Living the Vocation to Holiness - January 8, 2023

The Christmas season continues today with the celebration of Epiphany giving us the opportunity to recognize, celebrate, and reflect upon all the “epiphanies” of our Lord.  When we think of Epiphany we think of the visit of the three kings (aka: wise men, magi).  However, traditionally the feast of Epiphany, and formerly the octave that followed, is focused on THREE primary epiphanies: the visit of the three kings, the changing of water to wine at the wedding feast at Cana, and the Baptism of the Lord.  Indeed, the octave ended with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  While the octave was suppressed with the new calendar of 1969, there is (most years) still a functional octave since Epiphany is celebrated one Sunday and the Baptism of the Lord the next.  However, this year, with Christmas falling on a Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord will be celebrated on Monday, thus, most of us will miss it liturgically.

Many, sadly, were done celebrating our Lord’s nativity by New Years.  You will recall I mentioned last Sunday (New Years) that a cousin of mine had posted with great satisfaction that he had gotten all his decorations down and put away the day before.  But we Christians recognize that this mystery of the incarnation, the first mystery of our Lord and second in importance only to the Paschal Mystery in the order of salvation, needs to be celebrated fully, indeed – throughout the year (remember Scrooge?).  That is why we celebrate clean through to the Baptism of the Lord AND THEN we observe and reflect on these “epiphanies” at least until the February 2^nd celebration of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple -  40 days after his nativity.  This is why we keep our Nativity Displays up in our three churches until that feast, so that we will be reminded to keep the nativity and following epiphanies of our Lord as the touch stone for our meditation and contemplation.  It is of note that in the pre-1969 liturgical calendar the period from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday was observed as “Sundays/Weeks after Epiphany”, which made this an easier concept to keep in mind.

So, you see, Epiphany is not just a “day”; it becomes a mindset.  In celebrating the visit of the three kings we set ourselves on a path of discovery: recognizing all of the epiphanies of the Lord, first in holy scripture, then in salvation history and the life of the Church (Sacred Heart and Divine Mercy comes immediately to mind), and finally, in our individual lives.

When and how has the Lord made himself known in YOUR life, especially as Son of God / Messiah?  This is where prayer, meditation, faith, memory, and contemplation come in.  These also take time.  Thus, the wisdom of the Church in times past giving us time and gentle, regular reminders by way of the calendar so that we may be prompted and encouraged to take that time as a gift of grace.

Now, just because the calendar is not set up that way currently (at least in a formal way) doesn't mean we can't take these lessons from the past and apply them to our life of prayer and living today.  So, again, "When and how has the Lord made himself known in YOUR life?