January 7: St. Raymond of Peñafort, Priest

The Epiphany of the Lord: A Light for all

(catholicfor life.com)

"Lord, every nation on earth will adore you"

Matthew 2: 1-12

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010426.cfm

O God, who on this day

revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations

by the guidance of a statr,

grant in your mercy

that we who know you already by faith,

may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you in the unity 

of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

(Collect for Mass)

It is safe to say that all those who attend our Sunday Masses in our parish Churches are overwhelmingly gentiles who are expressing their faith in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah of Israel and our Lord and Savior. That being said we are reminded on this Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord not only about our direct connection with the people of Israel but also that the Magi followed a star in search of a newborn king but they ultimately were in search of the greatest Star himself, the light of the world.

The Second Vatican Council in its Document on the Churches relationship with non-Christian religions, states that the Old Testament was revealed to us by the Jews and that we receive: “. . . nourishment from the good olive tree onto which the wild olive branches of the gentiles have been grafted.”  The legend of the Magi, those from the wider non-Jewish world beyond the small confines of Israel, who come to find the light of a star and a newborn “king” are a wonderful representation of ourselves who gather to profess our faith in that same king honored by the Magi but feared by Herod.  They represent not the simple and ordinary, as the shepherds, but high learning and science, star gazing and the search for meaning and truth; by association this time in which we live.

So, the seekers this Sunday; the Magi begin a journey because they know someone more was out there and they were determined to find him. They approached their journey with humility and open hearts and minds. It began by using what they did best – the observation and interpretation of stars and planets to which they gave a meaning - a new star, a new king.

They were in search before they arrived in Jerusalem: “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We saw his star at its rising . . .” they tell Herod. So, our Feast this weekend, the Epiphany, reminds us that we Christians, we gentiles which fill our Churches, have a direct connection to the ancient Jews through their traditions, prophecies and the birth of Jesus himself within the Jewish tradition. The Christ is revealed to the Magi and to us as the Savior of all.

Therefore, we might say the Epiphany is probably among the most ecumenical of all Church feasts.  In a sense we might even say it is the most “catholic” of all Christian feasts due to its universal inclusion of the non Jewish world. As the Magi come to symbolize the greater world beyond ancient Bethlehem and Jerusalem, we see ourselves reflected in them. Would that our personal search for Christ would be so singularly focused as the Magi.

To follow the signs of nature in the bright star and to interpret a deeper significance in the shining light, the Magi laid aside all other attractions in their lives and saw in this new young child a greater King; a person of higher rank than themselves and deserving of honor, which they offered in a humble spirit. What moved them to see in a baby, or more likely a little child with his mother, this greatness? A hunger, a desire to discover, a humble submission to the truth before them. They represent an open mind and set out on a journey to ultimately find the truth; something and someone who represented more than what they knew.

So, it’s clear that they were on a search and staying in Jerusalem was not on their agenda.  Once they were led to Bethlehem by the light of a star, they found the One they searched for and laid down their gifts. They saw not in the powerful and the learned the fulfilment of their hopes but in a small child with his mother.  Something more was at work in this event that led them to a deeper awareness that something far more is outside them. Their faith was changed. Once they returned to their country by an alternate route from the fanatical King Herod, we can only imagine what they might have told others about their search.

So, the Epiphany is an opportunity to recognize those moments in our lives when we have come to a deeper understanding of our faith and to acknowledge from where we came; from the chosen people on whose vine we were grafted. It certainly reminds us that life is a journey in search of the good, the beautiful, and truth itself found only in Christ Jesus. And, as the Magi were in search of a star and a newborn king, it was God himself who was in search of humanity.  Trying to get our attention, he finally came down to visit us, to encounter us in our own humanity.  As much as we search for God, we know that he is in search of us. 

Isaiah speaks of God’s effort to reveal his Son and show to humanity our value, our dignity, and his obsessive love for us all: “Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you!”  No longer do we need to wander aimlessly trying to fulfil ourselves in limited pleasures and pursuits.  All we need is found in this child, this God-man in our midst. More than just love we see in Jesus a light which leads us to the truth of God and cuts through all that isn’t him; everything we go in search of thinking that will fulfil us: money, position, power, fame, technology, the latest and the brightest.  Everything the world says we need to have a meaningful life.

So, though our gift giving may be ended for this season the ultimate gift is one that God gives us, particularly in the Holy Eucharist, the gift of himself in his Son and like the Magi we follow the path to him. We meet him on his terms, not on our own.

The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord is filled with the image of light. As we draw life from ancient Israel we are called to lead others on their search from darkness to a new light. What kind of light do we bring to others?

  

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God - January 1, 2026

Luke 2: 16-21

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010126.cfm

A blessed and happy new year to everyone.  Coming on the heals of Christmas as we begin this new year, we are given by the Church not a resolution, not a prediction about the future, not plans for how we are to live our life.  Instead, and rightly so, we are given a Mother who happens to be the Mother of our Savior who is God in the flesh, Jesus the Christ. In our Gospel for this Feast, the Church presents the humble shepherds to us who run to tell others about what and who they have seen and heard after their visit to the newborn child.  They, like us, are called to be messangers of this Savior.  Mary, reflected on the meaning of all these strange events.  She: ". . . kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart."  (Lk 2: 19).

Mary is then rightly referred to as the "Mother of God," since her son is divine.  This is in no way an effort to raise Mary to equality with her God/man son but to exalt her as the one chosen by God to be the human instrument by which Jesus would enter the world.  Not with fanfare or flashing lights; but quietly, discreetly simply slip in to human history.  He was almost undercover for he did not come for a sentimental reason but to do battle with the forces of darkness, to suffer and die for us and to be raised, thereby breaking the shakles of sin and death for humanity.  For those who believe, he promises us eternal life and the forgivenss of our sins.  

This exalted honor for Mary was hammered out by the Council of Ephesus in Ephesus, Turkey in the year 431.  So we are not talking about a new title for Mary but a very ancient one that has beautifully stood the test of time.  In fact, when Mary came to her older cousin Elizabeth who was with child (Lk. 1: 39-56), Elizabeth said to Mary: "And why does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me?"

Elizabeth delcares that Mary is the mother of my "Lord" or "Adonai," which is the Jewish way of acknowledging God.  She is the Mother of God, according to Elizabeth's inspired words. Also in the prayer the "Hail Mary," we pray: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners . . ." What greater honor could have been bestowed on this young, lowly virgin girl from  obscure Nazareth?

This Mother of God, the holy one, constantly points the way not to herself but to her son.  This then is the Body of Christ, the Church, gathered in prayer and worship as we all work out our salvation through the merciful grace of God who is love,  Mary becomes for us the model of Christian discipleship; showing us the way to her son, and becoming for all of us, a tender and loving mother who intercedes on our behalf and protects us, as any loving mother would do.  

As we begin this new year of 2026, we have no idea what the next twelve months will bring.  But, we can be assured that God does not change.  That Mary loves her son with an indiscribible love and wants to lead us to him.  Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

O God, who through the fruitful virginity

of Blessed Mary bestowed on the human race

the grace of eternal salvation,

grant that we may experience the 

intercession of her, through whom we were found worthy

to receive the author of life,

our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. 

(Collect of Mass)  

Christmas 2025: Is it me or HE?

 

"For unto us a child is born"

Luke 2: 1-14

The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122525-Night.cfm

When shown a picture of a group of people in which you are one of them, say a family picture taken for some joyous event, who is the first person you look at?  Your mom or father? Your brothers or sisters? A grandparent or aunt or uncle? I would safely bet, the first person you look at, is yourself. “Is my hair, right? Do I look happy or grumpy? I really put on weight. What about my posture?” Am I standing straight or slouching over.  As if we were the center of the picture when it may have been one taken when the family was gathered for another members special day.

When we see an image of the manger in Bethlehem with mother and child, shepherds and magi, sheep and camel.  Which figure do we first gaze at first?  Of all those gathered, the first that should get our attention is the baby in the manger.  He IS the center of the scene.  It is because of him that we celebrate this feast.  You may call this day a winter holiday, the holiday season, yuletide week, a winter wonderland with little elves and cute creatures, but none of that matters really if we are serious about this beautiful feast.  In the end, if that baby whose name is Jesus is in the picture HE and he alone is the central figure in the scene.  It is his day, his life, his coming among us, it is God in human flesh, the Word of God made flesh, that has reversed the tragic direction of the world from sin and destruction to hope and salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the center of that picture but he should be the center of our lives and is the One who has come down among us. The hope of the prophets and the Savior who has come to do battle with the force of evil.  He has come to set things right and to reclaim what is his. Through his death and resurrection, he has won the promise of salvation on our behalf and revealed himself to us. In this little child we have found a mighty Savior for all.  

But what is it about a child, a baby in particular, that seems to grab everyone’s attention?  Any mother who enters a room or a church, baby in arms, immediately draws the gaze of those who notice.  Conversations stop, heads and eyes turn and all approach the child to take a look.  What does the baby do?  Nothing, absolutely nothing to draw attention to itself, aside from being helpless, innocent and cute.  Likely but not always, the infant is sleeping comfortably wrapped in warm blankets as life goes on around him/her. But by its innocence and its life, he draws all to him/herself.  Isn’t this the central image of Christmas – a helpless, powerless child who was born to save the world!  

God became a human being, embraced our nature with all of its sin and brokenness, absorbed that weakness and broke the back of its origin, then repaired the broken relationship with the power of his self-sacrifice upon a cross and finally rose from the dead, thereby setting all free from the chains of death with the promise of life eternal for those who embrace the good news of Gospel joy. 

Like a proud parent and grandparent who never tire of showing pictures of their child and grandchild to anyone Mary in a sense does the same.  “Look at my child.  Look at my son Jesus.  Know why he was born and pay attention.  He was born for you.”

God did this purely out of love for humanity and his own desire to not remain unknown.  The world had been broken apart by sin, greed, arrogance, war, violence, separation, alienation and hopelessness.  Humanity alone could not save itself but would just continue the same downward spiral it was on. What other way was there?

In the birth of this child king the angel had requested of Mary, reminded So, we are not abandoned children in which Christ has simply left us to our own devices. We live by a promise he gave that he would be with us always: in our faith, in the Sacraments especially present in the Holy Eucharist, in the good we do for one another, in the forgiveness of our sin, in our struggles and fears and worries.  Christ is there where He invites us away from prejudice, division, hatred and indifference to walk in the light of the Gospel towards wholeness, holiness, and love.

Whether we find the traditional figures of Mary, Joseph, shepherds, magi, and animals like sheep, donkeys and of course the camel or other additional figures, including angels they all have one thing in common.  Not only do they depict universal humanity but more importantly they are positioned the same – they all face the child. 

In other words, he is not just one baby among billions born since humanity was created.  He is the long awaited hope of humanity that the ancient prophets spoke about. 

May the only power we exercise is that power which Christ displayed for us:  love, compassion, selfless giving after his own example. In the end, one best lesson we may learn at Christmas is that it isn't me anymore that is the center of life, or the best looking guy in a picture, but it is HE our Lord and Savior who is the central figure of history. 

Keep Christ at Christmas and every day throughout the new year. Now is the time to begin again. God is waiting for you. Let's all look towards the Christ this year and receive the gift of himself in both Word and Sacrament and continue to come to him throughout the new year.

Peace and Merry Christmas!

O God, who have made this most sacred night

radiant with the splendor of the true light, 

grant that we, who have known the mysteries of his light

on earth, may also delight in his gladness in heaven.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity

of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

(Collect for Mass at night)