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:

And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:46-53)

I should like a lake of finest ale
for the king of kings.
I should like a table of the choicest food
for the family of heaven.
Let the ale be made
from the fruits of the earth
and the food be forgiving love.
I should welcome the poor to my feast,
for they are God’s children.
I should welcome the sick to my feast,
for they are God’s joy.
Let the poor sit with Jesus
at the highest place,
and the sick dance with the angels.
God bless the poor, God bless the sick,
and bless our human race.
God bless our food, God bless our drink.
All homes, O God, embrace. (Adapted from a prayer attributed to Saint Brigid)

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: Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-53) is anything but meek and mild. She invites radical change into our world. Mary calls for turning the world upside down so that it can be right side up in God’s eyes. Christmas is, has always been, and will always be, political. (Adapted from Bruce Epperly)

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Set your intention for the day. Say: Today I will look for new ways to give the “finest ale” to God’s needy people.

Daily Christmas Prayer: Let me share my life and love with all Creation, see you in the neglected and vulnerable, and share my gifts with a wise and generous heart. In Jesus’s Name. Amen (Bruce Epperly)

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.