Christmas Octave Day 3

The weather was cold and beautiful this third day of the octave of Christmas.

The children rode their Strider bikes around, racing wildly and going off-road in the dirt, having a grand ol' time.

We cooked homemade gumdrops using this recipe. The cooking part--mixing and boiling--was enjoyable for the children.

Then the batches had to chill for several hours.

The procedure for removing the gumdrops from the dishes (hard work), cutting them into shapes, and rolling them in sugar was too laborious for my bunchkins ages 4 and 6: I now recommend this activity for older children! First J&M wandered away aimlessly and I let that go on until they were bickering too much with me up to my elbows in sugar, so then I gave in on the whole thing and let them play Starfall while I did the task by myself. The end result is tasty and I bet it will be even better tomorrow when the gumdrops are more dry and mature, so to speak.

In the evening, we joined two other families to view the Christmas lights display at the Charlotte racetrack. Total tally: 11 children ages 4 months to 12 years, plus two pregnant mamas. It was a fun time, if very cold (low of 30 expected tonight)!

Source for information on the Christmas Octave

December 27; the Third Day of the Christmas Octave, St. John the Apostle, Evangelist

Opening Prayer from the Liturgy:  “God our Father, you have revealed the mysteries of your Word through John the apostle. By prayer and reflection may we come to understand the wisdom he taught. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

In your Bible: 1 John 1:1-4; The Word of Life

Catechesis:  Today we celebrate the memory of St. John the Evangelist who wrote a Book of the Gospel, three letters and, some hold, the Book of Revelation.  St. John, of whom it can be said knew Jesus more intimately than anyone (other than his mother), gave us lofty concepts of great theological consequence.  St. John’s writings are the source of our knowledge of Christ’s pre-existence as the Word of God, his “mission” to bring light to the world, and the sacred truth that Jesus is God made man.  The theme of St. John’s Gospel focuses on Christ’s Divinity as well as the mournful response of his own  people who, “did not accept him” (John 1:11). St. John is worthily considered the “evangelist of the divinity of Christ.”

Activity: Take time today to “study the Sacred Page.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church “forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn ‘the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,’ by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures.” Then, quoting St. Jerome, the Catechism reminds us that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (133).