Today is the feast of the Epiphany. The splendor of this feast recalls God’s manifestation to all people, to the whole world. On Christmas Day, God’s goodness became visible to us under the form of a baby, in the sacred humanity of Christ, God’s only begotten Son and the Father’s true image and substance.
Through faith, we know the mystery of the Incarnation, and Christ’s appearance in our midst changed forever the course of human history. God appeared in our world as a small baby, but he came to it as Savior. He came to save us!
In the Latin-Mediterranean countries, the feast of the Epiphany is commonly known as the Feast of the Three Kings. Guided by a brighter than usual star, they came from afar to the humble cave of Bethlehem to render homage to a tiny child, the King of Kings. In the Gospel story, the evangelists make sure to imply that the Magi represented the gentiles, thus Jesus did not just come to save Israel’s Chosen People, but to save all humankind, Jews and gentiles alike.
Brother Victor-Antoine D’Avila-Latourrette
A Monastic Journey To Christmas
***The church calendar can be confusing to some. In the Eastern Churches and with the Traditional Roman Missal the great feast of the Epiphany/Theophany is celebrated on January 6. The Novus Ordo group celebrates the feast today.