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Transcript
My friend has a delightful little cat that loves to play. Her favourite game is to madly chase a laser beam of light from a torch. Regrettably, the cat never quite captures the elusive beam of light.
Humans are not unlike the little cat. We frantically chase around for the light of insight that might lead us to truth and authenticity. We search for peace and wisdom and chase the mysterious gift of enlightenment.
Today, in the gospel story, we meet the Magi – a group of wise Persian astrologers who begin a journey to find the source of wisdom by employing the tools of their craft of astrology. They follow a star and their journey leads them to Bethlehem. They chase the light and find their source of wisdom – the infant Jesus.
The star symbolises the psychological and spiritual journey they and we must make in order to be truly enlightened. A star is a source of light. It is a symbol of the human spirt seeking guidance in the dark night of ignorance. Like our little cat, we humans need to chase the light. We seek an illumination of spirit. We need a ‘star’ to follow, a ‘star’ that does not lead to an illusory, empty destination.
Today’s gospel reveals that the Star of Bethlehem is the source of spiritual light to which we must hitch our wagon. Our star is the light of God, Creator and author of light. The God who spoke earth’s first illumination “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Gen 1:3); and, as the epochs rolled by, sent his only Son into our world to shine in our midst to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s glory.
The Star of Bethlehem reveals the divinity in its starkest and simplest form – The Son of God revealed to be a helpless infant lying in a manger. “I, the light, have come into, the world so that whoever believes in me need not stay in the dark anymore.” (Jn. 12:46)
To come into the Light we, like the Magi, must make our own spiritual journey out of darkness. We are given a ‘star’, an interior light to guide us – our conscience. Each person has, imprinted in their heart, a natural instinct for what is good and true as God sees it. Conscience is a light that, if developed and followed, will lead us to God.
The light of conscience is magnified by right choice and good actions. It is intensified by grace in the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. It is expanded by reflection on the scriptures and the teaching of the Church. It reaches its nadir when we contemplate, love and adore the Christ in his epiphany as the Light comes into the world. The chase ends. We have ‘caught’ the Light!
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no 10am Mass celebrated in Burringbar next Sunday 15th January.
CARNIVAL SURVEY!
We would like to hear from you! With a change in venue for the 2016 Christmas Carnival and Nativity Tableau and to help us improve, we would appreciate your feedback and comments on the new venue and your overall satisfaction with the Christmas Carnival and Nativity Tableau. Copies of the survey can be found on the table at the Church entrance. We ask you to complete and return it to the Parish Office. The survey will only take about 5 minutes to complete.
EPISCOPAL ORDINATION OF BISHOP-ELECT HOMEMING OCD
The Episcopal ordination of Fr. Gregory Homiming will take place in St. Carthage’s Cathedral on Wednesday 22 February at 7.00pm. Please keep him in your prayers.
REFLECTION...
The Christmas season reaches an apex with the Epiphany. In some liturgical traditions, it is the central celebration of Christmas. It commemorates not only the birth of Christ and the visit of the Magi, but also his baptism in the Jordan and the manifestation of his glory at the wedding feast of Cana. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the focus is on the visit of the Magi and the implications of that visit for the glorious manifestation of God to all the peoples of the world.
There is a wonderful summons to alertness and presence of mind and heart, a call for all the nations to witness the marvellous works of God that shine as light in the midst of the surrounding darkness. The light of God is known in the ways in which the most vulnerable in the city are cared for and acknowledged. In just action and righteousness, the city becomes the beacon of God, and all the nations are attracted by this light. The quality of the light leads the way through the darkness and sustains the world in goodness and peace.
The manifestation of God among us changes the ways in which we perceive each other. Christ's birth provides us with the light by which we see a new criterion for relating. The Magi represent the multi-ethnic and cultural diversity in civic and parish situations, as well as the many religions of the world. All people, regardless of race or ethnic origin, can be co-heirs with Christ.
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Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, marking the end of the twelve days of Christmas, reminding us
afresh of the Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas.
Although a popular piece with a rather secular concern
for gift-giving, the carol probably had its origins during the sixteenth-century English Reformation, when Christmas was abolished and Catholics in England were
prohibited by law to practice their faith either in public or private.
It appears that The Twelve Days of Christmas is a song
of Christian instruction dating to this period, with hidden references to the basic teachings of the Catholic faith. It functioned as a catechetical tool for teaching children the basics of the faith.
The “true love” mentioned in the song is not an earthly suitor, but refers to God. The “me” who receives the
presents refers to every baptised person who is part of the Christian faith. Each of the “days” represents some aspect of the Christian faith that was important for children to learn.
The partridge in a pear tree is Christ Jesus upon the Cross. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a
mother partridge because she would feign injury to decoy a predator away from her nestlings. She was even willing to die for them. The tree is the symbol of the fall of the human race through the sin of Adam and Eve. It is also
the symbol of its redemption by Jesus Christ on the tree of the Cross.
The “two turtle doves” refers to the Old and New
Testaments. The “three French hens” stand for faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Spirit described by Paul in
1 Corinthians 13. French hens were valued for their beauty and rarity and, hence, they also represent the gifts
of the Wise Men at the nativity, which stood for the three aspects of the Christ as King (gold), God (frankincense), and sacrifice (myrrh).
The “four calling birds” refers to the four major prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel - who told the coming of the Christ, and the four evangelists who wrote
the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - who “sing the song of salvation” through Jesus Christ.
The “five golden rings’ represents the first five books of
the Bible, also called the Jewish Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
The “six geese a-laying” is the six days of creation. The “seven swans a-swimming” refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (1
Corinthians 12:9-10).
The “eight maids a milking” reminded children of the eight beatitudes listed in the Sermon on the Mount. The
“nine ladies dancing” were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit found in Galations 5:22-23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.
The “ten lords a-leaping” represents the Ten Commandments. The “eleven pipers piping” refers to the
eleven faithful apostles who witnessed the resurrection and went on to found the Church. Finally, the “twelve drummers drumming” were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles’ Creed.