First Week of Christmas: Dec. 25 - 31, 2005
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Authors
Alexander, Andy, S.J.
Issue Date
2006-12-25
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en_US
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Abstract
Guide for Prayer for the week of Dec. 25-31, 2005
The Octave of Christmas| The Christmas Season begins with the first Christmas celebration on Christmas eve and continues through to the Baptism of the Lord, which this year is celebrated on Sunday, January 8th, in most of the world, and on Monday, January 9th, in the U.S.. There are 4 Christmas liturgies: the Midnight Mass, and the 3 Masses of Christmas Day. Each of the liturgies has its own readings, but for pastoral reasons any of the readings may be used in any of the celebrations.|Monday is the Feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr. The first reading is the account of his martyrdom in Acts.|Tuesday is the Feast of St. John, the Evangelist. We begin reading the First Letter of St. John for the first reading this week.|Wednesday is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. A day to recall all those innocents whose lives are lost in all the selfish ways we do not respect the dignity of human life.|Thursday is the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas. We have the story of the Purification in the temple and the powerful words of Simeon about Jesus and about Mary.|Friday is the Feast of the Holy Family, since there is no Sunday this year within the Octave of Christmas. There is a variety of first readings to choose from but the Gospel is the same as the day before.|Saturday is the Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas. The Gospel is the beginning of John's Gospel.|Sunday is the Octave Day of Christmas and the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God as well as the Naming of the Child, Jesus. In addition, it is a celebration of World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Daily Prayer This Week|Christmas week is a week to savor. For many of us, it goes by too quickly. It can be very helpful to return to our habits of naming a desire each morning and letting the grace we are asking for interact with the daily events and people in our lives throughout the day.| It can also be possible for us to spend this week recalling and remaining with the consolations and desolations of our Christmas experience. Where was there light and where was there darkness? What can we learn from looking back at our past week, the choices we made, the situations we found ourselves caught up in, the people and events that touched us? Where was the Lord? Where was he inviting us, offering us a bit of comfort? Who are the special people we want to thank and continue connecting with? We can look back over the past week and try to remember the moments that came close to a religious experience, that were significant human experiences of coming together and caring. As we take time this week to savor those moments and relish them a bit longer, we can speak with our Lord, "friend to friend," expressing whatever is in our hearts. Doing this kind of remembering, in the presence of our Lord, and speaking with him, will be a wonderful prayer this week.|The feasts we celebrate this week can be a further help to our finding intimacy with God, in the midst of our busy days. In the background each day, we can be conscious of the fact that we are remembering St. Stephen, the first martyr. It might be for us a day in which we can more consciously be aware of the invitation to witness our faith in what we say or simply by what we faithfully do. On the Feast of St. John,the Evangelist, we might remember any of his powerful words to us, throughout the day, for example, "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness." On the feast of the Holy Innocents we might more deeply commit ourselves to protect the dignity of every human life. On the feast of the Holy Family we might renew our commitment to our family. In this way, the celebrations of this week will fill our week with reflection and grace.
The Octave of Christmas| The Christmas Season begins with the first Christmas celebration on Christmas eve and continues through to the Baptism of the Lord, which this year is celebrated on Sunday, January 8th, in most of the world, and on Monday, January 9th, in the U.S.. There are 4 Christmas liturgies: the Midnight Mass, and the 3 Masses of Christmas Day. Each of the liturgies has its own readings, but for pastoral reasons any of the readings may be used in any of the celebrations.|Monday is the Feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr. The first reading is the account of his martyrdom in Acts.|Tuesday is the Feast of St. John, the Evangelist. We begin reading the First Letter of St. John for the first reading this week.|Wednesday is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. A day to recall all those innocents whose lives are lost in all the selfish ways we do not respect the dignity of human life.|Thursday is the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas. We have the story of the Purification in the temple and the powerful words of Simeon about Jesus and about Mary.|Friday is the Feast of the Holy Family, since there is no Sunday this year within the Octave of Christmas. There is a variety of first readings to choose from but the Gospel is the same as the day before.|Saturday is the Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas. The Gospel is the beginning of John's Gospel.|Sunday is the Octave Day of Christmas and the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God as well as the Naming of the Child, Jesus. In addition, it is a celebration of World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Daily Prayer This Week|Christmas week is a week to savor. For many of us, it goes by too quickly. It can be very helpful to return to our habits of naming a desire each morning and letting the grace we are asking for interact with the daily events and people in our lives throughout the day.| It can also be possible for us to spend this week recalling and remaining with the consolations and desolations of our Christmas experience. Where was there light and where was there darkness? What can we learn from looking back at our past week, the choices we made, the situations we found ourselves caught up in, the people and events that touched us? Where was the Lord? Where was he inviting us, offering us a bit of comfort? Who are the special people we want to thank and continue connecting with? We can look back over the past week and try to remember the moments that came close to a religious experience, that were significant human experiences of coming together and caring. As we take time this week to savor those moments and relish them a bit longer, we can speak with our Lord, "friend to friend," expressing whatever is in our hearts. Doing this kind of remembering, in the presence of our Lord, and speaking with him, will be a wonderful prayer this week.|The feasts we celebrate this week can be a further help to our finding intimacy with God, in the midst of our busy days. In the background each day, we can be conscious of the fact that we are remembering St. Stephen, the first martyr. It might be for us a day in which we can more consciously be aware of the invitation to witness our faith in what we say or simply by what we faithfully do. On the Feast of St. John,the Evangelist, we might remember any of his powerful words to us, throughout the day, for example, "Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness." On the feast of the Holy Innocents we might more deeply commit ourselves to protect the dignity of every human life. On the feast of the Holy Family we might renew our commitment to our family. In this way, the celebrations of this week will fill our week with reflection and grace.
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University Ministry, Creighton University.
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