Epiphany: setting out anew...

“The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them 
to leave everything and begin a journey.  
It was as though they had always been waiting for that star.”  

- Pope Benedict XVI

Solemnity of the Epiphany 

January 6 - traditional date*

*(In the United States the feast is celebrated 
on the first Sunday following January 1st)

“No one, whether shepherd or wise man, can approach God here below 
 except by kneeling before the manger at Bethlehem

and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.”

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 563 

"He whom the Virgin bore is acknowledged today by the whole world...Today is the glorious Feast of His Manifestation"  
(Roman Breviary).

 "Today we must make our own
the happiness which filled the Wise Men
on their journey to Christ... Above all, we must imitate them
as they place at the Child's feet not only three gifts,
but also their lives...

We need to 'set out anew from Christ,'
with the zeal of Pentecost, with renewed enthusiasm.

To set out from Him above all in a 

daily commitment to holiness, 

with an attitude of prayer and of listening to His word.

To set out from Him 

in order to testify to His love by 

living a Christian life marked by communion, 

charity and witness before the world."

Saint John Paul II

O, come let us adore Him -

Christ the LORD!

“In returning to their own land by another way 

the Magi suggest something of great significance for us.  

Our true country is paradise.  

Having now come to the knowledge of Jesus, we are forbidden 

to return to it on the path by which we left it.  

For we left our land by the path of pride, of disobedience, 

by following after wealth, by eating forbidden food.  

So we must now return another way: 

by way of tears, by way of obedience, by contempt of the world, 

by restraining the desires of the flesh.” - St Gregory the Great

Image: Corpus Christi Catholic Church - Lexington, SC ~ USA

 

  Fr. Tom Hoisington shares an inspiring homily on this special feast day.
Click here:  The Epiphany of the Lord -