While many have already packed Christmas back into storage until after Thanksgiving 2026, today is actually only the fifth day of Christmas. In the gift-giving song, today would be the day that the singer’s true love gave them “five golden rings” (which is traditionally understood to be yet another day of birds or, as later Catholic Christian tradition sometimes understood it, the first five books of the Old Testament).

Today is also recognized as Saint Sylvester’s Day in many areas of the Church. Saint Sylvester I was the Bishop of Rome (Pope) from the year 314 until his death on December 31, 335. Chances are, you’ve never heard of this individual unless you’re a devout Catholic or a history nerd, and even those folks may not know much about him, as little is known about his life. He didn’t die a martyr, and he didn’t leave behind tomes of books about his theology or thoughts.

Yet, he is remembered today not for spectacle or personality, but for the quiet weight of when he lived. As Pope during the Council of Nicaea, he sent representatives on his behalf, with history suggesting he was likely not present. Still, this was the council that set in place the Nicene Creed, a confession of faith Christians continue to speak every Sunday as a part of worship.

In many ways, Sylvester had a quiet, background legacy. He was a Pope during a hinge moment, someone who shepherded a community through massive change without becoming the headline. There were no fireworks at the time for his work, just faithfulness seen in transition.

This is where I believe we can learn from this consequential Pope on December 31.

New Year’s Eve trains us to enter a new year craving spectacle. We’ll stay up tonight to watch huge countdowns as we think about our big resolutions to start tomorrow. We often view the turn of the clock as a chance at a clean slate. Yet, Sylvester reminds us that most of life and faith happen in quieter ways as we stay present when the ground is shifting underneath us. He reminds us that holding space while old chapters close and new ones have not taken shape can be redemptive. He reminds us that there is importance in doing the work that may never trend, but might just change the lives of those around us.

Sylvester did not usher in a “new year” kind of Christianity. He lived in the long in between where things were heading somewhere, but were not there yet.

I do not know what 2026 will bring for us and our world. Even if we can predict the tide based on the direction of the current, that does not mean anything is certain. Instead, I think our challenge is to stand on the edge of a new year with the example of St. Sylvester I: resolving that God is doing something in our midst and that we might just find it, not in the spectacle, but in the quiet, resolved, and enduring work that keeps pressing on without giving up hope.

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Featured Image: https://anastpaul.com/2018/12/31/saint-of-the-day-st-pope-sylvester-i-died-335/