January 6, 2011
While much of the world left Christmas behind over a week ago,
I have truly been savoring the season.
Gratitude for my Catholic faith overflowed this week as things
slowed down after the flurry of Advent activity;
I have FINALLY been able to enjoy Christmas!
Twinkling lights and peaceful Christmas music lingered in my car CD player
AND in my soul all week long...
Today was the 12th Day of Christmas and the celebration of the visit from the Magi to the manger~
The traditional Epiphany Day.
(Matthew 2:1-12)
I suppose it's also time to make the transition from Christmastide to Ordinary time...
(after this Sunday)
Though I AM tempted to wait until
The Presentation of the Lord in February;
For some reason, I am just not ready to say goodbye
to Christmas quite yet!
Regardless of the quiet digging in of my heels, we made the best of this ending.
Marking the closing of our Christmas season,
we enjoyed an evening of celebration, complete
with an Epiphany Royal Supper!
~The evening began with the Traditional Home Blessing~
The “C, M, B also stands for the Latin blessing Christius Mansionem Benedicat which means “May Christ Bless this House”.
Be sure to visit Catholic Icing for Lacy's post on the Epiphany House Blessing and more linkys for Epiphany ideas:)
We have started a tradition of choosing a Patron Saint for our family for the New Year. We have been doing this via the Saint Generator.
Dad picks companion saints for our family
to follow, learn about, and pray with us through the New Year.
Our Epiphany Royal Supper Menu:
Crown Pizza
"Golden Pear" Winter Fruit Salad
Royal Punch
Dessert: King's Cake
We brought our Three Wise Guys to the center of our
dinner table to join our Royal Supper, also posted over at Catholic Cuisine.
Rod cut a family-sized Take and Bake Pizza
in half and then carved
2 crown shapes from the top and bottom halves:
The "Golden Pear" Winter Salad
was a new and simple recipe I tried
It turned out incredibly Yuuuuumy!
Bosco Pears
Ambrosia Apples
Oats and Honey Granola
Greek Yogurt~Honey Flavored
The Epiphany~ Manifestation of the Word made Flesh~
Gave us reason to CHEER!
As the Magi brought gifts to Jesus,
we closed out the evening by bringing Him our hearts,
renewing our love and commitment
to the Christ child and Savior of the world.
The hearts will be taped on bathroom mirrors or school stations to remind us of our
New Year's gift to Jesus.
This weekend we will take down our Christmas decorations...
I don't look forward to the bare nakedness of my home after the last
string of lights are put away.
But the beauty of our faith DOES remind me of the cycle of our human spirit as we
constantly strive for our ultimate goal.
We are continually reminded that we must decrease and empty
ourselves in order to open up a space to receive the graces of heaven.
I may not want "Christmas" to end but it is a reflection of what's best for me and for us all.
As our homes reflect the emptiness of "Christmas", they also serve as visual reminders to renew our
strength for the journey in this New Year.
We are called to rediscover the sanctity of our every day lives in Ordinary Time...
Only from death, can we be raised to eternal life.
"Naked and stripped there came forth
from her, He who clothes all."
~St. Ephrem the Syrian~
The traditional Epiphany Day.
(Matthew 2:1-12)
I suppose it's also time to make the transition from Christmastide to Ordinary time...
(after this Sunday)
Though I AM tempted to wait until
The Presentation of the Lord in February;
For some reason, I am just not ready to say goodbye
to Christmas quite yet!
Regardless of the quiet digging in of my heels, we made the best of this ending.
Marking the closing of our Christmas season,
we enjoyed an evening of celebration, complete
with an Epiphany Royal Supper!
~The evening began with the Traditional Home Blessing~
The “C, M, B also stands for the Latin blessing Christius Mansionem Benedicat which means “May Christ Bless this House”.
Be sure to visit Catholic Icing for Lacy's post on the Epiphany House Blessing and more linkys for Epiphany ideas:)
Dad picks companion saints for our family
to follow, learn about, and pray with us through the New Year.
Crown Pizza
"Golden Pear" Winter Fruit Salad
Royal Punch
Dessert: King's Cake
dinner table to join our Royal Supper, also posted over at Catholic Cuisine.
Rod cut a family-sized Take and Bake Pizza
in half and then carved
2 crown shapes from the top and bottom halves:
was a new and simple recipe I tried
It turned out incredibly Yuuuuumy!
Bosco Pears
Ambrosia Apples
Oats and Honey Granola
Greek Yogurt~Honey Flavored
Gave us reason to CHEER!
I also wanted to share this simple recipe for our
~Royal King's Cake~
One of our family favorites!
Ingredients:
Yellow Cake Mix
1 pkg. Vanilla Pudding mix
4 Eggs
1 Cup Dry Sherry Wine
3/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
*Beat all ingredients together on high for approx. 5 minutes*
Spray Bundt Pan and Bake at 350 degrees
for 45-50 minutes
Sprinkle with Powdered Sugar
(We added the Royal Garnish for our Epiphany Celebration)
we closed out the evening by bringing Him our hearts,
renewing our love and commitment
to the Christ child and Savior of the world.
After crowning the King of Kings,
Each person thought of one way to improve their spiritual life and wrote the promise or "gift to Jesus" on a paper heart. We placed our hearts at the feet of the Christ Child for the evening.The hearts will be taped on bathroom mirrors or school stations to remind us of our
New Year's gift to Jesus.
I don't look forward to the bare nakedness of my home after the last
string of lights are put away.
But the beauty of our faith DOES remind me of the cycle of our human spirit as we
constantly strive for our ultimate goal.
We are continually reminded that we must decrease and empty
ourselves in order to open up a space to receive the graces of heaven.
I may not want "Christmas" to end but it is a reflection of what's best for me and for us all.
As our homes reflect the emptiness of "Christmas", they also serve as visual reminders to renew our
strength for the journey in this New Year.
We are called to rediscover the sanctity of our every day lives in Ordinary Time...
Only from death, can we be raised to eternal life.
"Naked and stripped there came forth
from her, He who clothes all."
~St. Ephrem the Syrian~
What a wonderful post! I love looking at your beautiful "domestic church". I had a few plans for today, but they quickly went up in smoke in the midst of preparations for my daughter's upcoming wedding. Today had it's own beauty, but I am definitely bookmarking this post for next year. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletebeautiful feast day celebration and meditation. Deo Gratias!
ReplyDeletewhat a blessing to have dad there to celebrate.
may you continue to give your heart to Jesus. ALL FOR!
pax Christi - lena
What a Feast for a beautiful Feast Day! Did you have fun picking your saints?
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful celebration. I love how you tie it all in together.
ReplyDeleteIsnt the feast of the epiphany wonderful at your house! lovelovel Jesus and His crib and his royal blanket! and your idea of putting hearts at His feet with promises for improvements. your children are so blessed to have you as their mother and teacher of the faith. and the cake looks perfectly sweet! thanks for sharing. I hope you share your saint for the year. !!!
ReplyDeleteHi..glad you found my blog, always looking for, not only Medjugorje lovers but God lovers .. and I am reading your blog on my little phone while at work and love your blog and your God centered lifestyle..you are an inspiration to me and probably so many others! We plan on going back to Medjugorje in 2011! It seems to me that people who have experienced Medjugorje have a special spiritual bond...it's family to me! God bless you and your beautiful family! I will be visiting your blog often. Thank you for sharing such beauty.
ReplyDeletePS..My dear husband read that Christmas is actually over on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, so we kept our decorations up :) even longer than The Epiphany, which we really celebrate on Jan. 6th..we enjoy our tree so much. Kids at heart :)
ReplyDelete