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  Epiphany of Our Lord  January 5th  Readings: The Epiphany of the Lord | USCCB  Epiphany: the word literally means an appearance or manifestation, and typically refers to the appearance of a divine being. For Christians, the Feast of the Epiphany closes out the “Twelve Days of Christmas” and as part of the annual commemoration of the Nativity of our Lord, celebrates the appearance of the Son of God who was incarnate in the person of Jesus, taking on our humanity so that we might know God in a very personal and intimate way.   Today’s Gospel reading recounts the familiar story of the magi from the east, who have followed a star since its rising and come to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews. Although the religious experts whom Herod consults correctly identify Bethlehem as the birthplace of the one who is to shepherd the people of Israel, it is only the magi who continue on to find the child with his mother, and to give him homage.  The irony here is that the magi were “foreigners,” “outsiders,” those we might least expect to be interested in or open to the appearance of the newborn king of […]

January 1st  Readings: Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God | USCCB  Today’s Gospel reading takes us to the tender scene of the Nativity. We know it as imagined in countless paintings: the infant Christ lying in the manger, the shepherds coming in joy to worship, and Joseph and Mary gazing in wonder at the child who lies before them. Mary, like any new mother, cannot take her eyes off her new baby. Yet today’s other readings hint that Mary is not the only one gazing. The Psalmist prays: “May God have pity on us and bless us; / may he let his face shine upon us.” Similarly, the LORD tells Moses to bless the Israelites with the words “The LORD bless you and keep you! / The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! / The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace!” These words remind us that even as Mary gazes at Christ, he also looks at her with a gaze that brings God’s blessing.  In her recent volume of poetry, Dawn of this Hunger1, contemporary poet and Catholic convert Sally Read imagines mother and son in the […]

  Sunday, Dec 29  Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph | USCCB  Nazareth, School of the Gospel  Pope Paul VI in his address at the Basilica of Nazareth in 1964, reflected on Nazareth as a school for all Christians.  He paid attention to Jesus’ beginnings and his life in Nazareth as a school of the Gospel. There, he says, “we learn to observe, to listen, to meditate, and to penetrate the profound and mysterious meaning of that simple, humble, and lovely manifestation of the Son of God… Here we learn the method by which we can come to understand Christ.”  The pope reflects in three lessons that are worth sharing as we celebrate the family of Nazareth and what it teaches us:  Silence  “The lesson of silence: may there return to us an appreciation of this stupendous and indispensable spiritual condition, deafened as we are by so much tumult, so much noise, so many voices of our chaotic and frenzied modern life. O silence of Nazareth, teach us recollection, reflection, and eagerness to heed the good inspirations and words of true teachers; teach us the need and value of preparation, of study, of meditation, of interior […]

Christmas Day  Readings: The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) | USCCB  Let the light shine  As a child, my anticipation of Christmas Day was intense – the gifts, the cousins I rarely saw, the once-a-year foods. All too quickly, though, the gifts were done, the cousins left, and dinnertime was back to humdrum tuna casserole. How could such a monumental cause for celebration be over so soon?  Today’s Gospel reading reminds us that today is not a singular event to celebrate but a history-upending reality in which we are ongoing active participants. Yes, Christmas represents that moment when “true light” came into our world. But that same reading reminds us about the key role that John played – “He was not the light but came to testify to the light.”  It can be tempting to overlook this aspect of the Christmas story. We are not simply passive beneficiaries of the true light; we are asked to bear witness to it. As Pope Francis puts it, “it is not enough to receive light, one must become light,” for each of us is called to receive “the divine light in order to manifest it with our whole life.”  The Incarnation is God […]