System of Counting by Faith

You've probably heard or read this before, but I use a similar method to memorize numbers.  For example, to memorize my license plate, which is 525 43LC, I think: Five foolish virgins-two natures in one God-five wise virgins-four Gospels-three persons in One God-Loves Christ.  

So here are the twelve Catholic numbers and Faith's numerology.
----------------
The Twelve Days of Christmas

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who
won't come out of the pear tree have to do with
Christmas?

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England
were not permitted to practice their faith
openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol
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.                                                                                  One God
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New                                                                      Two natures in one God
Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and                                                             Three persons in one God
love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of                                                                      Four Gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
- The five golden rings recalled the Torah or                                                                       Five foolish virgins
Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of                                          God made man on the sixth day.
creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold                                    Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving,
Teaching,Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership,
and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight                                                                        Eight Beatitudes
beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the                                                  Nine fruits of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace,
Patience, Kindness, Goodness,Faithfulness,
Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten                                                                            Ten Commandments
commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven                                 I don't go beyond 10.  I repeat one-ten.
faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the
twelve points of belief in the
Apostles' Creed.

Apostle Creed

The Apostle's Creed has twelve points of faith in it. Hence, the Twelfth Day of Christmas is attributed to this prayer.

Yay! It's complete. I did it!

Ladies Dancing

This is the Eleventh Day of Christmas and the connection I see is that there were eleven faithful disciples of Jesus.

Eleven ladies dancing...

"10"

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas ten pipers were piping. They certainly had much to pipe about.

The "ten" probably refers to the Ten Commandments.

Again, I'll spare you and not list them. ;-)

Drums

Nine drummers drumming...

The nine whatever represent the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

And I'm sorry I ever started this Twelve Days of Christmas thing. Boring. But I'll finish doing it because that's the way I am.

Lactating Mothers

Eight Maids A-Milking reminds me of mothers who are nursing their babies. Since the Twelve Days of Christmas has religious connotations, I think of Mary and her new born babe.

There are also eight beatitudes.

Don't worry. I won't list them. ;-)

Seven Swimming Swans

Alliteration in the Twelve Days of Christmas!

The Swan refers to the astronomical constellation "Cygnus," which is shaped like a cross. It is also known as the Northern Cross.

A swimming swan is the perfect image of the Church at peace.

There are also seven sacraments, so the seven swans a swimming could be referencing that also.

Six Geese A-Laying

Laying eggs represents birth. It too God six days to create the world. Meditate upon that.

The Archbishop's Ring

The "golden ring" in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" doesn't refer to a ring, but a golden pheasant. This bird resembles St. Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, around the time of the song. An Archbishop wears a red cape, like the golden pheasant. St. Thomas was ever present in people's minds at this time, since he was recently martyred.

Colly=Calling

When I learned the Twelve Days of Christmas, I sand, "On the Fourth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Four Colly Birds....." Colly is an old expression for Calling Birds.

It doesn't matter what they're named because it's the color that's important. These birds are black. Black symbolizes death.

Death? Yes because today is the Feast of the Holy Innocents, December 28. The day we remember all the babies slain on Herod's orders. Herod had heard that a new baby was born that was the true King. Herod was eliminating the competition.

Nowadays the Feast of the Holy Innocents commemorates all the innocent babies who have died in abortions.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Female Eagles

The emblem Charlemagne chose as King of the Franks was the Eagle. A French Hen is the golden hen eagle, the largest and highest flying of birds, representing St. John the Evangelist, whose readings are for today.

First Born

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me: two turtle doves ...

Why would he do that?

Because you and your true love have produced a child. And that child requires an offering in the Temple of Jerusalem It's the custom.

For the poor, the offering is two turtle doves.

You can buy it from the money changes in the temple.

The Word Incarnate

Have you ever heard the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," being a sort of underground catechism? Actually, there is no proof that that's true. On the other hand, there's no proof that it isn't.

I like to think of it as a memory help to learn the Christmas story. In days when children learned to read by using the Bible as a Reader, why wouldn't the Christmas story be a way of learning catechism?

Today, Christmas is the first day. And A Partridge in a Pear-Tree is given as a present. There is a myth of Perdix and Athena. Perdix is Latin for the lost one (Adam). The King of Athens fell into the sea. (Fell from grace) but was miraculously transformed into a partridge (the new Adam) by the Goddess Athena, whose symbol was the pear-tre,e and who was called the Mind of Zeus (Divine Logos) and carried to heaven by her. Thus, the partridge in a pear-tree emphasized the union of Christ's human and Divine natures.