Pope at Epiphany Mass: Imitate the Magi to approach the Christ Child
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Like the Magi, let us seek out the Lord with our eyes to the Heavens...
Pope Francis gave this encouragement during Holy Mass on Saturday morning, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Basilica, the Holy Father began by recalling that the Magi set out to seek the newborn King.
"They are an image of the world’s peoples journeying in search of God, of the foreigners who now are led to the mountain of the Lord, of those who now, from afar, can hear the message of salvation, of all those who were lost and now hear the beckoning of a friendly voice.
"For now, in the flesh of the Babe of Bethlehem," the Holy Father rejoiced, "the glory of the Lord has been revealed to all the nations" and “all shall see the salvation of God.”
Closer look at the Magi
The Pope invited the faithful to take a closer look at these wise men from the East and consider three aspects of their journey: their eyes raised to the heavens; their feet journeying on the earth; and their hearts bowed in adoration.
Reflecting on their eyes raised to the heavens, the Pope recalled that the Wise Men longed for the infinite, and therefore could gaze at the stars of the evening sky. "They do not pass their lives staring at their feet, self-absorbed, confined by earthly horizons, plodding ahead in resignation or lamentation. They lift their heads high and await the light that can illumine the meaning of their lives."
Here we see the key to discovering the real meaning of our lives: if we remain closed in the narrow confines of earthly things, if we waste away, heads bowed, hostages of our failures and our regrets; if we thirst for wealth and worldly comforts rather than becoming seekers of life and love, our life slowly loses its light.
The Magi, who are still foreigners and have not yet encountered Jesus, teach us to fix our sight on high, to lift our eyes to the heavens, to the hills, from which our help will come, for our help is from the Lord.
"We need to let ourselves walk in friendship with the Lord, we need his love to sustain us, and the light of his word to guide us, like a star in the night."
The Pope urged the faithful to fearlessly set out on this journey, as "passionate seekers of the Lord’s face" and witnesses to His Gospel.
"Let us set out anew from God; let us seek from him the courage not to lose heart in the face of difficulties, the strength to surmount all obstacles, the joy to live in harmonious communion," he said.
Journeying on the Earth
The Magi, the Pope went on to note, also had "feet journeying on the earth."
The star shining in the heavens sends them forth to travel the roads of the world.
"Seeking God, they are directed to find him in man, in a little Child lying in a manger. For that is where, the God, who is infinitely great," he said, "has revealed himself: in the little, the infinitely little."
The light that illumines our life, the Lord Jesus, was given to us not to warm our nights, but to let rays of light break through the dark shadows that envelop so many situations in our societies.
The Magi set out to seek God, and they found a child of flesh and bone, and teach us that an encounter with God opens us up to a greater reality, which makes us change our way of life and transform our world.
"In the words of Pope Benedict XVI," Pope Francis quoted, “'When true hope is lacking, happiness is sought in drunkenness, in the superfluous, in excesses, and we ruin ourselves and the world… For this reason, we need people who nourish great hope and thus have great courage: the courage of the Magi, who made a long journey following a star, and were able to kneel before a Child and offer Him their precious gifts'”
Hearts bowed in adoration
Finally, the Pope observed that the Magi have "hearts bowed in adoration."
They came to Bethlehem, and when they saw the Child, “they knelt down and paid Him homage," the Pope said, recalling that Child was in fact "the King who came to serve us, a God who became man, who has mercy on us, suffers with us and dies for us."
Before this mystery, Pope Francis insisted, we likewise are called to "bow our heart" and "bend our knee" in worship, "to worship the God Who comes in littleness and dwells in our homes.
"In the frail flesh of a newborn child, wrapped in swaddling clothes, the Pope recalled, he was worshiped by the Magi and caused fear in the wicked."
The Pope invited the faithful to rediscover authentic adoration. "Let us acknowledge Jesus as our God and Lord, and offer Him," he said, "whatever gifts we possess, but above all the gift that we are: our very selves."
"Brothers and sisters, like the Magi," he continued, "let us raise our eyes to the heavens, let us set out to seek the Lord, let us bow our hearts in adoration."
Pope Francis concluded urging faithful to ask for the grace to never lose courage needed to seek God with hope, in order to "bring to all the illuminating light of the Christ Child.
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