Merry Christmas!
Hodie, Christus natus est:
hodie Salvator apparuit:
hodie in terra canunt Angeli,
laetantur Archangeli:
hodie exsultant justi, dicentes:
Gloria in excelsis Deo, alleluia.
Today, Christ has been born:
Today, the Savior has appeared:
Today the Angels sing on earth,
the Archangels rejoice:
Today the just exult, saying:
Glory to God in the highest, alleluia!
Hodie, hodie, hodie - today, today, today … So echoes the Magnificat antiphon which we sing at Vespers of Christmas. This day, today, is the day on which our savior was born, and we rejoice with the angels and archangels and all the holy ones of God, singing, “Glory to God in the highest!”
Christmas Eve was spent in a cheerful busyness as we prepared to celebrate - decorating the chapel and choir with pointsettias, wreaths and nativity scenes, putting the finishing touches on Christmas decorations throughout the house, decorating Christmas cookies, and getting in last-minute practice for Christmas music.
Following Christmas Midnight Mass, we enjoyed our traditional candle-lit Gaudeamus celebration, breaking the Advent fast with hot chocolate, cookies, and other treats. Both our Christmas Midnight Mass and Morning Mass were celebrated by Fr. Jonathan Kalisch, OP. Christmas Day is a free recreation day, and we eat all three meals together in the community room, dispensing from the usual silence. Among the Christmas activities enjoyed this year was a game of “Praise-y 8’s” - yes, that would be Nativity-themed Crazy 8’s! Mary, Joseph, the three Wise Men, shepherds, and sheep are all featured on various card numbers, and the 8 wild card is Baby Jesus!
Throughout the octave of Christmas, each day has the rank of Feast, and is celebrated accordingly. Sisters make delicious meals during the Octave, and we enjoy Christmas cookies and other treats. Today on this last day of the year, though, we take a break from Christmas festivities and observe it as a retreat and fast day, making reparation for our sins of the past year, and praying for the coming year. Tomorrow, we will celebrate the start of a new year with the Octave day of Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia!