Father
John
J. Lombardi
Remember,
it's still Christmas!
Sermon for
Solemn Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord Jesus to the
Magi
This Sunday, we
celebrate the Solemn Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord
Jesus to the Magi. Epiphany comes the Greek words, epi
phanos, "to appear." The Lord of Lords and
Creator of the Universe made Himself known to all the
world. Now, because of the Birth and Epiphany of the
Lord Jesus Christ, there can be no mistake, no
ignorance, no foot dragging, no Luke warmness: God comes
to us.
The sacred Celebration
commemorates God's merciful intervention in the world:
that He wanted to be known, loved and served, and not be
unknown and unloved, as if He was some nebulous
"spirit" distant in the starry skies whom no
one could approach.
Epiphany focuses on the
manifestation of the Divinity of Jesus Christ to all the
world . . . "God so loved the world He sent His
only Son that whosoever believes in Him may not perish
but have eternal life." (Jn. 3:16). There it is:
God wanted to EXPLICITLY reveal Himself (in the
Incarnation and Epiphany), He wanted to LOVINGLY
manifest Himself (in a Baby), and He wanted to unveil
HIS MARVELOUS PLAN to all Jesus "came that you
might have life, life abundantly" (Jn. 10:10).
A couple years ago the
Vatican published a document, with the approval of Pope
John Paul II, on Jesus Christ, as the One and only
Savior of the World, and the Catholic Church as His
authentic continuation and "physical
extension" on Earth. This caused both joy and
sorrows. Joy because the Church explicitated what has
been taught and proposed for 2,000 years -Jesus is Lord,
"There is salvation through no one else" (Acts
4:12). Others were sad because they interpreted this to
mean the Catholic Church is hurting other churches; and
that all non-Catholics are either not going to Heaven or
cannot be holy.
Both these latter
interpretations are wrong and are addressed in the
document lovingly and clearly. The Church has always
taught that the Catholic Unity that Jesus established
(Mt. 16:18, etc) and continues today can be both
authentic (humbly claiming its ties to the Lord Himself)
and charitable (inviting others to understand the
apostolic succession which Jesus set up for the
continuation of His teachings on present-day Earth.).
The Document also taught, as with Vatican II, that God's
Life, Teaching and Way is not exhausted through the
Catholic Church: an infinite God can never be explained
by a limited entity even though it is divinely inspired.
Thus, some of God's grace (esp. spread by the Holy
Spirit) manifests outside the Catholic Church's domain.
But, since the Catholic
Unity, established upon St. Peter and continued today,
in and through Pope John Paul II and the magisterium
(official teaching office) is God's "normal"
manifestation for the world and salvation of souls, we
should want to propose Jesus Christ as the singular
Divine Manifestation of God to the world. Notice how
John Paul articulates the "New
Evangelization," we propose Him Jesus, not impose
Him, to others.
At this Epiphany let us
resolve to recognize Jesus Christ, as: +the Second
Person of the Most Blessed Trinity; +the One and only
Savior of the world and our souls; +as True God and True
Man; + Son of God and Son of Mary, +Lord of Power and
Might; + Good and Gentle Shepherd; +Loving and Merciful
Lord in His Most Sacred Heart… MEDITATION:
+How does God manifest
Himself to me in so may ways, ways in which I may often
overlook-through my very breathing ("Come, Holy
Spirit!"), without which I could not live; through
my thinking-that, I can rationally make my way through
life ("Let his mind be in you which was in Jesus
Christ" Phil. 2:5); through the beauty of the world
around me: the Catoctin mountains and neighboring
valleys, the conifer and deciduous trees, all creatures
containing within them, however faintly, traces of their
Creator (+Col 1:15-17); the gift of Faith: He gives to
me what I need, the "bridge of Faith" which
connects me on one side of life and God on the other.
("Faith is the substance of what is hoped for, the
evidence of things unseen." +Heb. 12:1)…Let us
pray that God continue to manifest Himself to the many
tribes, peoples and nations of this world, for their
salvation. We especially pray that terrorists-those who
wantonly murder others-may be converted to Christ, the
One and Only Savior of the World.
THANK YOU to all who
helped make Christmas at the Grotto beautiful, clean and
holy: we joyfully appreciate all the cleaners, servers,
caretakers, decorators, floral folks, all donors-and
ANYone else who helped in any way to glorify God at the
Virgin's Garden-THANK YOU! Also, the Chaplain Thanks You
for ALL your support, prayers and gifts-May God Bless
you and all your loved ones!
PAPAL DOCUMENT QUOTE:
"The Role of the Family in the Modern World":
"The family in the modern world, as much as and
perhaps more than any other institution, has been beset
by the many profound and rapid changes that have
affected society and culture. Many families are living
this situation in fidelity to those values that
constitute the foundation of the institution of the
family.
Others have become
uncertain and bewildered over their role or even
doubtful and almost unaware of the ultimate meaning and
truth of conjugal and family love Knowing that marriage
and the family constitute one of the most precious of
human values, the Church wishes to speak and offer her
help to those who are already aware of the value of
marriage and the family and seek to live it faithfully,
to those who are uncertain and anxious and searching for
the truth"
IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS !
Remember, the Church celebrates Christmas through the
Baptism of the Lord, next Sunday. Though the world may
"forget" or "downplay" Christmas
after Christmas Day , Catholics celebrate the Christmas
season because, after all, how often does a Divine Baby
come into the world to save us and change the world!?
QUOTE of THE WEEK:
"The loving providence of God determined that in
the last days he would aid the world, set on its course
to destruction. He decreed that all nations should be
saved in Christ .In the persons of the Magi let all
people adore the Creator of the universe; let God be
known, not in Judea only, but in the whole world "
Pope St. Leo the Great
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