Vatican City, 6 January 2015(VIS) –
This morning the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass in the Vatican
Basilica on the Solemnity of the Epiphany. The ceremony was
accompanied by the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir and, as is
customary, was attended by the diplomatic corps accredited to the
Holy See.
In his homily, Pope Francis commented
that the child, born in Bethlehem, “came not only for the people of
Israel, represented by the shepherds of Bethlehem, but also for all
humanity, represented today by the wise men from the East”. He
added, “it is on the Magi and their journey in search of the
Messiah that the Church today invites us to meditate and pray”.
The wise men from the East were “the
first in that great procession of which the prophet Isaiah spoke in
today’s first reading: a procession which from that time on has
continued uninterrupted; in every age it hears the message of the
star and finds the Child Hho reveals the tenderness of God. New
persons are always being enlightened by that star; they find the way
and come into His presence”.
According to tradition, the Pontiff
explained, “the wise men were sages, watchers of the
constellations, observers of the heavens, in a cultural and religious
context which saw the stars as having significance and power over
human affairs. The wise men represent men and woman who seek God in
the world’s religions and philosophies: an unending quest. Men and
women who seek God”.
They indicate to us “the path of our
journey through life. They sought the true Light. As a liturgical
hymn of Epiphany which speaks of their experience expresses: 'Lumen
requirunt lumine'; by following a light, they sought the light,
'Lumen requirunt lumine'. They set out in search of God. Having seen
the sign of the star, they grasped its message and set off on a long
journey. The Holy Spirit called them and prompted them to set out;
during their journey they were also to have a personal encounter with
the true God”.
Along the way, the wise men encountered
many difficulties. “Once they reached Jerusalem, they went to the
king's palace, for they thought it obvious that the new king would be
born in the royal palace. There they lost sight of the star. How
often sight of the star is lost! And, having lost sight of the star,
they met with a temptation, placed there by the devil: it was the
deception of Herod. King Herod was interested in the child, not to
worship Him but to eliminate Him. Herod is the powerful man who sees
others only as rivals. Deep down, he also considers God a rival,
indeed the most dangerous rival of all. In the palace the wise men
experience a moment of obscurity, of desolation, which they manage to
overcome thanks to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, who speaks
through the prophecies of sacred Scripture. These indicate that the
Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem, the city of David”.
At that point “they resume their
journey, and once more they see the star; the evangelist says that
they 'rejoiced exceedingly'. Coming to Bethlehem, they found 'the
child with Mary His mother'. After that of Jerusalem, this was their
second great temptation: to reject this smallness. But instead, 'they
fell down and worshipped Him', offering him their precious symbolic
gifts. Again, it is the grace of the Holy Spirit which assists them.
That grace, which through the star had called them and led them along
the way, now lets them enter into the mystery. The star which led
them on the journey allows them to enter into the mystery. Led by the
Spirit, they come to realise that God’s criteria are quite
different from those of men, that God does not manifest himself in
the power of this world, but speaks to us in the humbleness of His
love. God’s love is great. God’s love is powerful. But the love
of God is humble, very humble. The wise men are thus models of
conversion to the true faith, since they believed more in the
goodness of God than in the apparent splendour of power”.
“And so we can ask ourselves”,
continued the Holy Father, “what is the mystery in which God is
hidden? Where can I find Him? All around us we see wars, the
exploitation of children, torture, trafficking in arms, human
trafficking … In all these realities, in these, the least of our
brothers and sisters who are enduring these difficult situations,
there is Jesus. The crib points us to a different path from the one
cherished by the thinking of this world: it is the path of God’s
self-abasement, that humility of God’s love by which He abases
himself, He completely lowers himself, His glory concealed in the
manger of Bethlehem, on the cross upon Calvary, in each of our
suffering brothers and sisters”.
“The wise men entered into the
mystery”, he concluded. “They passed from human calculations to
the mystery: this was their conversion. And our own? Let us ask the
Lord to let us undergo that same journey of conversion experienced by
the wise men. Let us ask Him to protect us and to set us free from
the temptations which hide the star. To let us always be aware of the
uncomfortable question: 'Where is the star?', whenever – amid the
deceptions of this world – we lose sight of it. To let us know ever
anew God’s mystery, and not to be scandalised by the 'sign', that
sign spoken of by the angels, which points to 'a babe wrapped in
swaddling cloths, lying in a manger', and to have the humility to ask
the Mother, our Mother, to show Him to us. To find the courage to be
liberated from our illusions, our presumptions, our 'lights', and to
seek this courage in the humility of faith and in this way to
encounter the Light, Lumen, like the holy wise men. May we enter into
the mystery. May it be so”.
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