Cycle A - Year I:  

8 January 2017: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Please read  Matthew 2:1-12

The Lord's Epiphany: Salvation comes to all!

Although it is not likely....if you miss receiving gifts last Christmas, well cheer up because today, the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany, or traditionally known as the Feast of the Three Kings, may just be your last chance to receive Christmas gifts from dear someone. So make  your wish... upon a star.

The word "epiphany" means manifestation or appearance of God in person like us through the humanity of Jesus. In the Lord's epiphany we see the plan of God to give His only Son as King and Savior, not just for the Jewish people, who are God's chosen people in the Old Testament, but to all nations as well.  Because the three kings were foreigners and non-Jews. Thus, the implication of today's feast is that the Lord Jesus comes to both the Jews and the Gentiles (or non-Jews), including our present generation of believers in Christ, so that all may find true and lasting peace with God.

The journey of the three kings (or Magi, or Wise Men) is one of the

favorite stories in the Gospel. A star started them on the journey and guided them to the end. We will read from Matthew's narrative about the three kings looking for the infant Jesus in order to pay Him homage with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Western Church has assigned them the names of Melchor (believed to be a Babylonian scholar), Caspar (a Persian scholar), and Balthazar (an Arab scholar).  Because these three kings brought gifts to the baby Jesus, by tradition today is also considered the last day of sharing Christmas gifts to our loved ones.

The gifts of the three kings have symbolic significance to the divine identity and mission of Jesus. That is to say, gold has great value which then symbolizes the kingship of Jesus. Frankincense is a perfume, and the symbol of the divinity of Jesus. And myrrh is a common anointing oil which symbolizes the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross that brought about salvation of the whole humanity. These gifts they brought to the infant Jesus speak of their respect for His divine identity and the realism about His death at the hands of humankind.

What is the relevance of the Feast of Epiphany to our lives today? Let us consider the following reflections:

Epiphany tells us that God became visible and audible for us in the person of Jesus, who is the human image of the invisible God. So that even to our generation we experience God living among us and within us in the Holy Eucharist.

Epiphany makes known to us the way to the Father through Jesus Christ. He leads our path in our journey in this present life to our heavenly home. As Jesus Himself declares: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me." (Jn 14:6)

Epiphany reveals to us God's plan for all men and women to be saved, from the fall of our first parents Adam and Eve, by believing that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Because God's kingdom is meant for all people of all generations.

In sum, as we conclude our celebration of the Christmas season, we pray that the examples of the three kings be our guide in our own spiritual pilgrimage in the New Year 2017. Like them, we too acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior and do Him homage. And like the three kings, we also open our gifts of unwavering faith, amidst the temptation of "religion by convenience" in our present generation, and commit our undivided loyalty to Christ's teaching through His Church.

A blessed Three King's Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle A - Year I:  

1 January 2017: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 2:16-21

Welcoming the New Year with Mary, our Mother!

 With great joy I greet my readers and friends "A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017!"

New Year fills our heart with new hope, inspiring us to reach out to new opportunities, and celebrating anew the gift of life.

The Catholic Church opens the new calendar year by proclaiming

Mary as the Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus affirmed in June 431 that Mary can rightfully be calle "Mother of God".

Let us understand this title of Mary in its proper context.

Since Mary is Jesus' mother, it must be concluded that she is also the Mother of God. We can affirm this fact by logical syllogism: "If Mary is the mother of Jesus, and if Jesus is God, then Mary is the Mother of God."

It is important to clarify, however, that "although Mary is the Mother of God, she is not his mother in the sense that she is older than God or the source of her Son's divinity, for she is neither. Rather, we say that she is the Mother of God in the sense that she carried in her womb a divine person -- Jesus Christ, God in the flesh -- and in the sense that she contributed the generic matter to the human form God took in Jesus Christ." (Source: Catholic Answers at www.catholic. com)

We honor Mary, Mother of God, for her courage, faith, devotion, and humility. Like all other mothers, Mary must have felt afraid at certain moments in her maternal role, like when Jesus was lost and found in the temple after three days, and also during the agony and death of the grown-up Jesus. But Mary's complete trust in God made her accept the role of a mother to God the Son.

In the Gospel from St. Luke, we read about the poor shepherds who were the first witnesses of the birth of the Messiah. They went in haste to Bethlehem after receiving the Good News from the angel. There they found Mary and Joseph, and the infant Jesus lying in a manger, just as what the angel told them.

We can hear from the Gospel reading about Mary's humility and complete obedience to God's will: "Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." (Lk 2:19)

Thus, in Mary we find a perfect model of being a Christian and disciple of Jesus. She was the joy filled mother of the new born Jesus; she was the mother of sorrow cradling her lifeless Son in the "Pieta"; and she was the Queen-Mother standing at the right hand of the glorified Lord, which we proclaim in the Fifth Glorious Mystery of the Rosary.

As we begin a new journey in the Year 2017,  let us pray to Mary, Mother of God and our mother too:

"O Blessed Virgin, pray to God for us always, that He may pardon and give us grace; pray to God for us always, that He may grant us peace in this life; pray to God for us always, that He may reward us with Paradise at our death. Amen."

The Church also celebrates this Sunday "World Day of Prayer for Peace". Let us also pray that Jesus, the King of peace, bless our country and all humanity with the gift of His peace. 

Wishing you all again A Happy and Prosperous New Year 2017! And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!