Pastor’s Letter: January 12, 2025

Pastor’s Letter: January 12, 2025

10 Jan 2025 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear St. Philomena Parish Family,

I hope you are enjoying many blessings in this 2025 year! A couple weeks ago, I mentioned in my explanation of the length of the Christmas season…the song, “The 12 Days of Christmas.” One of our good parishioners asked if there was more meaning behind that song?  The answer is…yes!

A few years ago, I came across this explanation…

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge that won’t come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas? From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.  It has two levels of meaning; the surface meaning, plus a hidden meaning known [at the time] only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality that the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ.

Two turtledoves are the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stand for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds are the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The five gold rings recall the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The six geese a-laying stand for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represent the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit:  Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, Understanding, Piety, Courage, and Fear of the Lord.

The eight maids a-milking are the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.

The ten lords a-leaping are the Ten Commandments.

Eleven pipers piping stand for the eleven faithful disciples.

Twelve drummers drumming symbolize the twelve points of belief in the Creed.

So this song actually serves as a great reminder of many important points of our faith…and of course also reminds us that there are often layers of Christian meaning behind many of our celebrations this time of year. So, go ahead and review some of our Faith…and make sure to sing aloud! =)

Know of my prayers and blessing for you all this week!

In Christ,

Father Luke