Today is the First of the 12 Days of Commission, which is the third dozenal of the Easter Season. The 5th Day of Commission, which is the 6th Thursday after Easter, is Agape Thursday.

The 12 Days of Commission are a celebration of the Christian virtue of Love (ἀγάπη or “agape” in Greek), and Agape Thursday is a day to feast in the reconciliation of Faith and Hope as partners in all-embracing Love.

The 12 Days of Commission culminate in Ascension Thursday, the day in which Christ rose to Heaven between two angels as the Christian virtue of Love is lifted by Hope and Faith. Ascension Thursday is one of the Four Great Thursdays of American Unitarian Reform.