Updated Oct 26, 2025

Sometimes you just need a new word to codify one of the greatest days in the history of the universe. Paraskevidekatriaphilia is that word!

Ok, it’s not the easiest word to say four times while rubbing your tummy and patting your head, but it IS worth learning.

In essence, it describes the “love of Friday the 13th.” Why is this important, what with so many humans superstitious about the number 13, noting many tall buildings do NOT have a 13th floor, and even worse super skiddish about 13ths on Fridays.

Triskaidekaphobia is a condition describing “fear of 13”. Paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia bump it up to fear of Friday the 13s in general.

But paraskevidekatriaphilia is an eternally blessed word about none other than Jesus the Christ. The God~man behind the “message”.

We know, comparing three parts of the Scriptures, that Jesus actually died on Friday the 13th in the Hebrew month Abib.  Never heard this before?  Then why is 13 so despised by  the evil side of creation?   Is  it because the number 1 3 can signify the Trinity, the unitary Father, Son and Holy Spirit?  Maybe.

Later on in history, as the most destructive war in history (WWI) was winding down, the Virgin Mary appeared in the town named for Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima in Portugal on May 13, 1917. By the way, the same date Pope St John Paul the Great, 88 years later was shot and lived by a Islamist named Agca, hired to assassinate him by Bulgaria.   Interestingly, the Pope put the bullet in the crown of Mary, in a spot missing a jewel.

And Fatima still has significance today for various reasons.   But, more about ’13’ dates.  In 1917, for five more monthly 13s, Mary appeared in the Cova to three children, Lucia, Francisco and Maria.   Interestingly, NOT the first Friday or 2nd Tuesdays, but only 13s:   June 13, July 13, August 13, September 13 and then closing the apparition series in front of 70,000 witnesses, the Day the Sun Danced in Portugal.

The/Our Lady of the Apocalypse in John’ book of Revelations, and dating back to 40AD when she bilocated still on earth, Mary’s “frequent flyer” appearances always focus us on her Son, the God Man of the Eucharist who gave His all on Calvary; no different on Oct 13, 1917.  Her relayed messages are laser sharp and poignant, many growing in significance and value to a troubled world.

As many know, God is the Master Mathematician; He gives significance, ascribes value to different numbers in nature and His creation,as well as the revealed Word of the Bible and we need to sort out those that have relevance.   Some significant ones are allegorical; others, are time/ numerical specific.

Quick examples: 8 is the number of renewal, resurrection:  the 8th note in the major musical scale, repeats the 1st, becomes the harmonic.  Simply put, it renews the scale.  Eight humans were saved by the world’s largest zoo ship, the ark, Noah, wife and family.  8 also is Jesus’ number, in fact 888 IS His name in one of the two languages, Hebrew and Greek, that assign numbers to letters of their alphabet. Read the graphic!   Mary was conceived on March 8th and born on December 8th; note the white smoke electing Pope Leo XiV happened on May 8th, a Marian date.

 

17  is the number of victory often in the Scriptures and nature; there are 17 steps to the entrance/opening in the world’s largest object called Border Fire in the Middle that sits at the exact center of the world pointing 270 miles to the House of Bread (Beth’Lehem). It is also sometimes called Giza Pyramid, a story for another time.    Forty (40) often signifies a time of testing, “probation”, temptation such as Jesus’ time with His opponent (The Hebrewized Persian word from ‘satan’) in the desert while fasting.   The 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert before entering the Land promised to them through Abraham: ALL the warrior class had to die before it was time to enter via Joshua.

12 is the number of governmental “perfection”, with 12 tribes governing the Israelites and 12 Apostles govern the newly instituted Church for the Bridegroom, in the old and new testament respectively.  10 is the number of perfection, with 7 referring to completeness such as 7 days in the week. 144 is 12 x 12 x1000..what does this mean?

3 is the Trinity number of Persons; 1 the number of God.   Dig deep; you can find more.

So Friday the 13th remains the luckiest day and date combo.  But, one more thing! The more you study Church history, the Magisterium and a good translation of the Scriptures, the more you can go deeper and ask for the Spirit’s guidance, you will see God’s incredible ‘multi’ layering truth and facts for His good purposes.

Note this:  Multiple layered meanings are COMMON. One other ’13’ style number to mention comes post Resurrection: 153.  The intriguing thing is this number of the fish caught at Jesus’ urging, factors down to 3 x 3 x 17=153.

It also is the sum of  the first 17 numbers (1+2+3+4+5…+17)  probably emphasizing this is the Trinity’s formula for victory. Coincidence?   I believe more likely God~incidence.

“Translated” you get Trinity times Trinity times Victory.   In Biblical writings, 17 often refers to actual Victory.   Wise Church fathers have chewed on the significance of 153 for years, but suppose it IS the final gift Jesus left the Church:  the vast numbers of “fish” who will be caught to live forever in paradise?   Far fetched?  Maybe, but realize God’s Universe, the Eucharistic Renaissance, Salvation History are intricately designed, created and fall into place in various ways over time.   We have to be careful about running amok with biblical numbers study but take a short breath:

17 – SEVENTEEN symbolizes VICTORY, RESTORATION, and SPIRITUAL PERFECTION

The number 17 could mean ‘spiritual perfection’ as the sum of 10 (representing law and responsibility) and 7 (representing spiritual completeness), 17 signifies a perfect spiritual order.

– Resurrection and new beginnings: The sum of its digits (1+7=8) connects it to the concept of resurrection and new life.  This might be a stretch but as mentioned above, 888 is Jesus’ name and 8 the Savior’s number.

Biblical References associated with the number 17:

– The flood began on the seventeenth day of the second month, signifying a new beginning and God’s judgement (Gen 7:11).
– The ark rested on Mount Ararat on the seventeenth day, marking the end of the flood and the start of a new era for humanity (Gen 8:4).
– In Genesis 17, God changes Abram’s name to Abraham and institutes circumcision as a covenant sign.
– Exodus 12:42: The Israelites depart Egypt on the 17th day of the first month, marking their liberation and journey towards the Promised Land.
– The book of Esther, which foreshadows God’s deliverance, is the 17th book of the Bible. Hmm?
– Jesus Christ was resurrected on Nisan 17, symbolizing His victory over death.  (I contend it was Nisan/Abib 15, but the discussion continues.)
– St. Paul lists 17 things that cannot separate us from the love of Christ, emphasizing the completeness and security of God’s love (Rom 8:35-39).

Back to calendaring, a common trait of humans, parents and life.

Quick look at charted days, ie calendars.

Today’s Chabad calendar system belongs to the Jews and Israel, but it doesn’t line up well with the Gregorian calendar.  Reason is it is based on the lunar movements while Gregorian follows close to the solar year, which is 365.242 days.  Chabad is in year 5785 currently, obviously NOT the same.  Also, notice,  the Church celebrates the conception of Jesus on the date He was announced to Mary via Gabriel; the date was March 25

Practically and biologically, it represents 9 months from the Annunciation to the Birth of Christ in the House of Bread, Bethlehem on Dec 25th; you may have heard that a human being’s gestation is 9 months.   Imagine the overlay of St Bernadette, the poor innocent ignorant French girl who freaked out her local priest by telling him what Mary told her, when asked who she was.

“I am the Immaculate Conception” in French is “Je suis l’Immaculée Conception.”.  Yet, the exact words Bernadette repeated multiple times to herself after Mary revealed her name was “Que soy era Immaculada Concepciou”, in her own French dialect ; the priest was dumbfounded upon hearing this.  Note that St Bernadette had NO CLUE what the name meant, though the Pope had just stated this doctrine in 1854, 3 years before.  MORE ominous was the date of this latest Miriam/Mary reveal:   March 25, 1858.

Please understand Jesus was ‘born to die”, known to the Father from all eternity past. On the Gregorian charts, the date we recognize is March 25th, same as the Annunciation of Jesus’ incarnation, the same as the reveal of Mary’s being conceived without sin.   ALL Godincidences, not chance.

Yet, based on three Scriptures, in the lunar Jewish calendar, Jesus died on Friday the 13th month Abib.  Also, amazingly, since Jews recognize the next day as sundown approaches, a strong case can be made Jesus, both His institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and the Crucifixion occurred on the exact same day. Friday the 13th.  Recall, the Jewish elders were hyper about getting Jesus off the cross before sunset, basically the Sabbath Passover event, so is all fits like a jigsaw puzzle.

Incredible?  How about this: Mary’s birth without sin, Jesus sinless birth, the promise Jesus will Eucharistically remain with His Catholic Church thru time’s end and His proving His obedience to the Father for ALL the sins of the world by dying a horrible death on wood, are INEXTRICABLY LINKED.  Of course, the Resurrection, REDEEMED the Promise on Sunday, the third day after, on the 15th day of Abib.

In a very real sense, Mary’s apparitions “codify” so much of the Truth, yet so often we Church leaders misses the miraculous and commit ‘unforced errors’, totally unnecessary.  But God IS patient by sending his prophets, old and new Testament.

Jesus wants ALL to come to a happy eternity and He dispenses His Mercy to those who need it the most.  Ever hear of Helen Kowalska or St. Faustina, the Divine Mercy messager?

The Promises of the Chaplet of Mercy are beautiful:  ‘Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy’ – Jesus

So many ways God has reached out to us, as He does daily with Mass and the Eucharist.  I will boldly say, we are IN the Eucharistic Renaissance so needed in our battered world filled with bizarre ideologies and lies.  “Where evil abounds, GRACE abounds more”>

Or the 12 promises to St Margaret Mary Alocoque from Jesus.  St Lucia, the visionary with the 3 secrets of Fatima from Mary. Soooo many Eucharistic miracles from Lanciano to the incorrupt.

But, God did NOT restrict His messages to Mary, to the Scriptures nor humans.   I believe a great truth missed today is that God built a giant message center, packed with facts and truth but mainly pointing 270 miles north east from the exact center of  the world, skirting the Middle Earth Sea (no not LOTR) and vectoring through the City of David, the birthcity and place of the Messiah.

God DESIGNED the seasons, the universe for mankind and to use every means to point out eternal Truth.  We just mentioned March 25th, conceivably the actual Spring Equinox, ie the first day of Spring in ages past.  OK, you might think “Len, you are going too far and the aluminium hat is sagging”, but:   At the Spring Equinox, the center of the world’s Giza, most accurate device, stone or concrete,  even today to the four Cardinal directions, has ZERO shadow at high noon. It becomes a visible from the moon, beacon of sorts, indicating an eternal event we call the Crucifixion.  Yet, one date for sure, it lost its brilliance (long before the 1303ad earthquake made it susceptible to stone thieves)…

Except one Friday the 13th of Abib (corresponding to Gregorian’s March 25), for three hours there was NO SUN as well as NO SHADOW.  The time ‘the sun stood still as Jesus was dying for all humanity.

Annunciation. Last supper Institution of the Eucharist. The Crucifixion.  Mary’ reveal to St Bernadette of Soubirous     Every renewal of the spring for millennia.    God’s clock architecture is perfect as well as His well placed compass and time machine.  Time machine?  Explain that! In a few minutes we will lay out why Giza is a Catholic icon yet not celebrated.

So the next time in pleasant conversation, someone brings up paraskevidekatriaphilia, just smile and say “Wasn’t that a remarkable and perfect love by the Son of God, the lover one Friday the 13th!”