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INVITE SOMEONE YOU LOVE TO MASS!

Lent is a time that we all are given the chance by God to experience change! This is not only the season of prayer but a time to accept letting go of all that is holding us back from his forgiving love. Who are we to be that obstacle for someone who we care and love from experiencing God's Unconditional Love. So our parish community along with our Pastor challenge you to invite Someone You Love To The Truth Of God's Love! The Church Is a Hospital For Sinners! Invite Them To Experience The Summit Of Their Week! Bring Someone You Love To Sunday Mass!

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The Magi traveled for a long time – roughly three years.  Their first stop was to visit King Herod in Jerusalem because they thought that the King of the Jews would be born in a palace.

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?  We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”  Matthew 2:2

Herod was furious because he did not know that Jesus’ kingdom would be a heavenly one and he thought that his power was in danger. The chief priests and scribes of Jerusalem told Herod what the scriptures had said:

And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.  Matthew 2:6

King Herod then secretly met with the Magi and asked them exactly when the star appeared.  He then told them that they could find the King of the Jews in Bethlehem. He told them:

“Go and search diligently for the child.  When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.” Matthew 2:8

“Westward Leading, Still Proceeding”
The Magi set out for Bethlehem and eventually they came to the house where Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were staying.  They gave Jesus the gifts they brought for Him – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Gold because Jesus is king; Frankincense because Jesus is God; and Myrrh because Jesus would one day die upon the cross to save us from our sins.

As they prepared to leave Bethlehem and return home, God warned them in a dream to avoid Herod and so they took a different way home.

Herod was furious when he found out that the Magi tricked him.  Because he still felt threatened by this newborn King of the Jews, he ordered the killing of every baby boy from birth to three years old.  God warned Joseph in a dream that they should flee to Egypt and so Joseph and Mary escaped to Egypt and Jesus’ life was spared.

“We Traverse Afar”
There are many special ways all around the world to celebrate the Epiphany.  In some countries, children open presents on the Epiphany instead of Christmas.  Some people believe the Magi bring the presents instead of Santa Claus.  Christmas decorations can be taken down on the Epiphany but some people choose to wait until Candlemas – the Presentation of the Lord.

In almost every country, there is a special cake associated with the day and many of the foods and sweets associated with this day have many spices to symbolize the spices the Magi gave Jesus.  Spanish children write a letter to the three kings asking for a special grace, blessing, or virtue for the year ahead.  In Ireland, the Epiphany is sometimes known as Women’s Christmas, a day when the men take over so the women could rest from all the hard work of preparing for Christmas.

House Blessing
On the Feast of the Epiphany, it is very special to ask the blessing of God on your house throughout the following year.  This blessing can help us remember that God is a part of our comings and goings and every aspect of our daily lives.  As a part of this blessing, it is traditional to write in chalk above the main entrance to the home.  This is what the writing would look like for 2018: +20 C M B 18+.

The letters C, M, B can signify the names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.  They can also stand for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which is Latin for May Christ bless this house.  The + signs represent the cross of Christ and the first two numbers are the first part of the year, while the last two numbers are the last part of the year.

“Guide Us to Thy Perfect Light”
The Epiphany should remind us of how special Jesus is and that we should spend our lives seeking Him. Jesus is the light for everyone and if we follow Him we will never go astray
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Star of wonder, star of might, star with royal beauty bright – westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to the perfect light.

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WHAT IS EPIPHANY?

The name Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphaneia, meaning “appearance” or “manifestation,” and refers to the manifestation of Jesus Christ to the world. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Theophany, or Three Kings' Day. Epiphany is one of the Church's major and spectacular feasts. It occurs on January 6th, the final day of the 12 days of Christmas (in some locations it is transferred to the Sunday between January 2 - 8). In some places it is also called Twelfthnight or Three Kings Day. 

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This is the day the Church commemorates the Magi arriving to give homage to the newborn King of Kings with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, symbolic of all the Gentile nations coming into the Kingdom of God. In many places around the world, this was the traditional day of gift-giving in celebration of Christmas.

In the East this feast is quite a bit more elaborate than in the West. For the Eastern Church, Epiphany is the celebration of not one, not two, but three 'epiphanies', or revelations of Christ: the arrival of the Magi with their kingly gifts, the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, and Jesus' first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana. These three biblical events are theophanies, or visible manifestations of who Jesus really was—God incarnate. In some locations a fourth event was also historically celebrated on this day, the Nativity of Christ.

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THE FEAST OF THE EPIHPHANY!

The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. This feast commemorates the visit of the wise men to worship the baby Jesus. Tradition tells us that their names were Caspar, Melchior and Balthassar. The men were astrologers who were looking for the star that would lead them to the promised Messiah. This was prophesied in the Book of Micah. According to the Gospel narratives, the wise men brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh with them. These gifts were very meaningful. Gold was a precious and expensive gift, and showed how important Jesus was. Frankincense is a sweet perfume which was often burned in the temple to worship God. It was a sign that Jesus should be worshipped. Myrrh was used to keep things fresh, and it was used by the women to anoint Jesus’ body when he died. By bringing it as a gift to Jesus, the wise men foretold his suffering and death.​

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There are many beautiful and ancient traditions that come to us from the East in the form of special blessings that the Church performs on this feast: the blessing of water, salt, chalk, and homes, as well as of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

• EPIPHANY WATER: There is a special blessing for water on the feast of the Epiphany because of its connection to the celebration of Jesus' baptism. This ancient rite of the blessing of the waters, with its extraordinarily powerful prayers of exorcism, renders Epiphany Water more spiritually potent than 'ordinary' holy water (also, exorcised salt is part of the ritual and is used to 'make' Epiphany water).

 

• BLESSED CHALK: There is a long-standing Epiphany tradition of marking churches, homes, schools, and other buildings with a special 'holy formula' over the entryway using chalk that has been blessed for this purpose on Epiphany. This formula includes the current year along with the initials C, M, and B in the order shown below.  20 + C + M + B + 18  The C, M, and B are placed in between the numbers of the current year, with crosses in between each symbol. The three letters have two significations: the invocation Christus Mansionem Benedicat (Christ bless this house), as well as the first initial of the names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.

 

• BLESSING OF HOMES: Epiphany, including its octave, is the traditional time of year to have your home blessed by a priest. If it isn't possible to have a priest bless your home, the head of the family household (i.e. the husband/father) can preside over the ceremony as in the above link to the Roman Ritual. After the ritual, mark 20 + C + M + B + 18 over the entryway of the home with chalk.

 

• BLESSING OF GOLD, FRANKINCENSE, & MYRRH: There is also a special Epiphany blessing in honor of the original Christmas gifts. The faithful can have their items of gold blessed (such as wedding rings and rosaries), myrrh for medicinal use, and frankincense to be used for the Epiphany home blessing and other liturgical feasts (such as Easter).