First Reading
Isaiah 60:1-6

1. Though darkness covered the earth, light and glory came to Jerusalem, says the First Reading. Are you aware of God’s light and glory in your life?

2. Did Jerusalem have any light of her own? Were nations coming to her or to the light? What do you think draws people to the Church today?

Second Reading
Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

1. Just what was this mystery that Paul said “was made known to me by revelation”? How does God’s Grace enter in?

2. How does mystery brighten the world? Is every person ever born a “coheir”?

Gospel
Matthew 2:1-12

1. God sent the Magi a message that made them ride camels across the known world. What would motivate you to put in this kind of effort? What was worth this kind of search for them?

2. As the star led the Magi to Christ, what does Pope Francis say God gives us to guide our pilgrimage? What does he suggest we learn from the Magi about being “cunning”?

The star appearing in the sky kindled in their minds and in their hearts a light that moved them to seek the great Light of Christ.  Every person has two great ‘books’ which provide the signs to guide this pilgrimage. These “books,” are “the book of creation and the book of sacred Scripture.” What is most important, is that we be attentive, alert, and listen to God who speaks to us, … listening to the Gospel, reading it, meditating on it and making it our spiritual nourishment especially enables us to encounter the living Jesus, to experience him and his love.

The Magi used this light of ‘cunning’ when, on the way back, they decided not to pass by the gloomy palace of Herod, but to take another route.

The wise men teach us how not to fall into the snares of darkness and how to defend ourselves from the shadows which seek to envelop our life.

From Pope Francis; homily on the Feast of
the Epiphany, Jan 6, 2014

Anne Osdieck