Luke,
Chapter 1, verse 9:
9 The angel of the
Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they
were struck with great fear.
In this verse the “them” were shepherds. The angels
appeared and filled lowly shepherds with holy fear. Shepherds were the gypsy’s
of their time. They were in the same social class as dung sweepers and tax
collectors.
As you open your “presents” today remember these
scum bag shepherds needed to be in His “presence”. To do that was not an easy
task; they had to move with all of their sheep to the place of the Kings birth.
Can you imagine the scene with hundreds perhaps millions of sheep, bleating as
they go and eating everything along the way. It took great courage to do this
to bring unlawfully out of the desert these sheep and to honor the King.
Imagine their surprise to see the messiah, the king of kings, in a nasty cave
used to stable animals, lying in a manger. (A manger is basically a feed troth
for animals.)
The shepherds still worship Him today through their
decedents who now make up the 1 percent of Christians in the Holy Land. Their
faith has lasted down through the ages. In 2006 my wife and I visited a small
Catholic community in Bethlehem which is in Palestinian held territory. We were
told the faith was passed down from father to son in face of many hardships.
They endured 600 years with no priests and Muslim oppression. They are
oppressed to this day yet they endure.
While in Bethlehem, I was able to touch the spot
where Christ was born and while in Jerusalem I was able to touch the spots
where Christ was crucified and rose into heaven. To have done this I thought
was a very special experience but then the Lord touched my heart and whispered
these are just the spots I touched come into my presence at Mass, receive my body,
become a new creation in union with us (the trinity) physically, mentally,
spiritually and communally.
The
singing of hymns and carols, even in an age which has lost the ability to sing,
remains a fixed and cherished part of Christmas. Unfortunately, we cannot
adequately examine the vast history or catalog of Christmas songs. Instead, we
will focus on one famous but misunderstood Christmas carol.
Most
holiday revelers do not realize that the popular carol, "The Twelve
Days of Christmas," is actually a hidden catechism for Catholics. From
1558 to 1829 the Catholic Church was persecuted in England, making the
transmission of the faith from one generation to the next exceedingly
difficult. One solution was to veil the basic tenets of the faith in the
symbols of a song. If caught, a Catholic could claim that it was merely an
innocuous ditty, or even, if pushed, a Protestant catechism (since most of the
song's teachings were also shared by the Reformers).
Here are
the verses of the song, followed by its meaning:
The Twelve Days of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a
partridge in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two
turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a
pear tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five
golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a
partridge in a pear tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six
geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two
turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling
birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden
rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge
in a pear tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine
ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six
geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two
turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten
lords-a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven
swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds,
three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
eleven pipers piping, ten lords-a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight
maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six geese-a-laying, five golden rings,
four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a
pear tree.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten lords-a-leaping, nine
ladies dancing, eight maids-a-milking, seven swans-a-swimming, six
geese-a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two
turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
The Carol's Meaning
- My true love = God
- Me =
every baptized person, the Church
- A Partridge in a pear tree = The
Word made flesh, Jesus Christ (The portrayal of Christ as a mother
partridge is inspired by his lament: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often
would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but
thou wouldst not have it so...").
The pear tree signifies the wood of the manger (and
also of the cross), while the fruit reminds us of the reason for the
Incarnation: God's desire to save us from the sin introduced by Adam's and
Eve's consumption of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil.
The fruit also reminds us of the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden.
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