On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me......a partridge in a pear tree. Traditionally the song comes from England, somewhere between 1558 and 1829 when Roman Catholics were not permitted to openly practice their faith. Each line has a meaning which I will synopsize here:
Partridge in a pear tree = Jesus
Two turtle doves were the old and new Testament
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love
Four Calling birds were the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Five golden rings recalled theTorah or Law of the first five books of the Old Testament
Six geese a laying were for the six days of creation
Seven swans a swimming represents the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit - prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership and mercy
Eight maids a milking were the 8 beatitudes
Nine ladies dancing were the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
Ten lords a leaping were the ten commandments
Eleven pipers piping were the 11 faithful apostles
Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the 12 points in the Apostles Creed
Of course it could have been also written by a woman that had an incredibly rich husband or boyfriend that loved to shower her with gifts. I'll take 5 gold rings any day! Especially now with the cost of gold skyrocketing. Hopefully you know I'm just pulling your leg; it's a song of tradition not greed.
I had the most incredibly gorgeous Christmas I think I have ever experienced. We had opened our home and hearts to someone in October that had no place to go. We were so blessed to be able to share not one but two glorious meals sitting together as a family both on the Eve and on Christmas day. Afterwards Tom and I showered him with gifts. He hasn't had a Christmas with a family since he was a young boy; he's now 24. I think I can speak for Tom as well when I say that he and I were overwhelmed by the young man's excitement of opening his presents; a coat, a pillow of his own, pajamas, underwear just to name a few items. Things we take for granted. I got an even greater gift when I gave a present to his wife who has never gotten a Christmas present, EVER. It was just a simple saint bracelet that I had made for her.
Now I know that many of you that read this aren't Catholic but I do believe that something happened yesterday that is beyond explanation. I call it my own Christmas miracle. I am a Catholic and part of my usual Sunday routine is spending 2 hours in our church's Perpetual Adoration Chapel. The chapel is open 24/7 which means every hour of every day and night someone is sitting there with the sacred Host, which Catholics believe is the actual body of Christ once it has been consecrated. Well yesterday was Sunday so I went to the chapel as I do but had actually switched my hours from 12-2 to 1-3 so that my friend could go and be with her family on Christmas. I bought my camera along with me to take pictures of the beautiful Nativity. But when I was all alone in the chapel I was, the only way I could describe it is "told", to take pictures of the chapel itself. I didn't hear the voice with my ears, but I could hear it plain as day. The Host looked no different to me while I was in the chapel but I do have to say that yesterday I was so incredibly at peace; it was almost indescribable. In all, I took 3 photos, stepping back when I took the third. When I left the chapel I took some pictures of the Nativity (which I have shared here) and when I walked outside was met with the most gorgeous sky. To me it looked like a huge dove hovering in the blue above me. Took some photos of that too. When I got home and downloaded the pictures onto my computer I noticed the host right away. I see Jesus face. Tom sees a heart. His girl Christina sees people and both Erv and Abbie see a face as well. I've included a picture of what the host usually looks like in a monstrance; plain white so you can see (well anyone who is a Christian knows what a host looks like). Without sounding like a crazy person I believe it is a Christmas miracle and I wanted to share it with you. Look at it yourself and decide. Even behind the picture where the flash is reflected in the brass you can still clearly see the change in the Host. All of the pictures were taken with the same little polaroid digital camera that I have. Any one of you that has seen the website or some of the photos on here know that I'm in no way a professional photographer. I will say that here we are a day later and I still have that incredible peace within which is refreshing. BTW out of all the people that looked at this photo, I am the only one that is a practicing Catholic. The others are Evangelical, Baptist or Agnostic but we all see that the Host is changed.
I hope that your Christmas was magical, spiritual, and peaceful and would just love your comments on what you see in the photos. Have a beautiful week!
I wish you peace and joy!
Mare
UPDATE!! 7/20/17. The pictures were analyzed since this day, so long ago, and more recent posts have been made about them. Please do a search using the word "Eucharist" to see more about these amazing photos. The most amazing of all is the first one, where the flash went off. That one wasn't analyzed until last October (along with the others), and Jesus' face IS present in that photo and can be clearly seen. God blesses us all with this revelation. That is why I am sharing them with everyone.
