Epiphany and Opportunity

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author. 

“Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem, your light has come. The glory of the Lord shines upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick clouds cover the peoples, but upon you, the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about. They all gather and come to you, your sons, come from afar, your daughters in the arms of their nurses, then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow.” This radiant prophecy of Isaiah is given to us today, and as we celebrate these three Magi who discovered an opportunity that almost everybody else missed. They were far away, each one of them in a different place, but they were the few, the very few, who discovered this opportunity and responded. And this opportunity was a divine opportunity that would change their lives for all eternity. And so, they teach us to be attentive to the opportunities that God can be revealing and that many people can be ignoring or missing. St Paul in the letter, the passage we heard today, talks about what the mystery that was revealed to him that had been hidden for ages, but he said it was revealed to him and was revealed to the apostles and prophets, and now he’s sharing because God doesn’t want to keep this a secret. God wants to share it, but so few people are listening to this which was given to him by, he says, by revelation. And even in the Gospel, even as to find out where the child is born, they consult the prophets, the books of the prophets. And so, I think this has a lot of a lot of message for us today, for the situation we’re living today, and even in this poor little mission.  I think this is one of the places where the Lord has shared some of this prophetic light, some of this light of revelation, to reveal the mysteries of His action in human history, and what he’s doing today, what he’s planning today. And most people don’t, respond, but there’s a little remnant who has responded, of people gathered now in this chapel, and other people who are farther away, but are attentive. But so, but that’s the situation we’re seeing here, where God is revealing something, but most of the people ignore it, don’t respond or are not attentive, but the few, like these magi who do, are greatly blessed at this opportunity. And so, this Christmas season, I have been focusing a lot on the passages in Maria Valtorta, “The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me.’ And so, I want to do that again today, and this has two parts. First of all, it describes what happens, and then it reflects on this lesson. And I took out some passages so it not be too long, but it’s still a little bit long, but it’s one way of honoring this. Because for the magi to do this, the time it took them to get there and then to get back, that was a long, long journey. And so, this, as we listen today, it’s one way of honoring and learning from them. And so, you won’t remember all this passage, but maybe just be attentive. If there’s one thing that the Lord wants you to focus on in this passage. And so, as Maria Valtorta recounts this, the holy family had been in Bethlehem already now for some months. And there’s a local person, the shepherds have interceded with a local person who has received them into her house. So that’s where they’re staying. And so, the Magi have just arrived the night before they stayed at the inn, and they had been praying and preparing that night, waiting for morning, and then they sent their servants that morning to announce their arrival. And so, I’ll start now where they arrive at the house and they’re dressed in their best clothes, and it says – “Mary is sitting with the child in her lap, and Joseph is standing near her, but she also gets up and bows when she sees the Magi entering. She is all dressed in white. She is so beautiful, with her face more rosy due to the emotion, with her eyes smiling sweetly while her mouth gives a greeting, ‘may God be with you’ that the three Magi stop for a moment, completely astonished. Then they proceed and prostrate themselves at her feet, and they ask her to sit down. They do not sit down, although she asks them to do so, they remain kneeling, relaxing on their heels behind them, also on their knees are their three servants. They are immediately after the threshold. They have placed the three gifts that they were carrying in front of the Magi, and now they are waiting. The Three Wise Men contemplate the child who I think must be nine to 12 months old. He is so lively and strong. He is sitting on His mother’s lap and smiles and prattles with a shrill voice like a little bird. He is all dressed in white, like his mother, with tiny sandals on His little feet. His tunic is a very simple one, a small tunic from which His restless feet protrude, and His plump little hands which would like to get hold of everything, and above all, a most beautiful little face in which two dark blue eyes shine and a pretty mouth with dimples at the sides, shows its first tiny teeth when it smiles. The oldest of the Magi speaks on behalf of them all. He explains to Mary that one night the previous December, they saw a new star of unusual brightness appear in the sky. The maps of the sky had never shown or mentioned such a star, its name was unknown because it had no name. Born out of the bosom of God. It had flourished to tell men a blessed truth, a secret of God, but men had not paid any attention to it because their souls were steeped in mud. They did not lift their eyes to God, neither could they read the words that God writes with the stars of fire in the vault of heaven, may He be blessed forever. They had seen it and had striven to understand its meaning. They were happy to give up the little sleep they usually granted themselves and forgetting even their food, they devoted themselves entirely to studying the stars. And the conjunctions of the stars, the time, the season, The calculation of the hours passed and that the astronomic combinations had told them the name and the secret of the star, its name Messiah, its secret, the Messiah had come to our world. And they had set out to worship Him. Each of them, unknown to the others, over mountains, across deserts, along valleys and rivers. Traveling by night, they had come towards Palestine because the star was moving in that direction. For each of them from three different points on the earth, it was going in that direction, and then they met beyond the Dead Sea. God’s will had gathered them together, and they proceeded together, understanding one another, despite the fact that each spoke his own language, by a Miracle of the Eternal Father, they were able to understand and speak the language of each country. And they had come towards Bethlehem, and as soon as they left the holy city, the star had reappeared to them. And the night before their arrival in Bethlehem, its brightness had. Increased. The whole sky was ablaze. Then the star had stopped above this house, engulfing all the light of the other stars in its ray. And they had understood that the divine newborn baby was there, and now they were worshiping Him, offering their gifts and above all their hearts, which never ceased thanking God for the grace granted to them; neither would they ever stop loving His Son, whose holy human body they had now seen. Later, they intended to go back to King Herod because he also wanted to adore Him. The oldest one continues, “in the meantime here is the gold which befits a king to possess. Here is the incense which befits a God. And here mother, here is the myrrh, because your child is a man as well as God, and He will experience the bitterness of the flesh and of human life, as well as the inevitable law of death. Our souls full as they are of love, would prefer not to utter these words. And we would rather think that His flesh is also eternal as His spirit. But woman, if our writings, and above all, our souls are right, He is your son, the Savior, the Christ of God. And consequently, to save the world, He will have to take upon Himself the evil of the world of which one of the punishments is death. This Myrrh is for that hour that His holy flesh may not be subject to the rot of putrefaction but may preserve its integrity until its resurrection. And on account of His gift, may He remember us and save His servants by allowing them to enter His kingdom. In the meantime, that we may be sanctified. will you mother, trust your little one to our love that His heavenly blessing may descend upon us while we kiss His feet.” Mary, who has overcome the fright caused by the words of the wise men, has as hidden with a smile the sadness of her, of this sad illusion, offers the child. She lays Him in the arms of the oldest one, who kisses Him and receives His caress and then hands Him over to the other two. Jesus smiles and plays with the little chains and fringes of the robes of the three Magi, and He looks curiously at the open coffer, full of a yellow, sparkling substance, and he smiles at the rainbow produced by the sun shining on the brilliant top of the lid of the myrrh. Then they hand the child back to Mary, and they stand up. Mary also gets up. They bow to one another. After the youngest has given an order to the servant who goes out, the three men carry on speaking for a little while. They cannot make up their minds to depart from the house. Tears shine in their eyes. At last, they moved towards the door, accompanied by Mary and Joseph.” So, I’ll stop the account there and omit the final part of that. But to share now the reflection. Jesus says, “And now, what shall I tell you, O souls who feel your faith is dying. Those wise men from the East had nothing to assure them of the truth, nothing supernatural. All they had was an astronomic calculation and their own considerations made perfect by a strictly honest life. And yet they had faith, faith in everything, in science, in their own conscience and in God’s goodness. Science made them believe in the sign of the new star, which could only be the one expected by mankind for centuries, the Messiah. Because of their consciences, they had faith in the voices of their consciences, which heard heavenly voices saying to them, ‘that is the star announcing the advent of the Messiah.’ Because of God’s goodness, they believed that God would not deceive them, and since their intention was good, He would help them in every way to reach their aim. And they were successful. Among so many people fond of studying signs, they were the only ones who understood that sign, because only their souls were anxious to know the words of God for an honest purpose, the main care of which was to praise and honor God. Immediately, they did not seek any personal advantage. On the contrary, they have to face hardships and meet expenses, but they do not ask for any human reward. They only ask God to remember them and save them for eternal life. As they have no desire for any future human rewards, so they have no human worry when they decide on their journey. You would have had hundreds of problems. How will I be able to make such a long journey in countries and among people speaking different languages? Will they believe me, or will they put me in prison as a spy. What help will they give me to cross deserts, rivers and mountains and the heat and the winds of the highlands and the malarial fever along stagnant marshes and the floods and heavy rains and the different food and different languages and and, and that is your way of thinking. But they do not think like that. With sincere, holy daring, they say, ‘You, O God, can read our hearts and you see the purpose we are aiming at. We trust to your hands grant us the superhuman joy of adoring your second person who has become flesh to save the world;’ that is all and they set out from the far away Indies.” And here, Maria Valtorta adds a footnote. She says, Jesus later tells me that when he says the Indies here, he means, Southern Asia, where Turkey, Afghanistan and Persia are located in our geography. And remember, she’s writing in the 1940s Persia would be now Iran. So, the account continues. “From the Mongolian chains of mountains, which are the dominion of eagles and vultures, where God speaks with roars of winds and torrents and writes words of mystery on the immense pages of glaciers. And from the land where the Nile rises and then flows with its green, blue waters to the Azure heart of the Mediterranean. Neither mountains nor Woods nor sands, dry oceans, more dangerous than the seas, can stop them from proceeding. And when the star shines upon them at night, preventing them from sleeping; when one seeks God, natural habits must yield to superhuman considerations and necessities. The Star guides them from the north, the east and the south, and by a miracle of God, it proceeds for the three of them towards one point. And by another miracle of God, after many miles, it gathers them at that point. And by a further miracle, it anticipates the Pentecost wisdom bestowing on them the gift of understanding and making themselves understood, as it happens in paradise, where only one language is spoken, God’s. They are dismayed only for one moment when the star disappears. And since they are humble because they are really great, they do not think that it is due to the wickedness of other people, as the corrupted people of Jerusalem did not deserve to see the star of God; but they think that they had failed to deserve God themselves, and they examine themselves with trepidation and contrition, ready to beg forgiveness. But their consciences reassure them, their souls were accustomed to meditation, and each of them had a most sensitive conscience, refined by constant attention and by sharp introspection, which made of their interior a mirror from which even the slightest faults of daily actions are reflected. Their conscience has become their teacher, a voice that warns and cries, not at the least error, but at the least inclination towards error, at everything human, at the satisfaction of one’s ego. Consequently, when they place themselves before that teacher and that severe, clean mirror, they know that it will not lie. It reassures them and gives them heart. Oh, how sweet it is to feel that there is nothing against God in us, to feel that He is looking kindly at the soul of His faithful child and blesses Him. Faith, trust, hope, strength and patience are increased by such a feeling. The storm is raging just now, but it will pass, because God loves me, and he knows that I love Him, and He will not fail to help me again. That is how those speak who enjoy the peace that comes from an upright conscience that is the queen of every action of theirs. I said that they were humble because they were truly great. What happens instead in your lives. There a man is never humble, not because he is truly great, but because he is more domineering and makes himself mighty by means of his arrogance and because of your silly idolatry. There are some wretched men who simply, because they are the butlers of some overbearing fellow, or ushers in some office or officials in some small village, that is, servants of those who employed them, put on the heirs of demigods, and they aroused pity.  The three wise men were truly great. First, because of their supernatural virtues, second, because of their science, last, because of their wealth. But they feel that they are nothing; dust on the dust of the earth, in comparison with the most high God who, with a smile, creates the world and scatters them like grains of wheat to satisfy the eyes of the angels with the jewels of the stars. they feel they are a mere nothing, as compared to the most high God who created the planet on which they live, and He made it most varied, an infinite sculptor of boundless works. With a touch of His thumb, He placed a ring of hills there, the bone structure of mountain ridges and peaks there, like vertebrae of the earth of this enormous body, the veins of which are the rivers its basins, the lakes, Its hearts, the oceans its dresses, the forest, its veils, the clouds its decorations, the crystal glaciers its gems, the turquoise and the Emeralds, the Opals and the barrels of the waters that sing with the woods and the winds, the great chorus of Praise to their God. But they feel they are nothing with regard to their wisdom, as compared to the Most High God from whom their wisdom comes, and who gave them more powerful eyes than those two pupils by means of which they see things; the eyes of their souls, which know how to read in things, the word not written by human hands, but engraved by God’s thought. They feel they are nothing with regard to their wealth; an Adam as compared to the wealth of the owner of the universe, who scatters metals and gems in the stars and planets and grant supernatural, unexhausted riches to the hearts of those who love Him. And when they arrive before the poor house in the poorest town in Judah, they do not shake their heads, saying impossible, but they bend their backs, their knees and above all their hearts, and they adore. There behind that poor wall, there is God. The God they have always invoked but never had the least hope of seeing. And they invoke Him for the welfare of all mankind and for their eternal welfare. That was their only wish, to see Him, to know Him, to possess Him in the life where there are no more dawns and sunsets. He is there behind that poor wall with His heart. Heart of a child which is still the heart of a God. Will His will, His heart of a child which is still the heart of a God, perceive those three hearts which prostrated in the dust of the road are crying, ‘holy, holy, holy, blessed the Lord our God, Glory to Him in the highest heaven, and peace to His servants. Glory, glory, glory and blessings.’ They are wondering this with loving tremor and during the whole night and the following morning, they prepare with the most ardent prayer their souls for the communion with the child God. They do not go to that altar, which is the virginal lap holding the divine host with their souls full of human worries as you do. They forget to eat and sleep, and if they wear their most beautiful robes, it is not for human ostentation, but it is to honor the King of kings. In royal palaces, the dignitaries wear the most beautiful clothes. And should the Magi not go to that King in their best garments? Which greater opportunity is for them? In their far away countries, many a time they had to adorn themselves, for men like themselves to welcome and honor them. It is only fair therefore, that they should prostrate purples and jewels, silks and precious feathers at the feet of the Supreme King. It is fair to put at His sweet little feet the fibers of the earth, the gems of the Earth, the feathers of the Earth, the metals of the earth, they are all His work, so that these things of the earth may adore their Creator. And they would be happy if the little creature should order them to lie on the ground and become a living carpet for His little baby steps. And if He trampled on them, since He left the stars to come down to them, who are but dust. And they were humble, generous and obedient to the voices from above. They tell them to take gifts to the newborn king, and they take gifts. They do not say He is rich. He doesn’t need them. He is God. He will not die. They obey, and they are the first to help the Savior in His poverty. How useful that gold will be for Him who is about to be a fugitive. How meaningful that Myrrh is for Him who will soon be killed. How pious that incense is for Him who will have to smell the stench of human lewdness raging round His infinite purity. That is, My dear children, the gospel of faith and the vision of the scene of the Magi. Meditate on it and imitate it for your own good.” So, these Magi were sensitive to the signs that God was giving them, to the way that God was speaking to them, and their interiors, and the signs that He was giving them. And He’s inviting us also to be aware of the ways that He’s speaking to us today, that He’s revealing the mysteries, the hidden mysteries of these times that we’re living right now, and of the opportunities of these times. And of course, there’s another opportunity in this very Mass, the great opportunity of coming to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, hidden in His humility, in the poverty of the little host, in this poor little chapel, as a gift for you and for our time. And so, like we are invited to come with an act of faith and to adore Him coming in this very Mass. Adore Him with them, with our Blessed Mother and St Joseph, with the shepherds of Bethlehem, with these Magi, with the holy angels. Come let us adore Him.  Amen. 

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12