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Epiphany (C)

January 05, 2025

Fr. John Colacino C.PP.S.

Introit

Collect

May the splendor of your majesty, O Lord, we pray,
shed its light upon our hearts,
that we may pass through the shadows of this world
and reach the brightness of our eternal home.
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. Amen.

First Reading Is 60:1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! 2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. 6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2,7-8,100-11,12-13

R/. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Second Reading Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6

Surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation. 5 In former generations this mystery was not made known to humanity as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Alleluia Mt 2:2

Gospel Mt 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Catena Nova

The star came to rest over the place where the child lay. When they saw it the sages were filled with great joy. Why don’t we too welcome that star and that joy, and let them fill our hearts? This joy is the same as the glad tidings the angels proclaimed to the shepherds. Let’s worship the Lord as he has really come and do it with the shepherds and the Sages. Are you ready to sing: “This day is born to us a Savior who is Christ the Lord! And he is our God and his light has shone upon us.” Is it for fear of terrifying us that God comes in weakness and as a servant who would set us free? We have been held in bondage, and mostly by fear. The world is so filled with evils and we had been rendered dumb and dull of heart contemplating it all. But how could we be so ungrateful and fail to rejoice when God himself has come to be one of us? We are celebrating a festival for the entire universe. The blessings of heaven are poured out on the earth. “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among all people!” The stars traverse the skies. The Sages journey from pagan lands and earth receives a redeemer into a cave. He doesn’t come as God but as human and as a human being of a People. Don’t be afraid of the task. Rather, let no one be without some gift to offer and let all start with the gift of gratitude. We are celebrating the world’s salvation and Christ’s coming among us as one of us. What frightens us is that God hasn’t done the work for us but has asked us to do it with him. We have to let God’s power and grace work within us.... Come, now, and join all those who gladly welcome the Lord.... They didn’t despise what they saw but praised God’s majesty. Like light shining through clear glass, the power of the Godhead shone in radiance through a human body. All whose inner gaze was pure could see it. May our God count us among those he enables to see it. Behold his splendor with unveiled faces! We will be transformed from glory into glory and from grace into grace and from loving kindness received to loving kindness given to others. This is the gift of revealing Jesus Christ to the world. It is the beginning of the world’s transformation. (St. Basil the Great)

[The Magi] had placed their hope in [Christ’s] coming, but what had led them to do this? It was a revelation brought about by those who had taught them to interpret the stars’ movements and changes. It is a mystery how God works to bring people to faith and the power of that mystery has not changed though the event lies in a distant past. The point is that we, today, experience the grace flowing from that mystery.... Listen to Isaiah: “The Lord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all nations, and the whole world has seen the salvation which comes from the Lord, our God.” Today we see many people being led from error to knowledge of the True Light. These people formerly didn’t devote themselves to faith or to Jesus Christ but now they come to Christ and to faith. They come even though they had given themselves wholly to the study of worldly wisdom and its practice. What does it mean to say our God bared his holy arm? It means God has sent people like us to show his care and mercy and love to people who have never before experienced them. It means God has used our lives to send a shaft of radiance into their lives and has guided it so that it pierces their hearts. In response they come offering myrrh, incense and gold. It is a three-fold offering made, in fact, by all who come to Christ in faith. To acknowledge Christ’s universal sovereignty and salvation is to offer gold from the treasury that is an enlightened heart. To believe that God’s only Son has become truly one with human nature is to offer myrrh. To declare that Jesus is in no way inferior to the Heavenly Father in majesty is to worship by offering frankincense. These gifts can’t be offered until they have been received from God. It is our hands—our deeds—that God uses to give them to us, so we can share them with others. Let your hearts overflow in loving deeds, always and everywhere. (Pope St. Leo the Great)

Today is festive enough in its own right, but it stands out all the more clearly because of its proximity to Christmas. When God is worshiped in the Child, the honor of the virgin birth is revered. When gifts are brought to the God-man, the dignity of the divine motherhood is exalted. When Mary is found with her child, Christ’s true manhood is proclaimed, together with the inviolate chastity of the Mother of God. All this is contained in the evangelist’s statement: “And entering the house they found the child with Mary his mother, and bowing down they worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” The gifts brought by the wise men reveal hidden mysteries concerning Christ. To offer gold is to proclaim his kingship, to offer incense is to adore his godhead, and to offer myrrh is to acknowledge his mortality. We too must have faith in Christ’s assumption of our mortal nature.... The necessity of faith in the kingship of Christ can be demonstrated on divine authority, since he says of himself in one of the psalms: “I have been appointed king by him,” that is, by God the Father. And speaking as Wisdom personified he claims to be the King of kings, saying: “It is through me that kings reign and princes pronounce judgment.” As to Christ’s divinity, the whole world created by him testifies that he is the Lord. He himself says in the gospel: “All power has been given me in heaven and on earth,” and the blessed evangelist declares: “All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.” (Odilo of Cluny)

Our faith was delivered to us by those Magi who were the first to receive it. They conveyed this mystery under the form of three gifts. What we must do is possess this mystery of faith with a pure conscience. But doesn’t it seem we have the appearance of piety but deny its power? Are we humble in deed and not just in dress? Are we sparing in food but not of doing our own will? Do we display unfeigned charity, patience that is long-suffering, and obedience that is prompt? Set your hearts on these virtues so that both without and within we may be pleasing to God.... Think of the Lord Christ. He was rich and became poor; he humbled himself being laid in a manger; he was subject to his parents; he turned wholly to God by being baptized by a servant, John; he bore with a disciple who was a thief and betrayer; he was meek before an unjust judge; he forgave and prayed for those who crucified him. This is the humility and virtue that opens heaven.... Let us give thanks to Him because he reserved such a grace for those who believe and turn again to God. (Bl. Guerric of Igny)

In the Gospel the story is told of how there appeared to the nations a new star in the heavens; it called them to rise up from the things of earth and contemplate the true light, and so become newly born. Isaiah had said, “The glory of the Lord has arisen for you”. Then the Gospel adds that a star in which the Lord’s glory shone out appeared and indicated to the Magi, to kings as representing the Church which was to come, that they should look for a new guide to a new life. All earth-bound and transitory things, all riches and worldly honors, are definitely beneath the dignity of a human person; one should not, then, seek simply the things of the earth. The glory of the Lord came to show more. As a result, the children of the earth have their hearts drawn to things of heaven and to the work of glorifying God above all that is of earth...The Holy Church sees the glory of God through Magi who announced God’s birth as a human being. Wasn’t the great glory of this Church seen when the kindreds of the earth came to adore a little child, poor and the son of poor people? And now in all places people offer adoration to Christ’s divinity-in-humanity and along with it gifts of gold and myrrh. Each and every one of us was in captivity. We had to be told, “Rise up”! The star which led us is Sacred Scripture. Jesus Christ thus came to us.... With the Gospel of peace to lead us, surely we can come to God by adoring God in Christ. Yet it isn’t right you should come empty handed. Offer incense—pure prayer. Offer myrrh—mortification of your flesh. Offer gold—true charity. Gifts such as these God accepts most graciously. Then God’s star, Jesus Christ, will become incarnate in you and make you his own forever. (St. Aelred of Rievaulx)

Behold, I give thee gold, that is to say My Divine Love; frankincense, that is all My holiness and devotion; finally myrrh, which is the bitterness of My Passion. I give them to thee to such an extent that thou mayest offer them as gifts to Me, as if they were thine own property. (St. Mechthild von Hackeborn).

The mighty vision of the prophet Isaiah speaks of the liberation of oppressed people through the disarming birth of a divine child.... If we really understand what this revelation means it will burst the bonds of Sunday worship. If the message really lays hold of us, it leads us to Jesus the liberator, and to the people who live in darkness and who are waiting for him and help. Anyone who belongs to the people who dwell in the land of darkness, or anyone who has ever belonged to that people, will find this message about the “disarming” birth of the child as alluring as it is unbelievable.... To whom is the child born—for the peace of us all? Will we continue to cling to human made lights? Will we listen to people who tell us what we want to hear? For God’s victory doesn’t come about through new weapons and more force, or through alliances or solidarity. God has his own divine kind of victory. God's victory puts an end to the victories of human beings. Swords are turned into plowshares and peace treaties replace atomic weapons. But how is this supposed to happen? All the images the prophet paints point only to the Divine Child. This is faith. This faith calls us to love. We must begin by answering God’s call and keep looking to how God calls us further. (Jurgen Moltmann)

Homily

We could sure use a few seasoned stargazers these days. The rash of so-called "drone" sightings above the skies of several states and elsewhere in the world have left more than Herod "greatly troubled." But don't worry, government officials have assured us there is no threat — unlike Herod's Department of Homeland Security when faced with a rival to the throne brought on by an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon. And far worse than shooting drones down, the murderous tyrant had all the boys in Bethlehem and environs slaughtered, just in case the contender might be found there.

Of course, that's what tyrants do, and the more cowardly they are, the more vicious. Like Bashar-al-Assad who, after decades of the most atrocious abuse of those who threatened his power in Syria, fled like the coward he is into the arms of another one. And I saw that the president-elect proclaimed January 6 — the traditional day of Epiphany — forever identified in the United States with violence and an attempted coup — a "Day of Love." "Nothing done wrong at all," he said back in October (October 16, 2024).

That's one reason we should not forget the "rest of the Epiphany story." As on the Feast of the Holy Innocents December 28th — three days after Christmas — the annual observance of the lives lost due to Herod's megalomania, narcissism, and cruelty. With refrains of "Silent Night, Holy Night" still ringing in our ears, the church's liturgy pulls us up short with a reminder how the Nativity of the Lord can never descend into mere sentiment. And the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, coming on the very day after Christmas, is another wake-up call from the dreamy "feel-good" moment we may have indulged the day before. While you're at it, you might as well add the Feast of St. Thomas á Becket on the 29th who was murdered by royal henchmen in the cathedral of Canterbury for standing up to his own version of King Herod, Henry II of England. And on it goes for Herods are never lacking on the world stage.

But if you look closely at such men — they are rarely women — one notes a frequent detail. They often end their lives in misery. Herod died in great physical and mental anguish, as one historian noted, "unwept by those of his own house, and hated by all the people.” (Emil Schürer). Thus Nero fell who to a coup himself and fled into exile being condemned to death in absentia. Thus Napoleon who died in exile on the island of St. Helena. Thus Hitler who died in a Berlin bunker where he sought to escape Stalin's vengeance.

And I hate to say it, thus our own tinpot tyrants making threats to put innocent children of undocumented immigrants — born in this county and hence citizens — in "half-way houses" while their parents are deported, in a macabre mockery of "family values." Notice how such despots always resort to Orwellian euphemisms to cloak their intentions. Call them what they are: internment camps, relocation camps, or worse. We've been there before and we know exactly what they mean. So do tell us, half-way to where exactly?

Such is the real "war on Christmas" that type crows about winning — war on the Prince of Peace — who came on a real Day of Love offering peace to people of good will, light in the dark as we pass through the shadows of this world (Vigil Mass Collect).

But don't forget how on a far smaller scale, we all have an "inner Herod." When our own security is threatened, when we feel "out of control" over our own lives, when we are starstruck by the vagaries of life, we too can react with fear, envy, or anger. And we can lash out at whatever is greatly troubling us. We've seen a horrific example on New Year's Day in New Orleans as broken marriages and failed businesses led one to go on a murderous rampage.

But often, as with the Christ Child, the threat is not real, or at least overblown. Like the Christ was who posed no threat to Herod for his kingdom had nothing to do with earthly power. At times like these we need Magi — wise men and women — to help us maintain balance and perspective: a confidante, a therapist, a spiritual director, a pastor. Magi who will bring us gifts that are golden, fragrant as myrrh, but at times "sticky" like the resin of frankincense. Our inner Herod might even need some "time away" for the crisis to pass — a refuge where we feel safe — as the Holy Family sought shelter in Egypt: a retreat, wherever that might be. A time and space to dream something new and perhaps find a new "home," our own Nazareth. I'm thinking of the wonderful testimonies we've been hearing about President Carter and the exemplary life he built after the challenges and disappointments of his time in office. But always guided, no doubt, by the star of faith and its light: now in the sky, now absent, now reappearing, but always coming to rest where the Child and his Mother are to be found. Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

Intercessions (Joe Milner; The Sunday Website)

For the Church: that, through our words and deeds, we may be a Light to those who are searching for direction and a sign of hope for those seeking to begin again.

For a deeper awareness of the signs along our spiritual journey: that we learn from the people and experiences in our lives how to recognize God’s presence and invitations.

For God’s blessing on the New Year: that God will fill the coming days with health of body, mind, and spirit; renew the gifts of the Spirit within us, and inspire us with new ways to share the Good News with others.

For greater unity and cooperation within the human family: that God will heal the wounds of racial bias, open hearts to the talents of every person, and help us work together against violence, drug abuse, and poverty.

For all recovering from natural disasters: that God will guide them through the challenges that they face, renew their spirits, and open the hearts of many to assist and encourage them.

For members of the administration and Congress: that God will give them a clear understanding of the issues before them and wisdom to effectively address them for the common good.

That the light of Christ may shine mercifully on the peoples of the Holy Land so that people of Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths can live together with respect, leading to the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine, with Jerusalem as the city of peace for everyone.

For all who are ill: that God restore the sick and give strength to all healthcare workers.

Lord God of the nations, we have seen the star of your glory rising in splendour. The radiance of your incarnate Word pierces the darkness that covers the earth and signals the dawn of peace and justice. Make radiant the lives of your people with that same brightness, and beckon all the nations to walk as one in your light. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)

Offertory Antiphon

Offertory Hymn

Kings so fair and glorious,
From whence do you come here?
Out of far-off countries,
Led by guiding star’s light.
We have that we might worship
Little Jesus, born and lying
Here in this poor stable,
Here in this poor stable.

We are bearing for Him
Eagerly our presents:
Here are gold and incense,
Here is myrrh most precious.
That the Child
Lord and God of heaven
Would be glad and thus bless us
Here in this poor stable,
Here in this poor stable.

Christians, come with gladness
With the kings, and offer
Heart and mind and body
To the infant Savior.
Then with Good News
Bright as star-light,
Tell His love through earth’s dark night:
Born in this poor stable,
Born in this poor stable.

Communion Antiphon

Closing Hymn

The Virgin, filled with joy,

Looked at her Baby fondly,

While oxen watched the cradles

Where the Babe slept soundly.

The silver moon was bright,

The Baby’s face was glowing,

The lowing of the oxen

Was His lullaby.

In Bethlehem singing

Came from heaven to earth

And gave to the shepherds

News of Jesus’ birth.

From heaven came a voice;

It told them not to tarry,

To go and find the Savior,

Born the Son of Mary.

The kingly Balthazar

Knelt down there to adore Him;

While Melchior and Caspar

Marveled at the sight.

In Bethlehem singing...

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