Feasts during the Octave Reason for the feast of St.

Stephen on the twenty-sixth of December seems to be a historical one. It is as old or even older than the Christmas feast. The Syriac breviary of the fourth century list the feast of St. Stephen on the twenty-sixth of December. Also from a theological and spiritual point of view it is good to have the feasts of the saints immediately after Christmas. They are good counterweight against the danger to romanticize too much the Christmas feast. That the child in the manger is innocent, harmless and weak is only aspect of Christmas; if he is taken seriously the God-made-man can become dangerous and a threat to our human lives. The feast of St. Stephen and the feast of the Holy Innocents are example of this.

Story of ST. STEPHEN Can be found in the Acts of the Apostles chapters 6 to 7. He was one of the seven men elected to be in the services of the first Christian community. He is characterized as a man of good reputation, filled with the Spirit and wisdom and full of faith (Acts 6.3-5) Many images show St. Stephen bearing a wreath on his head. This is an illusion to his name, for the Greek word Stephanos means wreath but it is also an indication of the crown of victory he received because of his faithful service to God and man. a man filled with grace and power, who worked great wonders and signs among the people. He spoke with great wisdom and full of the spirit so that nobody could match him.

II. St. John, the Evangelist, December 27 The feast of this saints fits well into the time after Christmas because John is the Evangelist of the Word-made-flesh and the author of the letters with great theme of love. John, son of Zebeedee and brother of James. Is also called by Jesus son of thunder, perhaps because of his impetuous temper. He was a fisherman from Bethasaida and together with Peter and James he belonged to the more intimate circle of Jesus. He was privileged to accompany him and to be with Jesus where the rest of the Twelve was left behind, for instance at the Transfiguration , at Gethsemane, and also at the raising of the daughter of Jairus to life.

John is identified with the beloved disciple of the Lord who was reclining next to the Lord during the Last supper. As reported in apocryphal Acts of John the apostle was challenged by Aristodemus, the high priest of Diana at Ephesus, to drink of a cup filled with poisoned wine. John did so without suffering any harm. From this legend developed the popular custom of blessing wine on the feast of St. John. Probably it is connected with pagan customs in may parts of the world, to partake of a drink in honor of a God. The Christians accepted these pagan customs and Christianized them by blessing wine on the feast of some saints, among them also St. John because of the legend of poisoned wine.

III. The Holy Innocents, December 28 It is connected with the birth of Christ in so far as these little ones had to give up their lives because of the newly-born child Jesus. But it is a feast that smacks of cruelty while the whole of the Christmas season has more the spirit of joy and happiness because the of the kindness of God has appeared in Jesus. Especially in our times we are very conscious of crimes committed against children and here is the liturgy of the Church, celebrating a feast of cruelly-murdered children. As believers we have all the beautiful scripture texts in mind that speak of the inscrutable plans of God. The texts of the Mass emphasize very much that the Holy Innocents are martyrs because they suffered for Christ and were slain for Christ. From a pastoral point of view it is important to prepare the celebrations of this feast well. The question of how God can allow such a killing of innocent children to happen will have to be faced. And with all honesty we will have also to admit that from a human point of view there is no answer to this question. Only in the light of faith we can recognize how closely these children were associated with Christ. As they participated in his being persecuted and in his being killed, so they will now participate also in his victory. Throughout the centuries the feast of the Holy Innocents developed into a feast of children. Many activities, customs and traditions became connected with this day and some are lasting up to our days. This feast shares the loving concern for the children with the feast of St. Nicholas on December 6, and the Philippines with the feast of Santo Nio.

The Holy Innocents day can be an occasion to have a special blessing of children and infants. In some religious communities and monasteries the custom is still practiced that on this day the youngest of the community takes over and acts as Superior for the day, giving privileges the regular Superior usually does not give.

IV. Feast of the Holy Family (Sunday during the Octave of Christmas) a) History The Holy Family developed in the 17th century especially in France and Belgium. Francis de Laval de Montmorency (1623 1708), a Frenchman and first Bishop of Quebec, brought this devotion from France to Canada and fostered and promoted it. In Europe of the 19th century there were movements which were a threat to the Christian Family. In Germany there was the conflict between Church and State especially over control of Education and church appointments (Kulturkamf) which affected very much the Christian family spirit. Pope Leo XIII fought vigorously against these dangers. In the Brief Nemimem fugit (June 14, 1892) and his encyclical Graves de communi re (January 18, 1908) The Roman Missal of 1970 adds that the feast of the Holy Family will be celebrated on December 30 if Christmas ends it Octave fall on a Sunday.

b) The Liturgy All the Mass texts present the Holy Family as the great example for the Chirstian Family. The virtues of unity, respect, peace and love are empasized. In the past, the readings remained the same for all three years of the cycle and the only gospel changed. In the revised edition of the lectionary, dated January 21, 1981. The feast was given a complete three years cycle of reading. However, the new readings for the years B and C remain facultative and those from year A may still be taken every year.

Year A

The gospel presents the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt because Herod was searching for the child to destroy him. Matthew emphasizes very much that in Jesus all the prophecies of the Old testament are fulfilled. For the Israelites Egypt was the land of slavery from which the lord has delivered them under the leadership of Moses. Jesus is the new Moses who delivered them under the leadership of Moses. In this context of the feast of the Holy Family it is important to reflect that also the ideal family is not spared of sufferings. In fact, the family of Nazareth is persecuted exactly because Jesus is part of it.

Year B The gospel is from Luke 2, 22-40 about the presentation of Jesus in the temple. It shows the Holy Family as being faithful to their religious traditions and fulfilling the Law. They were a poor family but deeply religious. The end of the gospel is the important aspect on this day where it is mentioned that after the ceremony in the temple they returned to Nazareth and began the hidden and humble life of poor family. It is enriching and revealing to meditate about the two holy families, the one from The Old Testament and the one from the New Testament. In both faith, trust and confidence in God were the virtues that help them to go as through difficult times and to face critical situations. From this we can see the message and the challenge for our times.

Year C Samuel and Jesus were totally dedicated to the Lord and completely in his service. We should not look at them as people who lived many centuries ago and thus are very different from us. We too are Gods children and as we are challenge to follow their example and practice their attitudes. In this way, we will a blessing for our family and a blessing for the world.

c) Pastoral Observation The falling apart of family structures and the erosion of traditional family values is no more only a concern of the Church but also of the State and the whole international community. Also in the Philippines, the only country with a majority Christian population in the Far East, the Christian family values are very much in peril.

The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines dedicated many reflections to this situation and showed ways and means how to prove it. The Bishops of the Northern Luzon took the occasion of the International Year of the Family to address a pastoral letter to the faithful.

V. January 1: Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God Gaius Julius Caesar in his calendar reform the year 46 B.C had transferred the beginning of the New Year from March 1 to January 1 and all he revelry, superstitious practices and pagan customs were performed on that day. In the seventh century the eight day after Christmas, the New Year, and day is celebrate with a certain solemnity and the penitential character is gone. Instead of a penitential character the Mass tests of this day show a great Marian accent. There are various reasons for such a change. December the Incarnate Word was the center of the celebration, now, one week later, his mother is celebrate. A second reason was the church where the papal service was help. The station (station) was the crush of Santa Maria ad Martyrs. This was formerly a pagan temple dedicated to all the gods.

Liturgy a) The Readings The reading does not follow the cycle but remain the same for all three years. The gospel (Lk.2, 16-21) is almost the same as the one of the Christmas Mass at dawn with only a few changes. On Christmas day the emphasis was on the shepherds looking for and finding the child, today on the solemnity of the Mother of God and on the octave day of Christmas the emphasis is on Mary and on the eighth day Mary is describe as the one who is with Jesus ,taking care of him(the shepherds found Mary and Joseph and the baby). She is also presented as the one who ponds about the mystery of Jesus (She treasured all these thing and reflected on them in her heart:v.19).On the eight day Mary and Joseph fulfilled the law (Lev.12,3),broth the child for circumcision and give him the name Jesus as the angel had commanded them to do.

b) The prayer texts The prayer texts present Mary as virgin and Mother. Life and salvation came into the world through her. We ask that by her prayers and intercession we will be helped to reach the fullness of salvation and eternal life.

The prayer after communion calls Mary Mother of Christ and mother of the church. She is the one who brought forth the head the church, Jesus Christ, and so rightly deserves the title mother of the church. The Preface exalts the motherhood of Mary. In a very brief and concise way, as it is typical for any preface, it formulates the mystery we celebrate. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, she became the virgin Mother of our only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is forever the light of the world

3. Pastoral Observations a) Feast and veneration of the Holy Name of Jesus It was quite a shock for some people when they learned that the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus was suppressed. As mentioned in the historical development of the liturgy of January 1 the celebration of the Holy Name of Jesus was royally included in the festivity of the Circumcision of the Lord. Based on the biblical account of Luke 2, 21 was on the same day that Jesus was circumcised and the name was given to him.

b) The first of January as New Years Day It is deplorable that the liturgy of the church does not provide a special Mass for the beginning of the New Year. The first of January is in almost all the countries of the world the solemn beginning of a New Year, filled with expectation , joy and also apprehension about this what the New Year will bring. In the sacramentary there is a Mass for the beginning of the New Year (under Masses for various public needs). In countries like the Philippines where we have the tradition of a midnight Mass at New Year it could be regulated in such a way that as Midnight Mass should be taken the special Mass for the beginning of the New Year, while during the day the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God should be taken.

c) World Day of Peace The custom to observe the first of January as World Day of Peace began in 1968. On December 8, 1967 Pope Paul VI sent a message to all men of good will, declaring the first of January as World Day of Peace.

In his message the Pope stressed very much that true peace must have its foundation in a new way of thinking, in a new spirit and in a new heart. They reveal the Pope as a man with deep insights whose heart is truly burning and on fire for peace.

V. January 6: Epiphany The feast with the strange and foreign name Epiphany is a twin feast of Christmas. It is a second or little Christmas feast and compliments and enriches the 25th of December. They both celebrate from different prospective the mystery of the Incarnation, the coming and manifestation of Christ in the world. Christmas places the accent on the coming, while the Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation. In the words of St. John we can say that the 25th of December emphasizes more The word was made flesh, which Epiphany gives greater emphasis to we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth Franz Nikolasch characterizes the situation in regard to our knowledge about the historical origin of the Epiphany . The oldest account of the Christian feast celebrated on the 6th of January is found in the writings of St. Clement of Alexandria . He reports that in the early second century a gnostic sect. From the fourth century on, we have many testimonies that January 6 was observed as a festival of greatest importance throughout the whole east. The content of the feast of Epiphany is complex and comprehensive up to our days. It is a festival of several great manifestations of the Lord. The Code of Rubics of 1960 decided that this feast does not have to celebrated on January 6 but may be transferred to the Sunday.