Feast of Epiphany

Friday, 6th January, is the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord. It commemorates the visit by the three wise men to the stable at Bethlehem, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. These exotic visitors ‘from the East’ were guided to the stable by a star. They represent the non-Jewish world to emphasise that God did not become man just for one nation but for all people. This feast reveals Christ as the light of all nations. The word ‘epiphany’ is derived from the Greek ‘epiphaino’, meaning ‘to make oneself known’, ‘to reveal’.

Pope Benedict explains what we celebrate on the feast of the Epiphany:

‘Outwardly, their journey was now over. They had reached their goal.

       But at this point a new journey began for them, an inner pilgrimage which changed their whole lives. They were sure that God existed and that he was a just and gentle God. And perhaps they also knew of the great prophecies of Israel foretelling a King who would be intimately united with God. The new King, to whom they now paid homage, was quite unlike what they were expecting. In this way they had to learn that God is not as we usually imagine him to be. This was where their inner journey began. It started at the very moment when they knelt down before this child and recognized him as the promised King. They had to change their ideas about power, about God and about man, and in so doing  they also had to change themselves. Now they were able to see that God’s power is not like that of the powerful of this world. God’s ways are not as we imagine them or as we might wish them to be.

Now they have to learn to give themselves – no lesser gift would be sufficient for this King. Now they have to learn that their lives must be conformed to God’s own way of being. They must  become people of truth, of justice, of goodness,  of forgiveness, of mercy.’

Address of Pope Benedict at Youth Vigil during WYD Cologne, 20th August 2005.

Masses for feast:

St Joseph’s, Springhill: Vigil on Thursday 5th January, at 6.00 pm; 11.00 am on Friday 6th

St Michael’s, Upper Glanmire: 10.00 am on Friday 6th.