Jan. 8, 2012: Epiphany of Our Lord

At the school mass this week, I asked the children what gifts they had received for Christmas and all the hands went up because the children were eager to tell me about the gifts.  I asked the children what Jesus gave us during Christmas and some First graders answered peace, joy, and love. When I asked them what they had given Jesus this Christmas, I don't think I saw any hands go up. What do you think is an appropriate gift for Jesus on Christmas? A second grader said that she got an iPod Touch for Christmas, but I don't think Jesus can use it because back then he did not have an electric outlet to recharge it. The difficult question is what can you possibly give God as a gift?  


I think the answer lies in the message of one of our familiar Christmas songs, "O Holy Night." Most of us know the first verse that begins with, 'O holy night, the stars are brightly shining; It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!' The verse continues:
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!


When was the last time you paid close attention to the words to this song? We are less familiar with the verses 2 and 3. The second verse is:
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need—to our weakness is no stranger.
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!


The Three Wise Men from the East were led by their faith to travel a far distance, hoping that they would catch a glimpse of the newborn King. They longed to know him, to seek him, and to behold him, the Christ Child. Do we have that same desire to know him, to seek him, and to bend our knees to behold Our Lord who came so humbly to us? No one forced the Three Wise Men to go to Him. Likewise, no one forces us to go to Our Lord. Their faith was kindled by the silence of the night--free from the distractions of the world--in order for them to find Jesus. How many of us are absorbed by the things of the world to the point where we cannot see or hear Our Lord? 


During Thanksgiving week in 2001, I boarded an airplane in New Orleans that was headed to New Jersey to begin a few days of vacation from my engineering work. I was led to this trip by a strange desire to see something, but I didn't quite know what it was that I was seeking. I had been working at the company for 3 years, dating seriously, and pondering deeply about marriage. From New Jersey, I boarded a flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and from there I boarded a plane to Split, Croatia. The journey continued as I boarded a bus and travelled for 3 hours to a small town named Medjugorje. The total travel time from New Orleans was 20 hours. As the bus made its way through the town, I could see that there was really not much to this small town of 3,000 families--no natural beauty, no amazing attractions. Yet, millions have traveled to this town since 1981. When we arrived at our destination, I was given a small room with no TV or radio, and my cell phone did not work.

Our daily routine was to go to mass and then afterward to listen to the stories of some visionaries to whom Blessed Mother has appeared regularly. Each night, I went with most of the town folk to attend the 6PM rosary, followed by mass in Croatian and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. One night in the pitch darkness as I was walking back after adoration to my lodging through a large field of grapes, I began to notice something that I had not noticed in a very long time--the stars in the sky. I was reminded of how the Three Wise Men were led in the darkness to a small-unknown town to see the birth of Our Lord. I felt as though Blessed Mother had led me on this long journey so that I could find what I needed to find --Our Lord and His plan for me. For many years I had been absorbed with my own plans and matters of the world, yet in that small town, away from distractions, I truly saw with the eyes of my soul the Christ Child. It was on that trip that I told everyone in the group, "I'm here in Medjugorje to discern whether I have a vocation in marriage or a vocation to priesthood." During that trip, I realized that until then I had been living only for myself, and that now the Christ Child was asking me to make Him known to others and to bring Him to the hearts of others.

Isn't that what Jesus is asking of us today? Will we pry ourselves from the distractions of the world to seek and find Jesus? Will we bend our knees in humility to behold Jesus and praise Him? Will we approach Him in faith, as did the Magis, with all that we are and all that we have and be changed by this encounter and turn and go a different way?