Sunday - January 08, 2023
“Christ made my soul beautiful with the jewels of grace and virtue. I belong to Him whom the angels serve.”
-St. Agnes of Rome
TODAY'S READINGS
The Epiphany of the Lord
Lectionary: 20
Reading I
Is 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13.
R. (cf. 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Reading II Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
R. Alleluia
Gospel Mt 2:1-12
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.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
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.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
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Where did the faith of the Magi come from?
The Season of Christmas includes the celebration of the arrival of the magi from the East. Let’s consider the humble adoration of the magi for the Christ child. The magi were Gentiles, and the Greek word “magi” meant oriental scientists. Despite sometimes being translated as “astrologers”, their visit to the manger does not validate astrology.
Because they were not Jews, their determination to meet the Jewish savior says much about what the word “epiphany” means. The magi are good examples of believing in the importance of Jesus even without understanding what it would mean to them personally or to the rest of the world.
They worshiped Jesus as a King-Messiah before they knew how he would become king or how his kingship would save the world from evil. As scientific scholars, they had studied religious writings from beyond the scope of their own culture. Then, they acted on faith in response to the Spirit of God who activated them, and it changed their lives.
Only the Spirit of God can move someone to have faith, because faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12). The word “epiphany” means discovery, a revelation that changes our lives. Epiphanies are gifts from God as he collaborates with our desire for new growth.
We can imagine how the magi felt when they experienced an epiphany in the presence of the Christ child. Although they did not understand how this baby from a poor family could become king, they remembered him for the rest of their lives and listened for news from the land of Israel about Jesus. We know that they heard about his crucifixion and learned what his followers were teaching about it, for they became Christians — their relics have been venerated since very early times.
Today's Prayer
I want to discover You, Jesus, my Savior, in the simple and wonderful things of every day. I want to announce Your greatness to the simple of heart. Amen.
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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