The Epiphany is depicted in a mural titled "Adoration of the Magi" in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception at Conception Abbey in Conception, Mo. Painted by Benedictine monks in the late 1800s, the artwork is the first appearance of the German Beuronese style in a U.S. church. Christians celebrate the incarnation of the divine word -- the birth of Christ -- Dec. 25. The feast of the Epiphany is Jan. 6.

This weekend I was blessed to celebrate mass with the deacon aspirants for the Diocese of Knoxville who meet monthly for their formation at a nearby hotel. Deacon Joe Stackhouse delivered an inspiring homily for the feast of the Epiphany. I am happy he has agreed to allow me to post it here.

The feast of Epiphany has a special meaning for me.  Many years ago, I was at a low point in my life.  In June of 1979, I had no job and no immediate prospects of finding another one.  I had very little money in the bank and no assets, except for my car.  I was not married at the time and not involved in a serious relationship.  My friends and immediate family were close, but I felt alone, depressed and without much hope.  As the months dragged on and I did not find another job, my worry and anxiety only increased.  

Then, on Epiphany Sunday in January 1980, things began to change.  As the lector at Mass on that Sunday, I read the first reading from Isaiah.  As soon as I read the words—for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you—the Lord said to me, “I mean this for you.”  

As I am standing there reading, I am also arguing with the Lord.  I think to myself, you must be kidding; this can’t be for me.  I have just lost everything.  You can’t mean this for me. But there it was—nothing else—just the simple, unexplained but clear message “I mean this for you.”  I finished reading, sat down, and never mentioned this event to anyone.  That was January 1980. 

Fast forward three years to Epiphany 1983.  By this time, I have found another job in a Catholic hospital and very much enjoy my work.  I have met and married my wonderful wife of 30 years, Mary Ann.  We have one child and live in our first home.  In January 1983, we travel to another state for a visit with Mary Ann’s parents.  Her father was a deacon in the Catholic Church, by the way, a member of the first deacon class in this country.  During this visit, we all go to Mass on Epiphany Sunday.  

As I sit in the pew listening to the same readings from three years before, I have completely forgotten about my previous encounter with the Lord.  Then all of a sudden, I hear the same words in the reading from Isaiah—for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.  As soon as I hear these words, the Lord said to me, “See what I mean?”  Talk about a joyful bolt of lightning!!  All of a sudden, I remembered what the Lord had said three years before and I did indeed see what he meant but left unexplained when he said, “I mean this for you.”    

From Epiphany 1980 to Epiphany 1983, he led me from feeling sad and lonely to happily married, from being unemployed to enjoyable work, from a sense of poverty to rich in all the important ways.  Jesus had literally laid the riches of the world at my feet, just as he had said he would.  At that moment, I felt joyful gratitude for all the good the Lord had done for me.  That good continues to the present day, and so does my gratitude.  This is a major reason why I became a deacon.

Since that Epiphany in 1983, I have come to realize that this story is not only mine.  Each of us could tell a similar story because it is a story about Jesus finding us, not about us finding Jesus.  It is a story about the hound of heaven, the true Star of Bethlehem, who continually shines his light to show us the way.  Each of us has had an unexpected and spontaneous encounter with Jesus that changed our lives.  Any encounter with Jesus is life-changing.  

Jesus always begins with a gentle call, urging us, imploring us, nagging us, to take a different path.  This is often that nagging feeling we have that we should go in a different direction, take another path in life.  But Jesus does not lay out all the details with his call.  We do not always know where the path will take us, but we follow his call with trust and confidence.  We pray that we have made the right decision, but we don’t look back.  We go forward with a delightful sense of curiosity about the future, tinged perhaps with the trepidation that always accompanies the unknown.  But follow his call we do, and I dare say that none of us has ever regretted it.  For, the Lord Jesus always makes good on his end and provides more than we could hope for or even expect.  We can trust the Lord.

This is really what the Epiphany story is all about—faith and trust in Jesus who shows us the way.  This is what the magi had done.  They believed and trusted that the star would show them the way to the newborn king.  Although they did not know all the details of the journey beforehand, they went forward with faith and confidence.  They never looked back, but surely they felt some trepidation over the unknown.  For, they would have to travel far through harsh lands and among people who were not always hospitable to strangers.  In the end, the light of the star did not disappoint.  The magi safely found their way to the baby Jesus and were elated when they finally saw him with Mary and Joseph.  The Holy Spirit then showed them in a dream to go another way home, to follow another path in life to peace and happiness.

In a sense, Epiphany has a special meaning for you at this time in your lives.  You are at a crossroads, discerning where Jesus is calling you, in which direction he wants you to go.  You may not know which path to take or where it will lead, and you surely do not know all the details of the journey.  But, you are going forward with trust and faith in Jesus.  At this point, the end of your journey may not be all that clear, but there is no reason to look back.  You can trust Jesus to show you the way.  His light never fails.  For this reason, you can rest assured about the outcome.

(Deacon Joe Stackhouse, Feast of the Epiphany 2012)

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming.

On the twelfth day of Christmas we are reminded of the necessity of professing our faith. The twelve drummers drumming represent the twelve points of the Apostles’ Creed. We typically use the Nicene Creed as our profession of faith each Sunday, although it is customary to use the Apostles’ Creed during the seasons of Lent and Easter because of its association with the sacraments of initiation.

Here is the text of the Apostles’ Creed with its twelve divisions.

1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

5. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again.

6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Spirit,

9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

10. the forgiveness of sins,

11. the resurrection of the body,

12. and life everlasting.

Amen.

]]> http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/06/twelve-drummers-drumming/feed/ 0 http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/04/ten-lords-a-leaping/ http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/04/ten-lords-a-leaping/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:34:26 +0000 Fr. Christian Mathis http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/?p=5292

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, ten lords a leaping.

On the tenth day of Christmas we turn our attention to the guide of the Christian moral life, the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments show us that we must love God above all things, and our neighbor as ourself. As each of the commandments could merit at least one post of its own, I will just briefly touch on them here.

1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them. (Exodus 20: 2-5)

The first commandment calls us to be faithful to God in the same way that he is faithful to us. We are to avoid any relationship or object that comes between our relationship with God. Whenever the first commandment surfaces on this blog, it seems the question of Catholics and idolatry rises to the surface. For those who might want to discuss this topic, I would direct you to an earlier post that can be found here.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

There is something very powerful in a name. A name, in its true sense, captures the essence of what is being spoken about. The people of Israel took this so seriously that it was forbidden to even utter God’s name. They instead used the name Adonai when referring to him. This commandment reminds us that we are to use God’s name for the blessing of others, never as a curse, and never in blasphemy.

3. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. (Exodus 20: 8-10)

As a culture we have lost the sense of the sabbath. Little by little we have allowed it to become like any other day. My hope is that even as our culture continues to ignore the sabbath, we Christians will reclaim it by taking time for worship, rest and time for strengthening relationships with family and friends.

4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Exodus 20:12)

Even though there are many cases today of broken families and abuses that exist within families, the family is meant to be the classroom where we learn what it means to be a part of the greater society and to be in relationship with others. “The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor.” (CCC, 2208)

5. You shall not kill. (Exodus 20:13)

This commandment goes well beyond the act of murder. Today in the United States we see attacks upon the sanctity of human life from all directions. Our faith reminds us that it is God who gives life and he alone decides when our earthly life is ended. “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end; no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being.” (CCC, 2258)

6. You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

At the heart of this commandment is the acknowledgement that sexual acts are meant to be shared in the context of marriage between a man and a woman. This physical act strengthens the love between them that sacramentally expresses Christ’s love for the Church. When a spouse is unfaithful, that sacramental love is broken.

7. You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

This commandment calls upon each of us to respect the goods of one another. God has entrusted to each of us the stewardship of certain goods and gifts and we should not worry that someone will take from us what has been given out of love. Nor should we, out of greed, take what has not been given to us. This commandment should also remind us that we are the stewards of these gifts, not the owners as all ultimately belongs to God.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)

In short, tell the truth. This is especially true when it comes to others. One of the ways people often break this commandment is through gossip. We will rarely have the opportunity to break this commandment in a courtroom, but we certainly have the opportunity when speaking to others at gathering in our churches, homes and on the telephone. Rumors about others can be very damaging. Let us be careful with our words.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. (Exodus 20:17)

My friend Irene when speaking of fasting often mentions fasting of the eyes. It seems to me that one way to strengthen ourselves against breaking this commandment is to practice fasting when it comes to our eyes. By catching ourselves looking with lust at a person who is not our spouse we can choose to focus our attention elsewhere. We are always going to have attraction to other people, but it is what we choose to do with those feelings that is important.

10. You shall not covet….anything that is your neighbor’s….You shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s. (Exodus 20:17)

At the root of these last two commandments is envy. “It refers to the sadness at the sight of another’s goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. (CCC, 2539) It is not sinful to desire good things for oneself, but when one can find no happiness for the good fortune of others we begin to covet which can be harmful to both ourselves and others.

When we examine our hearts, it is not difficult to discover the many ways that each of us break these commandments daily. By reflecting upon them often we can see both the ideal of Christian life and where we are falling short of this ideal. My hope is that by regularly examining our conscience we come to grow closer to following the commandments and come to know more deeply the mercy of God.

]]> http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/04/ten-lords-a-leaping/feed/ 0 http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/03/nine-ladies-dancing/ http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/2012/01/03/nine-ladies-dancing/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:31:19 +0000 Fr. Christian Mathis http://www.blessedisthekingdom.com/?p=5287

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing.

On this ninth day of Christmas we turn our attention to the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. Often I have heard people speak about discerning where the Holy Spirit is leading them. It can sometimes be a process fraught with paths leading to dead ends and difficult decisions. One sure way to examine whether something is of God is to pay attention to the fruit that is born of it. In Matthew’s Gospel we learn how to discern between authentic and false prophets when he reminds us, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:16)

So what does the presence of the Holy Spirit look like in our lives? Let’s take a look at what St. Paul has to say in his letter to the Galatians:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5: 22-23)

1. Love. “Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found.” We are called as Christians to love one another as Christ loved us. This means we show that love by placing others’ needs before our own through self sacrifice.

2. Joy. One of the best ways to recognize the Holy Spirit in another person is to see a smiling face. One of my favorite scenes in the movie, The Passion of the Christ, is the one where he is laughing with his mother in this carpentry shop. It illustrated his humanity very well. Christians are not called to be glum and dour, but to make Christ’s joy complete.

3. Peace. One sure sign of the Holy Spirit is being at peace with oneself. When we are in confusion or turmoil within ourselves we are not in sync with the Spirit. When sin takes away our peace we can turn to the Holy Spirit for “pardon and peace”.

4. Forbearance. This is best described as patient endurance. One sees this fruit on display when a person undergoes suffering at the hands of another and rather than responding in kind, bears the weight of another’s sins in love.

5. Kindness. Sometimes kindness is mistaken for simply being nice. Being nice to someone is not necessarily the same as being kind. Kindness, for example, can be manifested in parents who are quick to correct their children so that they develop a strong character. Kindness always seeks the good of other people.

6. Goodness. To be good is to be a person of virtue. This means we continue to bring forth the best parts of ourselves and use our gifts for the benefit of those around us. To be good is to be a person who holds high moral values.

7. Faithfulness. A faithful person keeps his promises. In one of my favorite films, A Man for All Seasons, St. Thomas More describes it this way, “When a man takes an oath, he’s holding his own self in his own hands like water, and if he opens his fingers then, he needn’t hope to find himself again.”

8. Gentleness. A gentle person thinks of others’ needs first and is not harsh or rude. My guess is that many in today’s culture see those who are gentle as being weak. The truth is that it takes a strong person to choose gentleness when being harsh and heavy handed takes much less effort.

9. Self Control. Another word for self control is discipline. Our dean of students at Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga reminded us repeatedly that the word disciple shares the same root for good reason. If we wish to be a follower of Christ we need self control to keep us focused on the path that leads to God.

As we continue our celebration of Christmas let us examine our own lives to discover where good fruit is being produced. The places where we discover these nine fruits are places blessed by the Holy Spirit.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking.

The new year is normally a time for resolutions and hope for a year filled with blessings. The milk Jesus provided for sustenance is found in the eight Beatitudes.

Here is the path to being blessed according to Jesus.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5: 3-12)

If you are seeking blessings in this new year, you need look no further than this spiritual program, which is described very well by Fr. Bob Barron in a homily that can be found here.

Have a blessed new year!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming.

Christmas is often a time associated with giving and receiving gifts. Today’s reflection on The 12 Days of Christmas centers around God’s gift to us of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are received at Baptism and strengthened with the sacrament of Confirmation. The frequent reception of the Eucharist also fortifies these gifts. For those of you that may have forgotten what you learned in your CCD class on the Holy Spirit, here is the list.

1. Wisdom. Wisdom gives us the ability to see the world as it really is. It allows us to see God’s presence in our lives and in the things that surround us. As the rock group U2 once sang in their song Walk On, wisdom gives us the eyes that allow us to see “a place that has to be believed to be seen.”

2. Understanding. Understanding in this sense is not simply the ability to comprehend worldly things, but the gift of knowing the path to God. This gift allows us to comprehend fully what it means to live as a disciple of Christ without being confused by false prophets who would have us lead lives apart from Christ.

3. Counsel (or Right Judgment). This gift, simply put, is the ability to judge between what is right and what is wrong. In the best sense of the word it is also the gift of choosing what is right.

4. Fortitude (or Courage). This gift allows us to face our fears when we are persecuted for the sake of our faith. It is the gift seen in the lives of the early martyrs of the Church. It is certain that those who profess Christ with both words and deeds will be faced with persecution and temptation. This gift is sent to help us when we are called up to face evil.

5. Knowledge. This gift is not about simple facts that can be found in a book. The gift of knowledge centers upon our relationship with God and coming to know Him more deeply. In the same way we know our family and friends, we are to know God even more so.

6. Piety (or Reverence). Reverence is the gift that allows us to approach God with both confidence and humility. It is the gift that allows us to see that all we have comes from God. It is the gift that allows calls us to worship all that is holy in God.

7. Fear of the Lord (or Wonder and Awe). This gift is often misunderstood to mean we are to fear God’s punishment. A better description of this gift is the acknowledgment that God is God and we are creatures. It is the gift that is meant to keep us from trying to compete with God in the way Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden. It is the gift that allows us to see our true happiness lies only in God.

Perhaps the most important thing to note about these seven gifts is that from the time the first disciples received them, they were meant to be used in preaching the Gospel. Like the items packed for a journey, each of them is an essential tool for those of us sent into the world by Christ to announce the good news.