Begin with a blessing. Epiphany is the perfect time for blessing our homes, families, and futures. If you don’t want to use a downloadable standard blessing from the USCCB, the parish council might want to compose one for the local community

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany with examples of various ways God’s presence is revealed.

Thank God for those three kings! For those of us who can’t bear to see the holidays end and chronically have a hard time taking down the Christmas tree each year, the Feast of the Epiphany supplies one more excuse to keep the holiday spirit going.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory—this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews?

Growing up in the '50s, I was surrounded by simple immigrant traditions. Food was always a symbol of love. I could count on one hand the number of times we ate in a restaurant, fancy or fast food. Ours was the home that others came to for celebrations with often more than 30 people gathered for a feast.

With the possible exception of Samson pulling down the house on the Philistines, the story of the Magi was my favorite Bible story as a kid. It’s just got so much going for it: mysterious royalty, treasures, a miraculous star, and best of all—camels!

In this season of signs and wonder, today marks one of the most legendary—the arrival of the Magi who followed a star from the East to pay homage to the “newborn king of the Jews.”

Legend tells us that it was Saint Francis of Assisi who “invented” the Christmas crèche, the now familiar Nativity scene with all the figures of angels, animals, shepherds, and the three Magi.

We want to walk not in darkness but in the light of God. We ask God to shed the light of forgiveness on us as we acknowledge our sins.

The epiphanies of Christ: “Three mysteries mark this holy day: Today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ; today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast; today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan to bring us salvation.”