well, you would not be alone! HOWEVER...it is still Christmas, and you know what...we can experience Christmas every day of our lives. If we hold on to its true meaning and forget about all the glitz of it, it is something that is worthy to celebrate every day.

The 'Incarnation!' God becoming present to us, as a human, in the form of a tiny little baby called Jesus. God doesn't just become present to us at Christmas though, oh no! Every single day of our lives we should celebrate Christmas, the presence of Christ with us, walking among us in our day to day lives. In the struggles of family life and friendships and in the times to rejoice.

How can we become more aware of the presence of God in our lives every day? How can we bring the presence of God to others who don't really know who he is? In what ways are you going to give thanks for the presence of God in your daily life? Remember...Christmas isn't over...it never really is if it is part of your faith.