Christmas Week

Christmas is not over; Christmas is just beginning. Today is the fourth day of Christmas week, when the Church remembers the innocent babes of Bethlehem, whom a cruel tyrant had executed for fear of losing his throne. He lost his throne nonetheless, but the children he killed will reign with the true King in eternal glory.

Christmas week is like a hilly ride: up and down, up and down… On Christmas Day, we rejoice in the birth of the Son of God, who became man so that we could become children of God. However, on the second day of Christmas, December 26, we remember Saint Stephen, the first martyr of the Church. The third day of Christmas is the feast of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, who proclaimed the good news of the incarnation of the Word and the manifestation of true Life. However, the fourth day of Christmas is dedicated to the victims of a terrible crime, the Holy Innocents of Bethlehem.

On the fifth day of Christmas, another martyr is commemorated: Saint Thomas of Canterbury, who died as a victim of another ambitious king. The next few days will once again focus on the joy of Christmas, and the week will conclude with the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, which assures us that God, in His only-begotten Son, has made a New Covenant with us.

However, Christmas will not end there, as Epiphany and the following season will soon arrive, and the celebration of Jesus’ birth will only be complete on February 2, when His Presentation in the Temple is celebrated. So, Christmas is not over, Christmas is just beginning. Merry Christmas to everyone!