3-5 January 2025
Each new year begins under the radiant Name of Jesus. The Gospel of New Year’s Day, the shortest of the year, tells us that on the eighth day after His birth, the Lord was circumcised and received the Name of Jesus, that mighty Name that has been pronounced lovingly and gratefully by countless generations of souls ever since. We remember, though, that He received the Name at the moment of His circumcision, a painful and humbling event during which He shed His first drops of blood out of love for us. In other words, the Name Jesus is forever associated with suffering and redemption. He came for no other reason, and our life will be blessed in the measure of our loving response to His love for us.
The year then passes right away to the commemoration of the coming of the Magi, those mysterious men who appear out of the east bringing gifts to the newborn King, while his own people ignore Him and indeed, try to kill Him. The Magi are an inspiration to all of us by their fidelity to follow God’s call, wherever it might lead, bravely facing the difficulties of the journey. They then appear before the Lord, not empty handed, but bearing precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh, the symbols of their devotion. The gold honours Our Lord as King, the frankincense honours Him as God, the myrrh declares His frail humanity which has come to suffer. On the feast of the Kings, let’s make sure to offer the best of ourselves to Him and renew our devotion to serving Him throughout the year and following wherever He may call us.
The celebration of Epiphany leads right into the commemoration of the first miracle at Cana of Galilee where Jesus changed water into wine at the request of His Mother. So many lessons to be learned here, first of which is to have recourse to Mary Immaculate who reveals herself to be the universal Mediatrix. Even though Jesus appears to not be ready for this miracle, He nevertheless does it at her instigation. The transformation itself, more than just saving an unpleasant situation for the newly wed couple, symbolises the way God transforms our humble and often insipid efforts into something precious before God and men. We learn here to never despair of a situation, but to turn to Mary! We learn to stop and pray when things are going wrong. Look up to the Star, call upon Mary. As a Mother, she is always listening. As Queen of Heaven, she never fails!
