Hiatus

I will be taking a temporary hiatus from posting on this blog. Thanks for anyone who reads what I post here. I will be back before too long.

Sunday Inspiration - Feast of the Epiphany

This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. This is the day we recall the Christ child being visited, brought gifts, and worshipped by the Magi from the East, and therefore being made known to all the earth.

St. Matthew tells us the story (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.


A while back I was given a wonderful gift, a set of 4 volumes called The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers. The title is quite self-explanatory; it is a collection of sermons related to the Sunday Gospel readings by the great fathers of the Church. I often read through these and have used excerpts on a number of occasions on this blog. For the Feast of the Epiphany, this collection yields 6 wonderful sermons from St. Ambrose, St. John Chrysostom, St. Leo the Great, and St. Gregory the Great. I wish I had the time and space to share these all with you. I encourage anyone who can get their hands on these wonderful sermons to read them. I did want to share at least a bit of these beautiful words of wisdom, however, so from Pope St. Leo's Sermon for the Solemnity of the Epiphany II:

"May this sacred day be therefore honoured among us, in which the Author of salvation revealed Himself to all men: and let us adore Omnipotent in heaven, Him Whom the Magi adored an infant in His cradle. And as they from their treasures offered to the Lord mystic kinds of gifts, so let us bring forth from our hearts gifts that are worthy of Him. For though He is the Giver of all gifts, yet He also looks for the fruits of our diligence: for the kingdom of heaven is not given to those who sleep, but to those who labour and watch in the commandments of God; so that if we have not wasted His gift, through that which He gave us, let us merit to receive that which He promised."

Let us join our prayers today that Our Lord may be made known to all the ends of the earth, so that, as the Psalmist says, "All kings of the earth shall adore him: all nations shall serve him." And let us not forget our roles in introducing those who do not already know Him to Our Lord and Saviour.