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:

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day… Then God said, “let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created humankind his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:1-5, 26-27, 31)

I am the flame of fire,
blazing with passionate love;
I am the spark of light,
Illuminating the deepest truth;
I am the rough ocean,
Heaving with righteous anger;
I am the calm lake,
Comforting the troubled breast;
I am the wild storm,
Raging at human sins;
I am the gentle breeze,
Blowing hope in the saddened hearth;
I am the dry dust,
Choking worldly ambition;
I am the wet earth,
Bearing fruits of grace. (Robert Van de Weyer)

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: Claim your role as God’s companion in bringing healing and beauty to the wondrous, wild, and beautiful world of which you are a part. (Bruce Epperly)

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Set your intention for the day. Say: Today I will bathe my senses in the beauty of earth, water and sky.

Daily Christmas Prayer: Creator God, attune my senses to your presence. Let my world be made of wonder, and may I treasure what I see and participate in the care and nurture of this earth we love. 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.