The Epiphany

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him’” (Matt. 2:1-2).

The Feast of the Epiphany has been celebrated since the fourth century. It is a feast that is loaded with imagery. There is a star, there are kings, there are gifts, there is a wondering mother and father, and there is a baby that made the journey complete.

Some people say these people were astronomers; they were used to looking at the stars. Some say it was their professional work and, if so, among all the stars they noticed one particular star that shone in a special way.

Often God speaks to us through the stars in our life: little things every day that shine up at us. They glitter a little bit in our eyes, they attract us, and they mean something to us at a deeper level.

The star spoke to these wise men. They realized there was something special about it—so special that it led them to leave their home, their occupation, everything that they had, and take with them their finest possessions to go in search of the star.

In some ways, it was a crazy adventure. In some ways, it was a pilgrimage of faith, a journeying forward to an unknown destination, which is a little bit of what our Christian vocation is all about also. We follow the star of our vocation, God speaking to us through the ordinary things of every day.

And they went on a long journey that led them to Jerusalem, where the star disappeared. They entered into a bit of a crisis.

There might be a moment in our life when we begin to question our Christian vocation, our marriage vocation, or our professional vocation. That star that perhaps has been there for many years or many decades, we begin to wonder: where is it? And of course, it's there all the time, but possibly for a while God allows us not to see it.

And if that ever happens, He wants us to use the human means and the supernatural means.

These kings, when they came to Jerusalem, they said, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

They ask questions. They seek advice from people who would know, who could help them on their journey, who could point them in the right direction. They didn't just go home again when the star disappeared, or they didn't give up with discouragement or despair. They journeyed forward in a different way without seeing the star.

“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him" (Matt. 2:3).

These funny men from the east in this new place, possibly with funny accents and funny language, created quite a stir. “All Jerusalem with him.” The news began to run around the place. Stories perhaps multiplied. Maybe there was misunderstanding or chaos or all sorts of other things. They were all troubled by their presence.

“And assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born” (Matt. 2:4).

Herod reacts pretty sternly to this situation. He assembles all the important people. It's another indication of the stir that these wise men have created. And he wanted to know where this Christ was to be born. He was being referred to as the king of the Jews.

“They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people.”’ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared” (Matt. 2:5-7).

Herod begins to act furtively. There's fear there. There's cunning. There's planning. He's a bit like the patron saint of all phony politicians. He summons them secretly and tries to find out more information.

“And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, 'Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him’” (Matt. 2:8).

He's a bit like the prince of the Pharisees. He tells them one thing, but he knows he wants to do another thing. He's a butcher, a murderer, but outwardly he's saying, “I want to come and worship him.” He's full of lies and duplicity; difficult creature.

“And when they heard the king, they went their way. And behold the star which they had seen in the east went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matt. 2:9-10).

They went their way. Somehow, they were warned not to give too much attention to Herod. They didn't stay in Jerusalem. They went forward with faith and hope—possibly with a little bit of blindness—but they went forward. They went one foot in front of the other.

When they did this with initiative, with daring, with optimism, the star that they had seen in the east went before them. It reappeared.

We know that in the course of our life, the star of our vocation might appear and reappear or disappear, but it will come again. God will let us see clearly the calling that He's given to us, His mission for us. He doesn't want us to be always walking in darkness.

St. Josemaría used to say that once we have seen our mission clearly once, that should be enough for us to go forward along that pathway that God has pointed out for us. Even if the star never appears again, we know where we're going, we know where we've come from, we know what God is calling us to.

Maybe great things are depending on the fact that we follow the star of our vocation, and that hopefully, we give great example to our family members to do similar things, even at great cost.

Our Lord outlines for us in the Gospel sometimes what that cost may be, but He wants us to follow the star. It can be the means for us to grow in holiness, the means for effectiveness, the means to bring about the culture of life and the civilization of love that the Church is speaking to us so much about.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly” (Matt. 2:10). Some of the greatest joys of our life may be spiritual joys. It may be that an awful lot of the things that gave us great joy earlier in life—sport or football or a whole pile of other things, our team winning, or food or other things or drink, maybe some of these other material, physical joys—fade into the background a little bit as Our Lord leads us to savor the great joys that He wants to give us. Spiritual joys, joys that come from the Christ Child in Bethlehem.

“And it came to rest over the place where the child was” (Matt. 2:9). The star led them to Christ.

The star of our professional, family, marriage vocation, celibate vocation also will lead us to Christ, the means that God is using. Perhaps the formation activities that we participate in, or some word, or some idea reaches to the depths of our soul. Or something that we hear in some retreat, or in a circle, or in our spiritual reading book, or in our personal prayer, or in our conversation with Our Lady, or looking at an image of hers.

All the time Our Lord may be giving us the inklings of that star that He wants us to follow on a daily basis.

“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him" (Matt. 2:11). Today is a day to adore, because that's what the wise men did. “They fell down and worshipped him.” They found their God in a baby, in something very small, very tiny.

We know our God is there in the little things of every day. Great souls pay much attention to little things. These very wise men paid an awful lot of attention to this little baby.

“Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matt. 2:11).

You've probably heard the story of the kindergarten school where the children were playing out this arrival of the three wise men. Some kid announced that "They brought gold, common sense, and fur.” Little children also get some idea of what's taking place. From the material things they see in the crib, they can come to understand the meaning of the Epiphany, which means manifestation.

These wise men represent the whole of humanity: the Gentiles, the non-Jews. Ever since they made their way to Bethlehem, the whole of humanity has been following in procession behind them. Each one of us is in that procession, making our way to Bethlehem, so as to fall down and to worship Him.

"And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way” (Matt. 2:12). The Magi, as well as the shepherds, didn't stay forever in Bethlehem. They had other things to do. They had to get back to their work. They had to go back to the ordinary things.

When this period of Christmas passes, we also are meant to follow their example. We've got to begin again in the ordinary things.

The Opening Prayer of today's Mass says: “Father of light, unchanging God, today you reveal to men of faith the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes, to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete.”

It's a very beautiful liturgical prayer at the start of this year. We're reminded of “the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, your love is near.”

We can ask Our Lord that, like the Magi, we might bring the great news of this event to the whole world, to all the people that are waiting to hear the good news; that when we come to this stable in Bethlehem, we also might bring our finest gifts; that we might set out on our journey that possibly might be long and difficult — with hardship, with ups and downs, with a little bit of discouragement here and there as we lose our way a little bit—but with a thirst for God.

And with our star as a leader. There's a phrase in Latin that says, Stella duce, with our star as a guide, as a leader.

There was an image of Our Lady in Oxford with that inspiration under it: Stella duce. Mary is the star, the morning star, the star that shines in our life. The star that lights up the darkness of humanity and shows us the way.

Possibly many other people in the world saw the star that was shining in the sky. But the wise men were the only ones to discover the deep meaning of the star. Possibly other people had the grace to correspond, but they didn't.

Our Lord has left a lot to us to have the same initiative and daring and optimism as the wise men. They traveled on bad roads, perhaps slept in uncomfortable places, but the star showed them the way. The ups and downs of marriage or family life are something similar.

The star revealed to them the meaning of their lives, and it made the journey joyful, made it worthwhile. They knew where they were going. They had some inkling of what was there at the end. It reminded them that it was worthwhile to put up with any discomfort in order to see Jesus. Sacrifices are born with elegance and happiness if the goal is worthwhile.

As we set out following our star—at times an apostolic star that may lead us to warm the spiritual temperature of the people around us, or at least to give them a good example—may we be led to all the souls that God wants us to know.

These wise men are very prudent. They ask for advice. They realize they don't know it all.

Sometimes we need a lot of humility to ask for advice, to see that the people that God has placed around us, like our spiritual director, are there to be the instrument of the Holy Spirit to show us the way. Sometimes they are the star.

Because they follow the advice and the indications of those who had been placed in that particular moment to communicate things to them—placed there by God's providence to show them the way—the star reappears.

The reappearing of the star is a consequence of their doing what they were asked to do following the advice and the indications. Similarly, our faith is applied in our docility, in letting ourselves be helped in spiritual direction, in our faith, in our generosity.

They find God in a baby; that's the basis of the joy of today's feast. They fall down to worship Him. They bring to Him their finest gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

We can ask Our Lord that we might also offer to the Christ Child our finest gifts, the best that we can give Him: our correspondence, our generosity, our availability, our care of our spiritual life; the frankincense of our prayer, the gold of our charity, the myrrh of our sacrifices united to the Mass.

There are great things waiting for us. Great events. The Catechism says: “The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Point 528).

“The tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people” (Luke 2:10).

Catholic means “universal.” We have to burn with the desire to make the truths that Christ has given to us reach every last corner of the earth and every last corner of society.

“The Magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations” (Catechism, ibid.). King of kings and Lord of lords.

These wise men were kings. They perform a special gesture of bowing down before the King. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship Him as the Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the Messianic promises contained in the Old Testament.

“The Epiphany shows,” continues the Catechism, “that ‘the full number of the nations’ now takes its ‘place in the family of the patriarchs’ and acquires Israelitica dignitas (is made ‘worthy of the heritage of Israel’)” (ibid.).

Jesus comes. “If he is who he claims to be, the eternal Son of God and Savior of the world, why is he not recognized by everyone who hears his word and sees his works?” (Don Schwager, Daily Scripture Meditations, January 6, 2024).

Something similar happens in today's world. The eyes of some are blinded.

John the Evangelist states that when Jesus came into the world, “The world knew him not … and his own people received him not” (John 1:10-11).

He was born in obscurity. We shouldn't be surprised if vast areas of society are somehow not open to the coming of the Christ Child or to the message that He brings. Only the lowly shepherds recognized Him at His birth. “He resists the proud, but he gives his grace to the humble” (James 4:6; Prov. 3:34).

Some wise men found their way to Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn King of Israel. And we, by the place we have prepared in these past few days and weeks, are met at our place beside the manager to observe the great scene in our prayer.

“These men were not Israelites, but foreigners. They likely had read and discussed the Messianic prophecies and were anxious to see when this Messianic King would appear. God led them by means of an extraordinary star across the desert to the little town where Jesus was born.

“In their thirst for knowledge of God, they willingly left everything, their home and country, in pursuit of that quest.” A reminder to us about detachment from all the things in this world.

“In their diligent search they were led to the source of true knowledge—to Jesus Christ, the Light and Wisdom of God” (ibid.). When we enter the stable in Bethlehem, we will participate in the light that shines from there: the light of truth, of knowledge, of wisdom, of beauty.

Is it any wonder that when they found the newborn King, they humbly worshipped Him and gave Him gifts that were fit for a king? What fueled their search for this Messianic King? With faith in the promise of God to send a Redeemer, a King who would establish God's reign of peace and righteousness.

“Our faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to us. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and opens the eyes of the mind, we are able to understand, to accept, and to believe the truths that God reveals to us” (ibid.).

Thank you, Lord, for letting me know so many things. Help me to get a greater and deeper understanding of them, to pass them on to others.

“In faith, the human intellect and will cooperate with grace. St. Thomas Aquinas says, ‘Believing is an act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Point 155).

“To know and to encounter Jesus Christ [is to] know God personally. In the encounter of the wise men with Jesus, we see the plan of God to give his only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people but for all the nations as well. Our Lord has come that Jew and Gentile might find true and lasting peace with God” (Don Schwager, Daily Reading and Meditation, Matthew 2:1-12).

The three kings have their star. Mary is Our Star, the Morning Star. She will lead the way.

Most sweetheart of Mary, make that way safe.

By treasuring the truth in her heart, Mary has shared it forever with the world. Constantly contemplated all these things in her heart.

St. Josemaría in Furrow says: “You often ask yourself why souls, who have had the great fortune of knowing the true Jesus ever since their childhood, hesitate so much in responding with the best they have: their life, their family, their ideals.

“Look, you are bound to show yourself very grateful to the Lord, precisely because you have received ‘everything’ in one go. Just as it would strike a blind man if he suddenly recovered his sight, while it does not even occur to others to give thanks because they see.

“But that is not enough. You have to help those around you, daily, to behave with gratitude for their being sons of God. If you don’t, don’t tell me you are grateful” (Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, Point 4).

He also says in the Furrow: “May we have the courage always to act in public in accordance with our holy faith” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 46).

The wise men acted in the public. They let it be known where they were going, whom they were seeking. It was no secret.

He says: “Your faith is not operative enough; it seems that you are over-pious, rather than a man who is struggling to be a saint” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 111).

“Be daring in your prayer, and the Lord will turn you from a pessimist into an optimist; from being timid, to being daring, from being feeble-spirited to being a man of faith, an apostle!” (J. Escrivá, Furrow, Point 118).

We see all these characteristics in those wise men: optimistic, daring, people of faith.

As we place ourselves beside the Christ Child, we could ask Our Lady on this special day to teach us how to look at Joseph during this coming year and to learn all these wonderful lessons that we can learn from his life, starting on this particular day.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

KI