Merry Christmas — Feast! Feast! Feast!Read Time 10 min

The Christmas is full of liturgical “feasting.” The Octave of Christmas is jam-packed with festivals. The entire liturgical season of Christmas reverberates the joy of the Nativity of our Blessed Lord in solemn liturgical festivals.

Most of us are probably familiar with the Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslas.” In the first line of the carol we hear, “Good King Wenceslas looked out, on the feast of Stephen.” This carol clearly reminds us that celebrating is part of our tradition. As Catholics, we commemorate the great gift that is Jesus, who is given to us by our Father in heaven, and do so with gusto. But we also recall the great work God has done through the life of grace won for us through the sacrifice of his Only Begotten Son, in whom God is well pleased. The Church helps us by marking the following “feasts”:

Dec. 26, St. Stephen the Protomartyr — St. Stephen was one of seven deacons listed in the Acts of the Apostles and the first disciple to be martyred. His story demonstrates the power of the Holy Spirit. St. Stephen entrusted his life to Jesus for the sake of proclaiming the Gospel. Take a look at the story of his martyrdom in Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59.

Dec. 27, St. John the Evangelist — He is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. St. John proclaims the Good News and testifies to the Resurrection of our Lord. He is also known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. We can learn a lot about how to grow close to Jesus through our devotion to St. John. Take some time to read through his Gospel.

Dec. 28, The Holy Innocents — The killing of the Holy Innocents bears witness to the saving blood of Jesus that will save us from sin and death. As the poignantly beautiful Collect for this day instructs us:

“O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed
and proclaimed on this day,
not by speaking but by dying,
grant, we pray,
that the faith in you which we confess with our lips
may also speak through our manner of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.” (Roman Missal)

For us, the Feast of the Holy Innocents can also be a day of special prayer for the innocent that perish through abortion, hunger and war.

Dec. 29, The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph — This day celebrates family life and looks to the perfect example of the Holy Family so that in imitating them we might all one day enjoy the eternal reward of heaven. Today is an opportunity to thank God for the gift of our families and pray for those families who are having difficulties.

Jan. 1, Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God — On the Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord, as we seek God’s blessings on a new year, we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Mother of God. This solemnity celebrates the wonderful and inexpressible mystery by which the Father of Mercies sent his Son from heaven into the womb of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary. The humble Virgin of Nazareth is set before us as the example of how to receive the Son of God in our hearts and behold the mystery of our redemption. St. Augustine noted that our Lady “conceived him (Christ) in her heart before she conceived him in her womb.” Let us turn in prayer to our Lady that we grow confidence in humility and obedience to do God’s will for our own lives.

Jan. 5, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord — On this day, we celebrate the visit of the Three Kings to the Holy Family. In their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, we begin to understand how Jesus is the Word Incarnate. This is such a grand solemnity filled with symbolism that helps us deepen our faith in God made man. The Church sees in this manifestation of Jesus as God, Christ’s mission to save all people and that all the nations are called to give praise to the Lord. Today is an opportunity to ask for grace to continue our own efforts of evangelization.

Jan. 12, Baptism of the Lord — This feast commemorates the theophany of the Lord of all creation who humbles himself to be baptized in the Jordan River by his cousin, St. John the Baptist. It is an excellent opportunity to praise and thank God for our own Baptism and pray for the grace to live more and more as an adopted child of the Father and come to know how much we are loved by God.

After his Baptism, our blessed Lord goes into the desert and then begins his public ministry in Galilee. We read of how his ministry began in the Gospel of Luke:

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.” (Luke 4:11-22a)

This passage reminds us of the last line of the Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslas,” “Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.” As we enter the celebrations of the Christmas season, may we grow deeper in faith, hope and charity. So, don’t forget to feast, feast and feast some more, for a gift of infinite valve has been given to us — Christ the Lord.