Reverend Monsignor Peter J. Vaghi

Chaplain of the John Carroll Society

They followed that mysterious star, a star that illumined the entire universe and relentlessly guided them. Through their pilgrimage to Bethlehem, the Magi became--in a special way-- the beginning and symbol of each one of us in every age and time who comes to Jesus through faith. The desire for God is written, after all, on every human heart. Each of us is created by God and for God, and God never ceases to draw us to Himself. The Epiphany star represents the pull of God in each of our lives towards Him, the inner movement of the Holy Spirit leading us to an encounter with Christ.

The Magi lived in a different time and in a different place. They dressed differently and talked differently than we do. They came from the East. They were not Jews but Gentiles. They had no knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures. Upon inquiry, they were advised in Jerusalem by the chief priests and the scribes about what the prophets had written and where Christ was to be born. Although our God comes from the House of David, He comes for all people--for you and me, for every nation on earth and all peoples. "Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance."

Like us, however, the Magi were moved to discover God, to have an experience of His epiphany, of His manifestation to them. They could have been side-tracked. It was a long journey filled with risks and the unknown. The paths were tortuous. Their feet became tired. Their hearts were often heavy and vexed. It must have seemed endless and at times lonely. Yet, they never quit. Nor can we.

They came to pay Him homage, to worship Him. "They prostrated themselves and did him homage." After the search, they had an encounter, a meeting, an encounter that had to have transformed them. "Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you." In the words of St. Paul, the "mystery was made known…by revelation" and the Magi encountered the Mystery "with Mary his mother."

After they gave their gifts, "they departed for their country by another way" in part to avoid Herod. But fear of Herod could not have been the only reason. No one knows precisely what happened to them when they left, how their lives had been changed and transformed. We know for sure that they did not retrace their path. How could they for they were changed men. They became men of the Light. In Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict speaks about every "encounter" with Christ as one "which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction." DCE 1

Like you and me, Jesus Christ has a transformative effect in our lives when we encounter Him (speak to Him, listen to Him) AND so often after a search, the perennial search that marks our own epiphany journeys each and every day of our lives.

The challenge of Epiphany 2007 is to allow that transformative effect, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to draw each one of us more closely to Him each and every day and to share with others the saving power of our God. We can never exactly retrace our paths in life. There is always a new path for us, a new star that leads us ever anew, to the Christ born for us, born to make us holy and the grace to help us grow in holiness.

But how does this happen? I propose four ways.

First, like the Magi, we are called to pay Him homage, to worship Him. "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you." This happens every time we worship Him at holy Mass—each and every Sunday without exception and during the week. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. We bring ourselves. And there is a holy exchange of gifts. Epiphany is about an exchange of gifts. We exchange gifts each time we offer ourselves at Mass, gifts represented by the bread and wine--work of human hands--gifts which are then transformed into His body and blood at the Eucharist, truly a wondrous exchange of gifts, an exchange which transforms us into Him and challenges us to live more love-filled lives by His enduring and real presence in the Eucharist.

Second, His Word pinpointed the exact place of His

birth-- "in Bethlehem of Judea." His living Word always and continually reveals God and His presence to us. We encounter the living God in our daily and prayerful study of Sacred Scripture. His Word transforms us into Him and we speak that word and are challenged daily to live that word and give witness courageously to that Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Third, the Magi encountered the Savior of the world, a world in the words of Benedict XVI at Christmas this year still in need of a Savior, a world in need "all the more, since the society in which [we live] has become more complex and the threats to [our] personal and moral integrity have become more insidious." What Herod represented for the Magi, he also represents in our lives--that wrentching and persistent pull away from God. We call it sin, the occasion of sin. For you and me, now is time this year to accept ever anew Jesus as our Lord and Savior, to admit at the core of our existence the need for Jesus in our daily lives, to become more and more children of the light and welcome daily His light. To encounter Him means to allow Him to save us from ourselves, our selfishness, our sinfulness, yes, to admit to our sinfulness for "If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins." It means to allow Him to heal us frequently in the great sacrament of healing, the sacrament of confession. He is the Savior of the world and the world needs a Savior, the same Savior the Magi adored and we adore, and it begins with each one of us.

Finally, this feast of the Epiphany has a clear missionary dimension. They came in three and they left together in three albeit "by another way." Each of us is challenged by this feast to share the faith with one another each and every day, in societies such as the John Carroll Society. We never walk alone. The Good News is not a private venture, but by its very nature, news is meant to be shared, especially good news, and shared with a sense of zeal. "They were overjoyed at seeing the star and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother." Joy is meant to be shared with a world, with concrete individuals, in a world so much in need of joy, a world in need of unity, reconciliation and love. That is our faith pure and simple. The more we share it, the more we live it with deep joy.

In each of these four ways—through the Eucharist, the Word of God in scripture, the sacrament of confession and the call to evangelization--this great feast of the Epiphany can have a lasting effect in our lives.

We can depart from our Epiphany encounter with Christ this year "by another way" and that way will continue to make all the difference in our lives. The Epiphany star continues to guide us and inspire us. Like an unfinished symphony, the pilgrimage of faith for each of us will remain unfinished until we see Him face to face forever in eternity.

The Magi may be the last wooden figures added to the Christmas creche. But to the extent that we too continue our quest for God--following His star in our lives with the assurance that He will change our lives at the core of our existence--we add ourselves to that creche--the creche before which we adore Him, Christ the Lord, Savior of the world. And we also sing: