{"id":107518,"date":"2023-01-05T11:14:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T19:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=107518"},"modified":"2023-01-05T11:16:14","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T19:16:14","slug":"the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

H<\/span>appy twelfth day of Christmas! This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. In my Monastic Diurnal<\/a><\/em>, Epiphany begins with tonight’s Vespers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was traditionally a time of feasting<\/a> and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous <\/a>pastries<\/a>) marking the end of Christmastide and the beginning of Epiphanytide<\/span>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span>. This year, that celebration is tempered by the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI, which occurred earlier today.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


These days, of course, the calendar has been moved around a bit and the Christmas Season ends … well, when exactly does<\/em> the Christmas Season end? I’ll post about that perhaps next week, but for now, there’s no reason to not have the pastries!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the great Epiphany traditions is the Epiphany house blessing<\/a>. More on that tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier today, I watched the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI and later attended a Mass at my local parish, which was officially a “Commemorative Mass for the Dead for Pope Benedict XVI” according to the current rubrics. That’s kind of a mouthful, and I wish they would bring back the old term of “Requiem Mass”, which is a lot easier to remember and to say. I note that a lot of folks continue to use the older language, so perhaps it will be officially re-adopted some day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Francine and I attended the funeral of Pope Saint John Paul II while we were in Rome many years ago now, we did not have the opportunity to fly to Rome this time.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n


There was something quite moving in our humble parish Mass today, though, and I confess I welled up with tears at one point. I don’t think it’s a secret that the writings and example of Pope Benedict XVI are a large part of the reason that my Catholicism intellectually “stuck”. Pure grace was, of course, the primary reason I became Catholic and have remained so – but I wouldn’t have been the first person in their pride to think themselves out of their faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So amidst our Christmas celebrations, let us take a moment to pray for the soul of Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requiem \u00e6ternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer for a Deceased Pope (from the Roman Missal<\/em>)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n

O God, immortal shepherd of souls,
look on your people\u2019s prayers
and grant that your servant Pope Benedict XVI,
who presided over your Church in charity,
may, with the flock entrusted to his care,
receive from your mercy
the reward of a faithful steward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amen.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2022-2023<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Day<\/strong><\/td>Date<\/strong><\/td>Ordinary Calendar<\/strong>
(Most of the USA and Canada)<\/td>		Ordinary Calendar<\/strong>
(Most of the World)<\/td>		Traditional Calendar<\/strong> (1962)<\/td>Benedictine Ordo<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
1<\/td>Dec. 25
(Sun)<\/td>		CHRISTMAS<\/a><\/td>CHRISTMAS<\/td>CHRISTMAS<\/td>CHRISTMAS<\/td><\/tr>
2<\/td>Dec. 26<\/td>St. Stephen<\/a><\/td>St. Stephen<\/td>Sunday in the Octave of the Nativity \/ Commemoration of St. Stephen<\/td>Sunday in the Octave of the Nativity \/ Commemoration of St. Stephen<\/td><\/tr>
3<\/td>Dec. 27<\/td>St. John, Apostle<\/a><\/td>St. John, Apostle<\/td>St. John, Apostle<\/td>St. John, Apostle<\/td><\/tr>
4<\/td>Dec. 28<\/td>Feast of the Holy Innocents<\/a><\/td>Feast of the Holy Innocents<\/td>Feast of the Holy Innocents<\/td>Feast of the Holy Innocents<\/td><\/tr>
5<\/td>Dec. 29<\/td>St. Thomas Becket<\/a><\/td>St. Thomas Becket<\/td>Fifth Day within the Octave of the Nativity (St. Thomas Becket, Comm.)<\/td>St. Thomas of Canterbury<\/td><\/tr>
6<\/td>Dec. 30<\/td>Holy Family<\/a><\/td>Holy Family<\/td>Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity<\/td>Sixth Day within the Octave of the Nativity<\/td><\/tr>
7<\/td>Dec. 31<\/td>St. Sylvester I<\/a><\/td>St. Sylvester I<\/td>Seventh Day within the Octave of the Nativity (St. Sylvester I, Comm.)<\/td>St. Sylvester I<\/td><\/tr>
8<\/td>Jan. 01
(Sun)<\/td>		MARY, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD<\/a><\/td>MARY, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD<\/td>The Octave of the Nativity (Circumcision of the Lord)<\/td>Octave Day of the Nativity<\/td><\/tr>
9<\/td>Jan. 02 <\/td>Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen<\/a><\/td>Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen<\/td>The Most Holy Name of Jesus<\/td>The Most Holy Name of Jesus<\/td><\/tr>
10<\/td>Jan. 03<\/td>The Most Holy Name of Jesus<\/a><\/td>The Most Holy Name of Jesus<\/td>Feria in Christmastide<\/td>Feria in Christmastide<\/td><\/tr>
11<\/td>Jan. 04<\/td>St. Elizabeth Ann Seton<\/a><\/td>Wednesday of Christmas Time<\/td>Feria in Christmastide<\/td>St. Titus<\/td><\/tr>
12<\/td>Jan. 05<\/td>St. John Neumann
or:<\/em> Mass for the Dead for Pope Benedict XVI<\/td>		Thursday of Christmas Time
or:<\/em> Mass for the Dead for Pope Benedict XVI<\/td>		St. Telephorus
or:<\/em>\u00a0Requiem Mass for Pope Benedict XVI<\/a><\/td>		Feria in Christmastide
or:<\/em>\u00a0Requiem Mass for Pope Benedict XVI<\/td><\/tr>
<\/td>Jan. 06<\/td>St. Andr\u00e9 Bessette<\/td>EPIPHANY<\/td>EPIPHANY<\/td>EPIPHANY<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Calendars, amirite?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy twelfth day of Christmas! This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. In my Monastic Diurnal, Epiphany begins with tonight’s Vespers. This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries) marking the end of Christmastide and the beginning of Epiphanytide. This year, that celebration […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Blatherings from the Blog - The Twelfth Day of Christmas","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[46,10,3,6,16,25,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-annual","category-fun","category-moments-in-time","category-pope-benedict-xvi","category-saint","category-seasons","category-sacred-liturgy"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/20230105T0400-BENEDICT-FUNERAL-1754234-scaled-1.webp?fit=2560%2C1776&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-rYa","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":108261,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":0},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. 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This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries) marking the end of Christmastide and the beginning of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110192,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":1},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. 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This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries), marking the end of Christmastide and the beginning of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106112,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/twelfth-day-of-christmas-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":2},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope you're enjoying your twelve drummers drumming. This evening is called Twelfth Night, traditionally the vigil of the Epiphany. In my Monastic Diurnal, Epiphany begins with tonight's Vespers. This was traditionally a time of feasting and festivity (all of which seem to include various varieties of enormous pastries) marking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fun"","block_context":{"text":"Fun","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/fun\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?fit=540%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?fit=540%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Rosca-de-Reyes-30.jpg?fit=540%2C460&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":101302,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/twelfth-day-of-christmas-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":3},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Epiphany Confusion!","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope you're enjoying your twelve drummers drumming. Depending on what calendar you happen to be using, today might very well be the Epiphany for you. If so, happy Epiphany! Traditionally, though, the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. Since the calendar reforms of 1970, any diocese may choose to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/galette-des-rois.jpg?fit=448%2C336&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":109350,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/epiphany-confusion-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":4},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas: Epiphany Confusion!","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I hope you're enjoying your twelve drummers drumming. Depending on what calendar you happen to be using, today might very well be the Epiphany for you. If so, happy Epiphany! Traditionally, though, the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. Since the calendar reforms of 1970, any diocese may choose to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/epiphany.jpg?fit=1200%2C1169&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/epiphany.jpg?fit=1200%2C1169&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/epiphany.jpg?fit=1200%2C1169&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/epiphany.jpg?fit=1200%2C1169&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/epiphany.jpg?fit=1200%2C1169&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":106748,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/the-twelfth-day-of-christmas-and-assorted-calendar-craziness\/","url_meta":{"origin":107518,"position":5},"title":"The Twelfth Day of Christmas and Assorted Calendar Craziness","author":"Thom","date":"05 January 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This year I've been terrible about posting for the twelve days of Christmas, but I've made a handy list at the end of this article which should catch you up. 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