Vol. 37 No. 9                                 (Cycle C)   THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD   We have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him   ENTRANCE ANTIPHON The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and government and power. PENITENTIAL RITE Jesus revealed himself to the Magi who recognised him as the Saviour of the world and prostrated themselves and paid him homage. Today Jesus reveals himself to us at the Eucharistic table. Are our hearts and minds attuned to his presence and open to welcome him and pay him our homage? Let us implore the mercy of God to cleanse us of all that is unclean in us. I confess… Glory to God in the highest,/and peace to his people on earth./Lord God, heavenly King,/almighty God and Father,/we worship you,/we give you thanks,/we praise you for your glory./Lord Jesus Christ,/only Son of the Father,/Lord God, Lamb of God,/you take away the sin of the world:/have mercy on us;/you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/you alone are the Lord,/you alone are the Most High,/Jesus Christ,/with the Holy Spirit,/in the glory of God the Father./Amen. OPENING PRAYER Let us pray: Father, you revealed your Son to the nations by the guidance of a star. Lead us to your glory in heaven by the light of faith. We ask this… FIRST READING (Isaiah prophesies the coming of the Lord in splendour and glory as a light that shines on the people. His radiance will bring joy in every heart.) A reading from the Book of Isaiah (60:1-6) Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. This is the Word of the Lord PSALM (71) Response: All nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord. O God, give your judgement to the king, to a king’s son your justice, that he may judge your people in justice and your poor in right judgement. R./ In his days justice shall flourish and peace till the moon fails. He shall rule from sea to sea, from the Great River to earth’s bounds. R./ The kings of Tarshish and the sea coasts shall pay him tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall bring him gifts. Before him all kings shall fall prostrate, all nations shall serve him. R./ For he shall save the poor when they cry and the needy who are helpless. He will have pity on the weak and save the lives of the poor. R./ SECOND READING (Paul writes of the universality of Christ’s salvation, offered to Jews and Gentiles. All are members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ through the Gospel.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians (3:2-3,5-6) Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. This mystery was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that is, how the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. This is the Word of the Lord ACCLAMATION (Mt 2:2) Alleluia, alleluia! We have seen his star in the East and have come to worship the Lord.  Alleluia! GOSPEL (The Magi from the East come searching for the new-born king of the Jews. Led by a star, they find the baby Jesus and pay him homage and offer him gifts.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Matthew (2:1-12) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel’.” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by a different way. This is the Gospel of the Lord I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./Amen. PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, let us recognize Jesus as our loving Saviour and offer him our hearts and minds and our very lives. With confidence let us pray to him for all our needs, saying: Response: Jesus our Saviour, hear our prayer. 1. That the Pope and the leaders of the Church may live in constant experience of the presence of Jesus and proclaim him to all nations and peoples, we pray to the Lord. R./ 2. That all priests may follow the example of Jesus the good Shepherd and live and proclaim him to the world by the example of their lives and their ministry, we pray to the Lord. R./ 3. That more and more people may come forward to accept the call of God to be consecrated as priests, deacons and religious, both men and women, we pray to the Lord. R./ 4. That people everywhere may welcome the Good News of Jesus and accept him as the only Saviour, we pray to the Lord. R./ 5. That the poor, the needy, the sick and the orphans may find in Jesus their comfort and consolation, their joy and peace, we pray to the Lord. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Jesus our Lord and God, we thank and praise you for manifesting yourself to all peoples of the world as the promised Messiah. We ask you to bless the people of all races, creeds and nations with your peace and joy. We make this prayer… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, accept the offerings of your Church, not gold, frankincense and myrrh, but the sacrifice and the food they symbolize: Jesus Christ, who is Lord for ever and ever. PREFACE (P 6) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks. Today you revealed in Christ your eternal plan of salvation and showed him as the light of all peoples. Now that his glory has shone among us you have renewed humanity in his immortal image. Now, with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise: All: Holy, holy, holy... COMMUNION ANTIPHON We have seen his star in the East and have come with gifts to adore the Lord. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Father, guide us with your light. Help us to recognize Christ in this Eucharist and welcome him with love, for he is Lord for ever and ever. The Epiphany of the Lord was celebrated as a Feast even before Christmas itself came to be regarded as a Feast. In fact this was the oldest Feast in the liturgical calendar after Easter and Pentecost. It was about several manifestations – the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem, his manifestation to the shepherds, to the wise men from the East, the Heavenly Father’s manifestation of His Son at his baptism, and the manifestation of his power at his first miracle at Cana. Later all these events came to be separated and the Feast of the Epiphany came to be commemorated as the manifestation of Jesus to the Magi. The Feast of the Epiphany tells us that God did not send His Son to bring salvation to a small exclusive group of people; Jesus came to bring salvation to all people everywhere. This surely is a cause for great rejoicing! The story of the Epiphany is full of rich imageries that can inspire and enliven our journey of faith. The wise men or the Magi: They are wise on many counts. First, they were open to the sign that a Saviour was born in Jerusalem and they undertook the journey to meet him and pay him homage. They listened to the inner voice that prompted them to search for and find the Saviour. Nothing, even the vile King Herod, could prevent them from looking for and recognizing him. These wise men represent the people of all nations and races and languages for whom Christ the Saviour was born. Today they represent all those who, in spite of the hostile circumstances and the vanities and the allurements of the world, search for and recognize Jesus as their Saviour. They are people who are led by the power of the Holy Spirit in their journey of faith in Jesus Christ. King Herod: He is an image of a person blinded by ambition and greed for power. At the same time he is also extremely insecure as he heard of the birth of the king of the Jews. He uses his vile crafts to destroy child Jesus whom he perceived as a threat to his own position of power. He represents the ambitious, greedy and insecure people who value the power and the prestige of this world above everything else. The Star: The wise men identified a special star and were led by it. The star stands for the Holy Spirit, guiding us and leading us on our journey of faith. There are hurdles, hostilities, painful and discouraging experiences aplenty on our journey. But if we constantly look for him and follow his guidance, we shall encounter Christ in every situation. Gifts of Gold, Myrrh and Frankincense: These three gifts symbolize the three aspects of Christ: Gold – his kingship; frankincense – his divinity; and myrrh – his passion and burial as a man. Together they tell us that Christ our Saviour and Lord has come to bring us salvation through his passion, death and resurrection. After encountering the Saviour, the wise men “departed for their country by another way”. They were changed and transformed. When we encounter Christ, we too, like the wise men, are transformed, changed and renewed that we walk a different path, a new path of joy, peace and total love of God and his people. —Fr Joe Eruppakkatt, ssp   January 2010 READINGS OF THE WEEK Psalter Week 2 4 Mon (W) 1 Jn 3:22—4:6; Ps 2:7-8,10-11; Mt 4:12-17,23-25 5 Tue (W) 1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 71:2,3-4ab,7-8; Mk 6:34-44 6 Wed (W) 1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 71:2,10-11,12-13; Mk 6:45-52 7 Thu (W) 1 Jn 4:19—5:4; Ps 71:2,14,15bc.17; Lk 4:14-22a 8 Fri (W) 1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147:12-13,14-15,19-20; Lk5:12-16 9 Sat (W) 1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149:1-2,3-4,5.6a.9b; Jn 3:22-30