“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*
*(In the United States the feast is celebrated
on the first Sunday following January 1st)
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod,
behold, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star
at its rising and have come to do him homage.” ~ Matthew 2:1-2
"Adoration of the Magi" ~ Basilica of the Immaculate Conception at Conception Abbey in Conception, Mo. Painted by Benedictine monks (late 1800s), the artwork is the first appearance of the German Beuronese style in a U.S. church. (CNS photo courtesy Conception Abbey)
“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.”
Pope Blessed John Paul II
“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
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