The Epiphany of the Lord

01-07-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Dan Connealy

Happy Sunday of the Epiphany!

2024 is here and we are off and running. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year. It was great to see so many of you and your families as well as those who were visiting. I am grateful to our staff and volunteers who helped everything go so smoothly.

This Sunday we celebrate the Epiphany. The Church has directed our attention on this feast towards three different events in the life of Christ: The Magi presenting their gifts to the Christ child, the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, and the Wedding at Cana.

Each of these events in their own way represent Christ being acknowledged publicly, or manifested to the nations. While at the Transfiguration the focus is on Jesus’ divinity being acknowledged, today’s feast is one of the person of Jesus Christ being presented to the nations. The Magi come from the East, the crowds come from Jerusalem at the baptism, and at the Wedding at Cana his first public miracle is seen. This weekend we can ask God for the grace to play our own part in presenting Jesus Christ to the nations. The Church does not live in maintenance mode after hundreds of years of missionary efforts, rather we are continually invited to go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ. By our baptism and confirmation each of us is equipped to partake in this work.

I hope everyone has a great week. Know of my prayers!