Hope...

Continuing on with our twelve days of "gifts" that we all can give to each other - gifts that won't cost us a thing...

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...HOPE.

There are two stories of HOPE throughout history when it comes to FAITH.

The first story - From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote The Twelve Days of Christmas as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven ”faithful” disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

The second story - When threatened by Romans in the first centuries after Christ, Christians used the fish to mark meeting places and tombs, or to distinguish friends from foes. According to one ancient story, when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company.

Especially now, in the US, where we are able to worship freely and without persecution, let us all be filled with HOPE!