What is this festival?

This festival is set apart for the solemn commemoration of the coming of the three wise men, kings, from the East, guided by a miraculous star which God has caused to appear to them, to Bethlehem, where they found Christ in the stable, adored, honored, and offered gifts to Him.


Why is this day called Epiphania Domini, or Apparition of the Lord?

Because the Church wishes to present the three important times in the life of Christ, when He made His divinity known to man: the coming of the wise men from the East, to whom He revealed Himself as the Son of God to the gentiles; His baptism in the Jordan, when He revealed Himself to the Jews, and His first miracle at the marriage in Cana, by which He revealed Himself to His disciples.


In joy the Church sings today in the Introit of the Mass: Behold, the sovereign comes, the Lord, and in His hand is the kingdom, power, and sovereignty. Give to the king Thy judgment, O God, and to the king's son Thy justice. (Ps. lxxi. 1.) Glory be to the Father, &c.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH. O God, who on this day didst reveal Thyself to the gentiles, led by a star to Thee, mercifully grant, that we who know Thee now by faith. may be led to behold Thy glory face to face. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, &c.

LESSON. (Isaias lx. 1 - 6.) Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of thy Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and a mist the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thy eyes round about, and see: all these are gathered together, they are come to thee, thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall rise up at thy side. Then shalt thou see and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged, when the multitude of the sea shall be converted to thee, the strength of the gentiles shall come to thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and showing forth praise to the Lord.

EXPLANATION. The Prophet Isaias in this epistle predicts that the light of the Lord, which is Christ, will rise over Jerusalem, the prototype of the Church, and that the gentiles who knew nothing of the true God, would come to walk in that light which Christ, by His doctrine and holy life, would cause to shine, and that numberless nations, from all parts of the world, would assemble as her children to adore the one true God. The fulfillment of this prophecy commenced with the adoration of the magi, who are to be regarded as the first Christian converts from the gentiles; the Church, therefore, very properly celebrates this day with great solemnity. We ought also to share in the joy of the Church, because our ancestors were gentiles, and like the three wise men were called to the true faith. Let us exclaim with Isaias: Give praise, O ye heavens, and rejoice, O earth: ye mountains give praise, with jubilation: because the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy on His poor ones. Isai. xlix. 13.)

GOSPEL. (Matt. ii. 1 - 12.) When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of King Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying: Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and have come to adore Him. And King Herod hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with Him. And assembling together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where Christ should be born. But they said to him: In Bethlehem of Juda. For so it is written by the prophet: And thou Bethlehem the Land of Juda art not the least among the princes of Juda; for out of thee shall come forth the Captain that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod privately calling the wise men, learned diligently of them the time of the star which appeared to them: and sending them into Bethlehem, said: Go and diligently inquire after the Child; and when you have found Him, bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him. Who having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East, went before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they saw the Child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored Him: and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having received an answer in sleep that they should not return to Herod, they went back another way into their own country.

What caused the three kings to undertake so severe a journey?

A star which God permitted to appear in their land, at the sight of which they were inwardly enlightened, so that they at once recognized its signification. Let us learn from these kings who so readily responded to the inspiration of God, by immediately undertaking so difficult a journey, also to respond at once to the inspirations of God, and seek the Savior without delay; and from their zeal, and the fearlessness with which they asked of Herod where the Messiah would be found, we should learn to seek and practice, without fear of men, whatever is necessary for our salvation.

Why did Herod fear, and all Jerusalem with him?

Because Herod, a proud, imperious, cruel, and therefore suspicious king, was afraid, when he heard of a new-born king, that he would be driven from the throne, and brought to punishment for his vices. A bad conscience is always ill at ease, and never at rest. There is no peace for the wicked, saith the Lord God. (Isai. lvii. 21.) Jerusalem, that is, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, feared because many of them were attached to Herod, and others, especially the chief priests and the scribes, because they feared they would be punished for their secret crimes, when the Messiah would come, of whom they knew that He would judge the poor with justice, and with the breath of His mouth (would) slay the wicked. (Isai. xi. 4.)


Why did Herod call together the chief priests and the scribes?

Partly to find from them where the Messiah was to be born, partly and principally because God so directed it, that Herod and the chief priests, knowing the time and place of the Messiah's birth, would have no excuse for their infidelity. In the same way God often gives us the plainest understanding of the most wholesome truths, which we follow as little as the Jews who had sufficient knowledge of the Messiah, indeed, even showed the way to the three kings, but made no use of it for themselves, and were therefore cast away.


Why did Herod say, he wished to adore the Child?

This he did out of wicked hypocrisy and cunning. He had no other intention than that of putting Jesus to death, and therefore affected piety to find out exactly the time and place of His birth. Thus do those soul-murderers who desire the fall of an innocent person; they dare not show themselves as wolves, that is, they dare not, at once, let their evil intentions be suspected, and so they put on sheep's clothing, feign piety and devotion, until they creep into the heart from which, by flattery, and irony about religion and virtue, and by presents, they have expelled the sense of shame, and the fear of God, and then they murder the soul.


Why did the kings adore Christ kneeling?

Because by the light received from God, they saw God Himself in the little Child in the stable at Bethlehem, although they saw nothing glorious, nothing but poverty surrounding the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mother. How do these gentile kings shame those lukewarm Catholics, who conduct themselves with such irreverence towards their God, present in the Blessed Sacrament, not even bending their knees before Him!


Why did the kings offer gold, frankincense, and myrrh?

Because it was the ancient Eastern custom, never to appear without presents before a prince or king, the three kings, as the holy fathers universally teach, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, desired by their presents to honor Christ as God, king, and as man. Of this the venerable Bede writes: "The first of the kings, named Melchior, offered gold to Christ the Lord and King; the second, named Kaspar, frankincense to the divinity of Christ; and the third, Balthasar, myrrh, by which was expressed that Christ, the Son of man, must die."

How can we bring similar offerings to Christ?


We offer gold to Him, when we love Him from our whole heart, and out of love for Him, present Him our will, which is our most precious treasure, by perfect obedience and continual self-denial, at the same time assisting the poor with alms in His name. Frankincense we burn for Him, when we devoutly and ardently pray to Him, especially when we meditate upon His omnipotence, love, goodness, justice, and mercy. We offer Him myrrh, when we avoid carnal desires, mortify our evil inclinations and passions, even though it be as bitter as the fruit of myrrh to do so, and strive for purity of body and soul.

Why did the kings return by another way to their own country?


This they did by command of God, who revealed to them in a dream the evil intentions of Herod, and thus they did not act as this malicious man desired. From this we should learn to obey God rather than man, that we must be obedient to His directions, even if we do not understand them; so the three kings obeyed, although they could not see, as they had just adored His only begotten Son as almighty God and king, how God could command them to fly from Herod; and we, after we are once converted, must take a very different way from that we walked before. "Our fatherland is paradise, heaven," writes St. Gregory. "We have departed from it by pride, disobedience, abuse of visible things, therefore it is needed that we return to it by obedience, contempt of the world, by taming the desires of the flesh. We return to our own country by another road. Bv forbidden joys have we left the joys of paradise, by the pains of penance we return to it."

ASPIRATION. Give me, O divine Savior, the faith of those Eastern kings. Enlighten my understanding with the light which enlightened theirs, and move my heart, so that I may in future follow this light, and sincerely seek Thee who hast first sought me. Grant, also, that I may really find Thee, with the wise men may adore Thee in spirit and in truth, and bring to Thee the gold of love, the frankincense of prayer, and the myrrh of penance and mortification, that, having here offered Thee the sacrifice of my faith, I may adore Thee in glory. Amen.