Christmas Continues - Feast of the Epiphany

Happy Feast of the Epiphany (January 6th). This wonderful day is the 12th day of Christmas, when we remember the three wise men who followed a mysterious "star of wonder" until they found and paid homage to Jesus, the newborn king. These three wise men were not Jewish, and their recognition of Jesus as someone great and worthy of honor and awe is the first witness we see in the Bible that Jesus came for all humanity, not only the Israelites.

In remembrance of this great feast, let's also try to offer Jesus our most sincere honor and homage. Even those parts of our lives which are not very "religious" or "justified" can be offered to the Lord, asking for His help in areas of struggle. Why not go to confession to celebrate the Epiphany?!  Much like the wise men, when we humble our "worldly" selves, and we recognize Jesus as the divine Infant, the Prince of Peace, He reaches out to us in love and enlightens our darkness. Likewise, let us also seek to offer Him our most valuable gifts, our "first fruits" of blessings and wealth, as well as the love, honor, and obedience that His divinity commands.

In fact, the Catholic celebration of this miraculous and awesome event extends all the way until January 12th, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. So cut yourself a break and keep on enjoying those Christmas cookies! And don't take that Christmas tree down yet - at playgroup on Tuesday, we will be making Christmas tree ornaments with the kids.

Please bring a 3x5 or smaller picture of your child so that they can make an ornament to celebrate this season! (For example, you could even bring your child's baptism picture to help them think about this feast!)