Seventh Day of Christmas (Dec 31)

December 26, 2021, By: Jimmy Scruggs

Welcome! As you journey through these Twelve Day of Christmas we invite you to use this approach, which works well for individuals and groups of all ages.

Light a candle. Pause to remember the presence of God filling you with Light and Love.

Pray this Opening Prayer:

Radiant Creator, awaken me to your presence.
Jesus, Light of all Lights, kindle love in my heart.
Spirit of Illumination, guide my path today.

Christmas Reflection for the Day:

When Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Josephy, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”… When Joseph awoke from sleep, he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-21, 24-25)

Christ behind and before me,
Christ beneath and above me,
Christ with me and in me,
Christ around and about me,
Christ on my left and on my right,
Christ when I rise in the morning,
Christ when I lie down at night,
Christ in each heart that thinks of me,
Christ in each mouth that speaks of me,
Christ in each eye that sees me,
Christ in each ear that hears me. (Attributed to Saint Patrick)

Merry Christmas!

During this adventure of the Twelve Days of Christmas we will discover that “Christmas is not not just a long season of shopping followed by one day of partying; it is twelve days of adventure that beckon us to a lifetime of incarnational living.” (Bruce Epperly)

Thought for Today: God gives us gentle visions and dreams, quiet invitations, moment by moment and over the long vistas of our lives. Awakening to and discerning our dreams opens the door to a lifelong holy adventure. (Adapted from Bruce Epperly)

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Set your intention for the day. Say: Today I will ask the question of Christ-in-me: What is Our dream? Where is your Spirit calling me forward to new adventures?

Daily Christmas Prayer: LORD God, give me a dream to remember, a dream that awakens me from spiritual slumber and sets my feet on your high adventure. Amen

Together on the Journey,

Katie Martinez

P.S. Some of us are reading along in the short devotional book, Thin Places Everywhere: The Twelve Days of Christmas with Celtic Christianity.