Looking ahead and kind of wondering.
Will we hear any laughter in our churches this coming weekend? And as I raise that question, I also need to acknowledge that in some of our Christian Faith congregations a different Gospel will be heard because a number of traditions observe this coming Sunday as Transfiguration Sunday. However, as to the rest of us . . . will there be any laughter? Or even some chuckles? Or will we even see a smile breaking through the somberness as the Gospel is proclaimed?
In spite of the fact that Pope Francis has reminded and continues to remind us that there is and should be joy in the Gospel, for so very many church-time is serious time and that means somber time and that means leave those smiles outside the doors!
Did it ever occur to you that Jesus did have a sense of humor. Or perhaps more correctly, Jesus does have a sense of humor. He is fully and totally human and that should means that humor and smiles and laughter cannot be left out.
Remember that time when Peter, seeing Jesus walking in the middle of the storm on the choppy waters, asked to join Him? Jesus said, "Come on, Peter!" And I can just picture Jesus with a smile as He said that, thinking to Himself, "Oh, Peter, watch out for what you ask!"
Anyhow, while so many will likely miss it, this coming weekend, for those of us using the Common Lectionary and reading from Luke for the Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we get a big glimpse of the sense of humor that Jesus has.
His examples are funny. Try to imagine them.
This blind guy asks another blind guy to lead him. Neither knows the other is blind! Picture them walking along the road.
Use your imagination and just visualize that walk!
And then there is the image of that beam of wood sticking out of an eye while beam-eye tries to help someone remove a speck from theirs!
And that delicious looking fruit tree, enticing until a bite is taken from the fruit and it is worse than lemon or maybe just filled with rot! Surprise!
Images designed to make us smile and then pause and think.
Why must Jesus be pictured as always speaking with chimes and a choir of angels humming in the background?
Can you picture Jesus smiling? Laughing? Telling a joke?
Can you picture Jesus laughing with you? Or maybe (often?) laughing at you?
Can you picture Jesus down to earth?
Et incarnatus est!
(Now I invite your thought and comments on this in the comment section below.)
Thursday, February 28, 2019
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
February 20, 1895
Yes!
February 20, 1895!
So what is so special about that particular date?
Well, I found it mentioned and thought it appropriate to mention here as well especially since we are coming to the close of Black History Month and even more especially considering some of the current climate in our society these days.
February 20, 1895 is the day that Frederick Douglas died.
I found that mentioned in a reflection on him and his life in a little monthly devotional to which I subscribe. The monthly is Give Us This Day and it is published by Liturgical Press.
So, as I reflected on what was written about Frederick Douglas, I began to wonder how many are even familiar with that name. How many know this particular and important piece of United States History?
Frederick Douglas?
Oh - wasn't he that slave?
You know - the one who . . . ???
Indeed, he was that slave, for the first twenty years of his life he was a slave, mistreated, beaten, forced to endure and witness some terrible cruelties at the hands of his masters, folks who professed to be Christians and who found justification for their behavior in their religion.
Mr. Douglas came to conclude that this was a blasphemous distortion of the Gospel.
He managed to escape to freedom and eventually became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. From his pulpit he preached strong words against churches that supported slavery and fostered racism. In his writings he captured this thought while declaring, "Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference."
I strikes me that we need to hear those word even still today.
They call us to examine our own living of our faith.
How closely do our daily lives truly reflect what we hear from our pulpits on Sunday?
Last weekend, this and the next - our three weekends before this year's Lent, we are hearing some very strong words from Jesus, from Luke's Gospel, chapter 6, the section called the sermon on the Plain.
These are not just words about racism but about the whole way we order our lives, about the values we hold, the things we count as important. They are challenging words but words that Jesus intends to be taken seriously.
Jesus intends that these words are embodied in our lives - no compromise, no watering down!
As we hear these words of Jesus, we should find cause for reflection, for examination.
Between the Christianity of my life and the Christianity of Christ, how wide is the difference?
We may be discovering our Lenten call to action!
A preacher who passed some hundred and twenty-four years ago speaks to us today and calls us to listen carefully to a Preacher who spoke words of life some two millennia ago.
Listen!
And more importantly, take seriously!
February 20, 1895!
So what is so special about that particular date?
Well, I found it mentioned and thought it appropriate to mention here as well especially since we are coming to the close of Black History Month and even more especially considering some of the current climate in our society these days.
February 20, 1895 is the day that Frederick Douglas died.
I found that mentioned in a reflection on him and his life in a little monthly devotional to which I subscribe. The monthly is Give Us This Day and it is published by Liturgical Press.
So, as I reflected on what was written about Frederick Douglas, I began to wonder how many are even familiar with that name. How many know this particular and important piece of United States History?
Frederick Douglas?
Oh - wasn't he that slave?
You know - the one who . . . ???
Indeed, he was that slave, for the first twenty years of his life he was a slave, mistreated, beaten, forced to endure and witness some terrible cruelties at the hands of his masters, folks who professed to be Christians and who found justification for their behavior in their religion.
Mr. Douglas came to conclude that this was a blasphemous distortion of the Gospel.
He managed to escape to freedom and eventually became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. From his pulpit he preached strong words against churches that supported slavery and fostered racism. In his writings he captured this thought while declaring, "Between the Christianity of this land and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference."
I strikes me that we need to hear those word even still today.
They call us to examine our own living of our faith.
How closely do our daily lives truly reflect what we hear from our pulpits on Sunday?
Last weekend, this and the next - our three weekends before this year's Lent, we are hearing some very strong words from Jesus, from Luke's Gospel, chapter 6, the section called the sermon on the Plain.
These are not just words about racism but about the whole way we order our lives, about the values we hold, the things we count as important. They are challenging words but words that Jesus intends to be taken seriously.
Jesus intends that these words are embodied in our lives - no compromise, no watering down!
As we hear these words of Jesus, we should find cause for reflection, for examination.
Between the Christianity of my life and the Christianity of Christ, how wide is the difference?
We may be discovering our Lenten call to action!
A preacher who passed some hundred and twenty-four years ago speaks to us today and calls us to listen carefully to a Preacher who spoke words of life some two millennia ago.
Listen!
And more importantly, take seriously!
Monday, February 11, 2019
Septua . . . What???
It is almost time for Septuagesima!
And if you know what Septuagesima is, you are old! I mean really old! Like almost as old as am I!
We have not actually had anything like Septuagesima since around 1969.
But we did at one time have it and if we had it still, it would be starting this weekend - February 16/17.
Septuagesima!
The word means "seventy" and it begins a sort of count-down to Easter.
Of all of our days and all of our feasts, none excels Easter.
It is like Mother Church just cannot wait.
Lent begins out immediate preparation for this great feast.
But there was a time in our history when we even began to prepare for Lent.
That was Septuagesima.
On that Sunday we already pulled out the penitential purple.
It was time to get thinking about and planning for - what are you going to be about in your journey to Easter this year.
Septuagesima said - Gang, we only have around seventy days to get ready for Easter. So, get moving gang! Get moving!
This is too important to just let slide on by.
That tongue twisting word - Septuagesima gave way to the following week - Sexigesima Sunday which said - Now you have only about sixty days to get ready. Shake a leg, gang!
And then cam the Sunday right before Lent began. That one had the name Quinquagesima! Fifty days more and Easter will be here.
This is too important a time!
Get into it and do it NOW!
Well, the little season of pre-Lent disappeared with the new calendar in 1969.
Too bad!
We are heading to the center of our year, the total focus of our attention. We are moving toward the most important of our days.
We need to take this time seriously.
We need to take this opportunity seriously.
Before those ashes mark our foreheads, we need to ask ourselves what the ashes will call us to this year.
More importantly, we need to ask what that marking of ashes will have God calling us to.
We may not have a Septuagesima Sunday but that should be no reason for us to not start getting ourselves into the mode of personal renewal.
Gang, Lent really is around the corner.
Get into the mood!
Make it dynamite!
Happy Septuagesima Season!
And if you know what Septuagesima is, you are old! I mean really old! Like almost as old as am I!
We have not actually had anything like Septuagesima since around 1969.
But we did at one time have it and if we had it still, it would be starting this weekend - February 16/17.
Septuagesima!
The word means "seventy" and it begins a sort of count-down to Easter.
Of all of our days and all of our feasts, none excels Easter.
It is like Mother Church just cannot wait.
Lent begins out immediate preparation for this great feast.
But there was a time in our history when we even began to prepare for Lent.
That was Septuagesima.
On that Sunday we already pulled out the penitential purple.
It was time to get thinking about and planning for - what are you going to be about in your journey to Easter this year.
Septuagesima said - Gang, we only have around seventy days to get ready for Easter. So, get moving gang! Get moving!
This is too important to just let slide on by.
That tongue twisting word - Septuagesima gave way to the following week - Sexigesima Sunday which said - Now you have only about sixty days to get ready. Shake a leg, gang!
And then cam the Sunday right before Lent began. That one had the name Quinquagesima! Fifty days more and Easter will be here.
This is too important a time!
Get into it and do it NOW!
Well, the little season of pre-Lent disappeared with the new calendar in 1969.
Too bad!
We are heading to the center of our year, the total focus of our attention. We are moving toward the most important of our days.
We need to take this time seriously.
We need to take this opportunity seriously.
Before those ashes mark our foreheads, we need to ask ourselves what the ashes will call us to this year.
More importantly, we need to ask what that marking of ashes will have God calling us to.
We may not have a Septuagesima Sunday but that should be no reason for us to not start getting ourselves into the mode of personal renewal.
Gang, Lent really is around the corner.
Get into the mood!
Make it dynamite!
Happy Septuagesima Season!
Saturday, February 2, 2019
Hey, Phil!
Maybe that is why they are called "smart phones."
First thing I see on my phone screen this morning is the information that Punxsutawney Phil has announced that spring is near and we will have a shortened winter.
Then came the second item.
"But don't get your hopes up. He is usually wrong."
Smart phone indeed!
Anyhow, that got me to some memories. You see, I have actually been to Punxsutawney. Or perhaps more correctly, I have been through Punxsutawney. It was on my way to Rossiter, Pennsylvania. And, yes, there is such a place as Rossiter, Pennsylvania. Google it!
I did and discovered that presently, according to the 2010 census, it is considered a CDP, census designated place.
Never heard that term before actually. A "census designated place."
Not a city; not a village; not a town even.
A census designated place.
Which means a place where people live, a group of people. In the case of Rossiter according to the 2010 census that group of people totals 646.
I believe it.
When I visited there, back in the 1960's, I nearly missed it completely. Drove right through and then realized, "Oops! That was it!"
And so what was I doing in a place like that?
Tracing a bit of family history.
My mom's family originally settled there. Back then Rossiter was a booming coal mining town.
I went there because a handful of family still lived there.
I got to spend some time with them.
They took me to the original and only parish church in Rossiter. At that time it was St. Francis of Assisi but, evidently, this has clustered and is now a part of Resurrection Parish. The old church, however, still stands! And Mass there this Sunday is at 8:30 AM It's for John Kollar from his wife, Evelyn and family.
I also got to see the field where my grandparents once lived. OK - when grandma and grandpa Kopas lived there, there were houses but the houses are long gone as is the coal mine and so what remains is a field.
And I had dinner with the remaining Rossiter Kopas family members.
I got in touch with some roots.
And to get there I had to pass through Punxsutawney.
Didn't see Phil there.
Probably was in hiding for his wrong call for that year.
Besides, it was summer when I made that trip.
And the weather was summery.
And the sun was shining.
And poor Phil was probably hiding from his shadow.
This Week's Parish Bulletin (Resurrection Parish - Rossiter)
First thing I see on my phone screen this morning is the information that Punxsutawney Phil has announced that spring is near and we will have a shortened winter.
Then came the second item.
"But don't get your hopes up. He is usually wrong."
Smart phone indeed!
Anyhow, that got me to some memories. You see, I have actually been to Punxsutawney. Or perhaps more correctly, I have been through Punxsutawney. It was on my way to Rossiter, Pennsylvania. And, yes, there is such a place as Rossiter, Pennsylvania. Google it!
I did and discovered that presently, according to the 2010 census, it is considered a CDP, census designated place.
Never heard that term before actually. A "census designated place."
Not a city; not a village; not a town even.
A census designated place.
Which means a place where people live, a group of people. In the case of Rossiter according to the 2010 census that group of people totals 646.
I believe it.
When I visited there, back in the 1960's, I nearly missed it completely. Drove right through and then realized, "Oops! That was it!"
And so what was I doing in a place like that?
Tracing a bit of family history.
My mom's family originally settled there. Back then Rossiter was a booming coal mining town.
I went there because a handful of family still lived there.
I got to spend some time with them.
They took me to the original and only parish church in Rossiter. At that time it was St. Francis of Assisi but, evidently, this has clustered and is now a part of Resurrection Parish. The old church, however, still stands! And Mass there this Sunday is at 8:30 AM It's for John Kollar from his wife, Evelyn and family.
I also got to see the field where my grandparents once lived. OK - when grandma and grandpa Kopas lived there, there were houses but the houses are long gone as is the coal mine and so what remains is a field.
And I had dinner with the remaining Rossiter Kopas family members.
I got in touch with some roots.
And to get there I had to pass through Punxsutawney.
Didn't see Phil there.
Probably was in hiding for his wrong call for that year.
Besides, it was summer when I made that trip.
And the weather was summery.
And the sun was shining.
And poor Phil was probably hiding from his shadow.
This Week's Parish Bulletin (Resurrection Parish - Rossiter)
Monday, January 28, 2019
Snow!
Finally!
The snow has begun.
It is now almost eleven o'clock in the morning and this is the day the we have been hearing about for a few days now. A major snowstorm is on the way.
Thing is that it was supposed to arrive around seven this morning. It is now eleven and snow is finally starting to fall.
Of course, in advance of this arrival events were already being cancelled. Schools closed even before a flake had fallen. I had a physical therapy appointment and just called to cancel it. That appointment is for less than two hours from now and I was informed that I was already the fifteenth cancellation for today. And the snow has really just started in earnest about half hour ago.
We are about to be shut down.We are going into hibernation.
And we are expected to get between three and six inches of snow in this storm.
Three to six inches!
Well, maybe we may get a surprise and get a little more.
Or less!
But three to six!
In Michigan!
I am old enough to remember a February storm in 1965.
Try eleven inches!
And, of course, when those Michigan winds get hold of that snow, we get drifts and we got some good ones that year. We could not get ours cars out of the garage but that did not matter anyhow. No one was going anywhere, not on those roads back then.
Eleven inches was good for shutting down and canceling.
But three to six!
And then there was the storm of December 1 - 2, 1974 that dumped 19 inches on us.
That slowed down the Christmas shoppers.
Slowed down - but did not stop.
And that one did start out calling for about three inches of the white stuff, so, maybe, just maybe, this could be a repeat.
But don't count on it and it really doesn't matter anyhow.
Everything is probably already shut.
And while remembering classic Michigan snowstorms, there was one back in 1982 when the Super Bowl was held in the Pontiac Silverdome, the first time such an event was held in a northern venue.
The storm snarled traffic, the 49's had one of their bus's arrival delayed. Even then Vice-President George H.W. Bush got caught in traffic.
But was the event cancelled?
Are you kidding?
Anyhow, the snow is falling now.
In Michigan.
And Twenty-First Century residents are in awe.
And paralyzed!
Remember: You can be informed of any blog updates just by clicking on the word "Follow" at the upper right of the screen. And thanks for following!
The snow has begun.
It is now almost eleven o'clock in the morning and this is the day the we have been hearing about for a few days now. A major snowstorm is on the way.
Thing is that it was supposed to arrive around seven this morning. It is now eleven and snow is finally starting to fall.
Of course, in advance of this arrival events were already being cancelled. Schools closed even before a flake had fallen. I had a physical therapy appointment and just called to cancel it. That appointment is for less than two hours from now and I was informed that I was already the fifteenth cancellation for today. And the snow has really just started in earnest about half hour ago.
We are about to be shut down.We are going into hibernation.
And we are expected to get between three and six inches of snow in this storm.
Three to six inches!
Well, maybe we may get a surprise and get a little more.
Or less!
But three to six!
In Michigan!
I am old enough to remember a February storm in 1965.
Try eleven inches!
And, of course, when those Michigan winds get hold of that snow, we get drifts and we got some good ones that year. We could not get ours cars out of the garage but that did not matter anyhow. No one was going anywhere, not on those roads back then.
Eleven inches was good for shutting down and canceling.
But three to six!
And then there was the storm of December 1 - 2, 1974 that dumped 19 inches on us.
That slowed down the Christmas shoppers.
Slowed down - but did not stop.
And that one did start out calling for about three inches of the white stuff, so, maybe, just maybe, this could be a repeat.
But don't count on it and it really doesn't matter anyhow.
Everything is probably already shut.
And while remembering classic Michigan snowstorms, there was one back in 1982 when the Super Bowl was held in the Pontiac Silverdome, the first time such an event was held in a northern venue.
The storm snarled traffic, the 49's had one of their bus's arrival delayed. Even then Vice-President George H.W. Bush got caught in traffic.
But was the event cancelled?
Are you kidding?
Anyhow, the snow is falling now.
In Michigan.
And Twenty-First Century residents are in awe.
And paralyzed!
Remember: You can be informed of any blog updates just by clicking on the word "Follow" at the upper right of the screen. And thanks for following!
Sunday, January 20, 2019
Both Old and New
It's an old story and yet it seems to have gained a new twist.
It's the story we hear this weekend.
Water into wine . . . the Wedding at Cana in Galilee.
You know the story very well . . . or do you?
"They have no wine!"
That observation at a wedding back then and even at a wedding today is a declaration of social disaster. Back then weddings lasted for days and the bride and groom were expected to keep their guests well stocked and well satisfied. To run out of wine was a serious matter.
Even today wedding guests expect a certain degree of hospitality in food, drink and entertainment.
"They have no wine!"
Disaster!
This morning I was reading the daily reflection that I receive via email - Word on Fire by Bishop Robert Barron. In the middle of his reflection on this Gospel Bishop Barron drops this observation: Wine, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of the exuberance and intoxication of the divine life. When God is in us, we are lifted up, rendered joyful, transfigured.
Or said in another way - Wine, in the Scriptures, is a sign of God with us and, therefore, we being able to embrace the fulness of life and its joys.
"They have no wine!"
That declaration is made by Mary, our Mother, the Mother of all.
Woman (and that, remember, is what Jesus calls her in this story) speaks on behalf of all humankind. Her declaration is a statement of the need each and every one of us has for the Presence of God in our lives. Without that Presence our lives are empty. There is nothing to celebrate no matter how successful those lives may seem in other quarters.
A Mother speaks on behalf of all of us.
She declares our need for what only her Son can give to us.
And then she sets out advice for us: "Do whatever He tells you."
And when we do!
Wine!
An abundance of wine!
The best of wine!
God only gives the best! And plenty of it!
This is not just the story of a wedding at Can in Galilee long, long ago.
It is a story of today and a story that unfolds anytime someone listens to that Woman, that Mother.
"Do whatever He tells you!"
If you are interested in receiving Bishop Barron's daily Gospel reflections each morning in your email, it is available here free: WORD ON FIRE
Also, if you would like an automatic notification of any of my new blog postings, just check "FOLLOW" on the right of the screen.
It's the story we hear this weekend.
Water into wine . . . the Wedding at Cana in Galilee.
You know the story very well . . . or do you?
"They have no wine!"
That observation at a wedding back then and even at a wedding today is a declaration of social disaster. Back then weddings lasted for days and the bride and groom were expected to keep their guests well stocked and well satisfied. To run out of wine was a serious matter.
Even today wedding guests expect a certain degree of hospitality in food, drink and entertainment.
"They have no wine!"
Disaster!
This morning I was reading the daily reflection that I receive via email - Word on Fire by Bishop Robert Barron. In the middle of his reflection on this Gospel Bishop Barron drops this observation: Wine, in the Scriptures, is a symbol of the exuberance and intoxication of the divine life. When God is in us, we are lifted up, rendered joyful, transfigured.
Or said in another way - Wine, in the Scriptures, is a sign of God with us and, therefore, we being able to embrace the fulness of life and its joys.
"They have no wine!"
That declaration is made by Mary, our Mother, the Mother of all.
Woman (and that, remember, is what Jesus calls her in this story) speaks on behalf of all humankind. Her declaration is a statement of the need each and every one of us has for the Presence of God in our lives. Without that Presence our lives are empty. There is nothing to celebrate no matter how successful those lives may seem in other quarters.
A Mother speaks on behalf of all of us.
She declares our need for what only her Son can give to us.
And then she sets out advice for us: "Do whatever He tells you."
And when we do!
Wine!
An abundance of wine!
The best of wine!
God only gives the best! And plenty of it!
This is not just the story of a wedding at Can in Galilee long, long ago.
It is a story of today and a story that unfolds anytime someone listens to that Woman, that Mother.
"Do whatever He tells you!"
If you are interested in receiving Bishop Barron's daily Gospel reflections each morning in your email, it is available here free: WORD ON FIRE
Also, if you would like an automatic notification of any of my new blog postings, just check "FOLLOW" on the right of the screen.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Where did they go?
"What happened to Three Kings?"
After Mass the other day I was asked that question.
The questioner explained: Last Sunday was the Feast of the Epiphany but what happened to the Feast of the Three Kings? We used to have that feast. So, what happened?
Actually, I was able to explain, it was always the Feast of the Epiphany. Only in popular devotion did some start calling it the Feast of the Three Kings. However, Three Kings was never on our calendar and never an official feast title.
And truth be told, we need to ask if ever there were only just three and if any were really kings!
Check that out in Matthew's Gospel 2: 1 - 12.
No mention of kings or any set number!
But as to the feast - well, it is, has been and likely for all time will continue to be the Epiphany.
Epiphany means "manifestation" or "revelation."
What we celebrate is Jesus revealed to the nations as the Promised One, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Long Awaited One.
The story we tell on Epiphany is of how a star guided these mysterious travelers from some distant places to discover the Promised One.
But we do not stop there.
The following Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus - Epiphany, another manifestation.
This time the Voice is heard: "This is my beloved Son," and the Spirit is seen. Epiphany!
And this year on the Sunday after that we continue to celebrate the Epiphany as Jesus changes water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Epiphany!
However, while the Epiphanies continue, in the Roman Calendar on the day after the Baptism of the Lord we return to Ordinary Time. This is the time that stretches until Ash Wednesday and so it links our two great seasons - Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter.
Our brothers and sisters in the Christian Faith do not share our return to Ordinary Time. They continue to observe the time of Epiphany right up to Lent. The Sundays between the Baptism and Ash Wednesday are known as Sundays in Epiphany.
As a matter of fact the final Sunday before Lent in Christian denominations other than our own is known as Transfiguration Sunday.
I find that rather significant as in a very real way the Transfiguration is also an epiphany!
And the rationale behind the Sunday before Lent being this epiphany is to strengthen us for the cross and for those crosses which we must bear in our life journey.
When I finished my explanation of Epiphany to my questioner after that Mass, the response was, "Wow! Even at my age I have learned something new."
Perhaps that, too, was an epiphany.
So, what happened to the Three Kings?
Well, they and many, many others down through the ages found the Promised One. And men and women even today continue to discover Him.
Epiphany is a day, a season and a constant.
The star, in its many, many forms continues to lead to the Promised One.
After all, what good is Christmas unless we find and welcome Him?
After Mass the other day I was asked that question.
The questioner explained: Last Sunday was the Feast of the Epiphany but what happened to the Feast of the Three Kings? We used to have that feast. So, what happened?
Actually, I was able to explain, it was always the Feast of the Epiphany. Only in popular devotion did some start calling it the Feast of the Three Kings. However, Three Kings was never on our calendar and never an official feast title.
And truth be told, we need to ask if ever there were only just three and if any were really kings!
Check that out in Matthew's Gospel 2: 1 - 12.
No mention of kings or any set number!
But as to the feast - well, it is, has been and likely for all time will continue to be the Epiphany.
Epiphany means "manifestation" or "revelation."
What we celebrate is Jesus revealed to the nations as the Promised One, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the Long Awaited One.
The story we tell on Epiphany is of how a star guided these mysterious travelers from some distant places to discover the Promised One.
But we do not stop there.
The following Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus - Epiphany, another manifestation.
This time the Voice is heard: "This is my beloved Son," and the Spirit is seen. Epiphany!
And this year on the Sunday after that we continue to celebrate the Epiphany as Jesus changes water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. Epiphany!
However, while the Epiphanies continue, in the Roman Calendar on the day after the Baptism of the Lord we return to Ordinary Time. This is the time that stretches until Ash Wednesday and so it links our two great seasons - Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter.
Our brothers and sisters in the Christian Faith do not share our return to Ordinary Time. They continue to observe the time of Epiphany right up to Lent. The Sundays between the Baptism and Ash Wednesday are known as Sundays in Epiphany.
As a matter of fact the final Sunday before Lent in Christian denominations other than our own is known as Transfiguration Sunday.
I find that rather significant as in a very real way the Transfiguration is also an epiphany!
And the rationale behind the Sunday before Lent being this epiphany is to strengthen us for the cross and for those crosses which we must bear in our life journey.
When I finished my explanation of Epiphany to my questioner after that Mass, the response was, "Wow! Even at my age I have learned something new."
Perhaps that, too, was an epiphany.
So, what happened to the Three Kings?
Well, they and many, many others down through the ages found the Promised One. And men and women even today continue to discover Him.
Epiphany is a day, a season and a constant.
The star, in its many, many forms continues to lead to the Promised One.
After all, what good is Christmas unless we find and welcome Him?
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