A Carpe Diem Snapshot:
Christmastide continues! Happy Twelfth Night, friends! Don't forget to "chalk your doors" with the traditional Epiphany house blessing today.
Liturgical: Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. "The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and government and power." With these words, the Church proclaims that today's feast brings to a perfect fulfillment all the purposes of Advent. Epiphany, therefore, marks the liturgical zenith of the Advent-Christmas season. —Pius Parsch
Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon: Science Points to God
Fr. Plant's Homily: Wise Men from the East
Sanctoral: John Neumann was born in Bohemia on March 20, 1811. Since he had a great desire to dedicate himself to the American missions, he came to the United States as a cleric and was ordained in New York in 1836 by Bishop Dubois.
In 1840, John Neumann entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). He labored in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. In 1852, he was consecrated bishop of Philadelphia. There he worked hard for the establishment of parish schools and for the erection of many parishes for the numerous immigrants. Bishop Neumann died on January 5, 1860; he was beatified in 1963.
Human: Twelfth Night
In the olden days, the festivities of Christmas lasted twelve days, which was the time supposed to have been taken by the three wise men or kings in their journey to Bethlehem.The final evening (January 5) was called “Twelfth Night” and marked the end of Christmas festivities and, in ancient Celtic tradition, the end of the 12 Days of Christmas.On this night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast each other from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means “Be in good health,” but the term came to be applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale).
It was also traditional to cook the most wonderful pastries, cakes, and pies. Some included practical jokes. The “four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie” was no myth. Live birds were placed in a cooked pastry crust. When guests cut into the pie, the birds flew about the room, which delighted everyone. A kinder tradition included placing bread soaked with cider in tree branches for the birds to eat.In the ancient times of the Roman Saturnalia, the “king of the feast” was elected by beans, and the Twelfth Night cake or “King Cake” included a bean—or, later, a ring or coin. Whoever was given the slice with the prize became the queen and king for the night, and much parading and merriment followed.In the church calendar, Twelfth Night is the evening before Epiphany (January 6). Because the three wise men (or kings) arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for the infant Jesus, Epiphany is also called Three Kings Day and a traditional time of gift giving. “
Natural: Traditional Wassail recipe
Italian: Entrare a gamba tesa (to do something in a confrontational way)
Quote: Journey of the Magi, a poem read by T.S. Eliot, its author
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