{"id":2901,"date":"2022-01-02T00:07:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-02T04:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/?p=2901"},"modified":"2022-01-02T00:10:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T04:10:03","slug":"epiphany-sunday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/epiphany-sunday\/","title":{"rendered":"Epiphany Sunday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Catechesis on the Epiphany<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.\u201d (Mt 2:11-12).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we return once more to those characters who, according to tradition, were three in number: the Magi Kings. St Matthew\u2019s concise text renders very well what is part of the very substance of man\u2019s meeting with God: \u201cthey fell down and worshipped him\u201d. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man meets God in the act of veneration, of worship, of cult. It is useful to note that the word \u201ccult\u201d (cultus) is closely related to the term \u201cculture\u201d. Admiration, veneration for what is divine, for what raises man on high, belongs to the very substance of human culture, of the various cultures.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Man gets to know God by meeting him, and vice versa he meets him in the act of getting to know him. He meets God when he opens up to him with the interior gift of his human \u201cego\u201d, to accept God\u2019s Gift and reciprocate it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Magi Kings, at the moment when they present themselves before the Child in his mother\u2019s arms, accept in the light of the Epiphany the Gift of God Incarnate, his ineffable dedication to man in the mystery of the Incarnation. At the same time, \u201copening their treasures, they offered him gifts\u201d; it is a question of the concrete gifts of which the evangelist speaks, but above all they open themselves up to him, with the interior gift of their own heart. And this is the real treasure they offer, of which the gold, incense and myrrh are only an exterior expression. The fruit of the Epiphany consists in this gift: they recognize God and they meet him.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I meditate in this way, together with you gathered here, on those words of the Gospel of Matthew, there come into my mind the texts of the Constitution Lumen Gentium which speak of the universality of the Church. The day of the Epiphany is the feast of the universality of the Church, of her universal mission. Well, we read in the Council: \u201cThe one People of God is accordingly present in all the nations of the earth, since its citizens, who are taken from all nations, are of a kingdom whose nature is not earthly but heavenly. All the faithful scattered throughout the world are in communion with each other in the Holy Spirit so that \u2018he who dwells in Rome knows those in most distant parts to be his members\u2019 (n. 9).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us return once more to St Matthew\u2019s description. The Gospel says that that \u201copening of gifts\u201d of the Magi Kings in Bethlehem was realized in the presence of the Child and his Mother.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I myself come from a land and a nation whose heart beats in the great Marian sanctuaries, especially in the sanctuary of Jasna Gora, I would like to repeat once more, as on the day of the inauguration of the pontificate, the words of the greatest Polish poet: \u201cHoly Virgin, who defend bright Czestochowa, and shine forth in the Pointed Gate\u201c.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pope St John Paul II<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Catechesis on the Epiphany On the feast of the Epiphany we read the passage from the Gospel of St Matthew which describes the arrival of some Magi from the East at Bethlehem: \u201cGoing into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,15,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-saints-and-blesseds","category-spiritual-practices","category-spiritual-reflections"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7bfMR-KN","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7367,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/pope-benedict-xvi\/the-epiphany-sunday-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2901,"position":0},"title":"the Epiphany . 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The Magi reached Bethlehem because they had obediently allowed themselves to be guided by the star. Indeed, \"When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Saints and Blesseds"","block_context":{"text":"Saints and Blesseds","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/saints-and-blesseds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9076,"url":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/spiritual-practices\/epiphany-sunday-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":2901,"position":5},"title":"Epiphany Sunday","author":"monks4christ","date":"January 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"the Magi follow the Star \u201cAnd the star\u2026 went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was\u201d (Mt 2:9). The Magi reached Bethlehem because they had obediently allowed themselves to be guided by the star. Indeed, \u201cWhen they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Saints and Blesseds"","block_context":{"text":"Saints and Blesseds","link":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/category\/saints-and-blesseds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/jan6-3-Kings-a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2903,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2901\/revisions\/2903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fatherboniface.org\/wordpresshome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}