He both leads us and journeys towards us...

 Veni, Veni Emmanuel!

"He it is Who though as yet hidden is nevertheless leading all..... He it is Who is now leading the whole world and placing everybody in His own city. He it is Who is leading Joseph away from Nazareth. He it is Who is leading His own Mother over every step of that difficult and tiring journey, letting the joy in His own Heart overflow into hers; and He is my Leader too. With such a General, nothing will be overlooked in my life; everything will be arranged in wisdom and love.....Oh! come, little Leader, come and redeem us."

Mother St. Paul (1861-1940)
Ortus Christi

 

"The nine months draw to a close, and our Lord's last act is to journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  It is toward us, as well as toward Bethlehem, that He is journeying. 

He is about to leave His home a second time for the love of us. As He had left His uncreated home in the Bosom of the Father, so is He now going to leave His created home that He may come to us and be still more ours.

He will show us in this last action that He is not obedient merely to His holy and chosen Mother, but that He has come to be the servant of our commands and to wait upon our forwardness..."

Fr. Frederick W. Faber
Bethlehem

 

From Mary's sweet silence

Come, Word mutely spoken!

Pledge of our real life,

Come, Bread yet unbroken!

Seed of the Golden Wheat,

In us be sown.

Fullness of true Light,

Through us be known.

Secret held tenderly,

Guarded with Love,

Cradled in purity,

Child of the Dove,

COME!

Sr M Charlita, I.H.M

 Veni, Veni Emmanuel!

Becoming more oneself...

"Help me to journey beyond the familiar and into the unknown. 
Give me the faith to leave old ways 
and break fresh ground with You." - St Brendan

"The Mass is not only about

God becoming man,

it is about Man

becoming more himself."

GK Chesterton

Epiphany: Testifying to His love...

“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) 

They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering

the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. 

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. - Matt 2:10-11

 

“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

 

  Fr. Tom Hoisington shares an inspiring homily on this special feast day.