Our Christmas celebration reaches its fulfillment, and today we celebrate the highpoint of these Sacred Feasts. On Christmas, our Lord appeared on the earth, but this appearance was limited in scope: Mary had known His presence since the Incarnation, and Joseph and a select few others learned of it soon after; at Christmas, this knowledge was dispersed more broadly to include the shepherds and those in the vicinity of Bethlehem. But now, we celebrate the great epiphania of our God to the whole earth, symbolized in the arrival of the Magi from the East, who receive the full manifestation of our God to all the nations. The Feast of the Epiphany is the highpoint of the Christmas season. As we recite in our entrance antiphon: “Behold, the Lord, the Mighty One, has come; and kingship is in His grasp, and power and dominion” Epiphany brings to fulfilment the purposes that began in Advent, and now the whole earth has come to know the rejoicing brought on by the birth of the Son of God, and God has made His definitive adventus for all the world. In the adoration of the Kings of the East, worldly powers are humbled before the Infant and Almighty God. In the bending of their knees, we are meant to perceive the humbling of their hearts before the Majesty of the Lord.
Pope Saint Leo the Great, well-known for his beautiful homilies, reflected on this mystery some 1600 years ago, and his preaching provides us with worthy reflection even in our own day:
“On [the Epiphany] the world acknowledges Him who was born of a Virgin on [Christmas]. The Word made flesh so ordained His manifestation that as a newborn Infant He would be known to believers, but hidden from persecutors. Already on Christmas the heavens were resplendent with the glory of God, and the sound of His truth went forth through all the earth when an army of angels appeared to the shepherds as messengers of the newborn Savior and the guiding star began leading the Magi to adore him. Then it was that the birth of the true King shone over the world, from the rising of the sun even to its setting. For, through the Magi, both the East learned the truth of this great event, and the Roman Empire was not left in ignorance…Let us therefore acknowledge, beloved brethren, in the adoration of the Magi the first sign of our calling and of our faith; and let us celebrate with glad hearts the beginning of our blessed hope. From now on we enter our eternal heritage; and the truth which the Jews in the blindness of their hearts did not receive, casts its light on all nations. Let us fittingly honor this most sacred day on which the author of our salvation appeared. He whom the Magi worshipped as an infant in a crib, we will adore as omnipotent King of heaven; and as from their treasury they gave mystical gifts to the Lord, so let us also from the treasury of our hearts offer gifts that are worthy of God” (Pope St. Leo the Great).
As Christ’s light shines upon the earth, on this day we proclaim the coming feasts of the Lord, and traditionally all the principal feasts of Our Lord’s life during the liturgical year are announced to the Faithful following the proclamation of the Gospel on the Epiphany, a worthy reminder that Christmas is not an end in itself, but a beginning. Tempting as it is to remain at the manger, Christ is on a mission, and the Epiphany is the beginning of that mission to restore all things to the Father in Himself, and to bring all people to the knowledge and love of God. This proclamation helps the Faithful to orient their lives more perfectly around the mysteries of Christ’s life, and by announcing future celebrations we keep our eyes fixed on Him. The Liturgical Year is the Church’s way of keeping the Faithful in the Orbit of Christ, who is the Sun that never sets, and in this orbit, we maintain our Heavenly trajectory. It behooves the Faithful to strive to live liturgically throughout the year, and in this way to rise above the humdrum of mundane existence and dwell even now in Heavenly realms. The Liturgy teaches us, and the Magi remind us, that the greatest treasure of our hearts we can give to God is our devout worship, faithful and true, humble and reverent, total and complete, throughout all our days.
As we come to the end of our Christmas festivities, I want to thank everyone for their generous and thoughtful gifts at Christmastime. I am deeply grateful to be your pastor, and your unceasing love and encouragement are a balm. I also want to thank all who have contributed to the Saint Francis roof project. Our ability to accomplish this task together is a marvelous sign of things to come, and I look forward to the blessings and fruits God will pour out upon our parish in the year to come. May God bless you and may Mother Mary lead you more deeply into the Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus. I remain,
Fr. Hess
