Happy Third Day of Christmas

               “Happy Third Day of Christmas” was the opening of the homily today at Holy Family Catholic Church in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  On this great solemnity for St. John, it does seem as if the entire world has forgotten that there are twelve days in Christmas. I made the mistake of not bringing any Christmas CD’s and cannot find any Christmas music, not even on Christian music stations.

                For most of Advent, I try not to listen to Christmas music.  Pandora’s Advent station becomes one of my most used sources for music during advent.  I’ve come to love the Advent songs.  There are thirteen verses to” O Come, O Come Emmanuel”.    “O Come Devine Messiah” and “Creator of the Stars at Night” are now in my Advent repertoire.  I have been singing the great Christmas carols to myself as I take the time to praise God for the gift of his only Son.

               The feasts that we, as Catholics celebrate this week are inspiring and beautiful.  Yesterday we remembered Stephen, the first Martyr.  I read an essay that reflected on the fact that Stephen and Paul are in heaven, ecstatic to be together, although Paul, then known as Saul watched Stephen be stoned to death.  The point was made that Stephen wanted everyone to know Jesus as he did and that Saul’s conversion would have filled Stephen with delight -a wonderful second day of Christmas.

Today, the Apostle John, the one to whom Jesus gave his mother and the one who first believed at the tomb, was the focus of the Eucharistic celebration.  Tomorrow it will be the feast of the Holy Innocents, the children whom Herrod had killed to eliminate the Messiah.   I would imagine that the children who were massacred in Connecticut will be prayed for during the prayers of the faithful at churches all around the country, and perhaps the world.  Saturday will be the feast of St. Thomas Beckett who was martyred in 1170 and then Sunday is the Feast of the Holy Family.  And on it goes until January 6^th, which is Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas.

If you are not ready to join the after Christmas madness of shopping, and preparing for New Year’s Eve, stop by your local Catholic Church.  You will find a place that celebrates the birth of Christ until Epiphany.  Christ, as a tiny baby will be found in the Crèche.  As you breathe, you will inhale the pine scent of the trees and you eyes will be delighted will altars decorated with a plethora of poinsettias.

               Most importantly, you will find Christ in the tabernacle and a quiet place to pray and reflect.  Whether it is the third day of Christmas, or the 198 day of ordinary time, it is a day to thank God for his great gift.

Chapel of St. Catheine

I have just returned from a 10-day pilgrimage to Italy.  I stayed in Sienna, Assisi and Rome.  This journey took me to many places physically and spiritually and I will probably refer to this trip for some time in this blog.  I feel like I have stored up enough spiritual food to think about and ponder for many weeks.

One afternoon in Rome, I walked across the city center to visit Santa Sabina, a church originally built in the 400’s.  St. Dominic built his monastery adjacent to the church in the 1200’s and it is one of the many places where St. Thomas Aquinas studied and wrote.  On a warm, sunny day in Rome, my walk took me through the Pizza Navvona, past the Pantheon – only because I got lost – and then along the Tiber River. 

There was much to see, hear and smell.  On the way to the church, I stopped to visit other churches, take photos and fill my water bottle from the public fountains.  I approached an intersection near the church. Studying my map, I was not sure which way to go.  I decided to go straight and then about ten steps later looked up and remembered that this ancient place of worship was on a hill.  Oh, yes, as I craned my neck upward, I could see it on a very high hill.  I walked back to the intersection and began my journey up the hill.  As I rounded the corner, there was the back of the Roman Forum.  What an unexpected surprise and a fabulous view!

I walked, sometimes slowly and sometimes quickly up the steep hill.   There was a park on my right as and then found the church.  Unlike many Roman churches, the interior is very similar to the way it was when it was built.  I was thrilled to be in the same place that St. Dominic and St. Thomas Aquinas prayed.  After looking around, and lighting a candle for the vocation of a young friend, I knelt down in a chapel to pray a decade of the Rosary.

As I finished, I look up and saw that there were four paintings of a woman that surrounded the painting in the dome. “Who is this?”  I thought.  “No, I don’t think it is the Mary, the Mother of God.”  My mind began to flip though the many paintings and mosaics of saints that I had viewed in the past week.  The woman held up her hands in some of the paintings, and then I recognized the stigmata on her hands.  “Oh yes, she is St. Catherine of Sienna!” I remarked to myself.  (St. Catherine was a Dominican, so it makes sense that she is honored in this church.)

I felt a shiver run up my spine as I gazed at one particular painting.  Saint Catherine is kneeling with her hands held in front of her.  Jesus is on one knee as he offers her the Eucharist.  The painting captures the moment as Jesus offers His sacrifice and she opens her mouth to accept it.  I cannot describe the beauty of the moment and the photo that I took is hard to view as sun was shining on only a portion of the photo.

My mind has often been preoccupied with this painting as I wonder at the beauty of it.  It captures, in a different way what Christ has done for us.  He offered himself on the Cross so that we can have eternal life.  And He feeds us in so many ways: through the Eucharist, in our prayers, in guiding us through our daily life and asking us to be Him to others each day.    

If you want to view an image of the chapel ceiling, you can click on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/5668830050/ .  The painting I mention is in the upper right corner of the image. 

It was a remarkable afternoon walk.  Good for my soul, and my body.  This is only a slice of the astounding, marvelous discoveries that I experienced on this trip.  My wish for you, the reader, is that you are able to visit holy, historic places in your lifetime.