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| Feast, Epiphany |
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"The light came into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were wicked" (Jn 3: 19). But what is this light? Is it merely an evocative metaphor or does this image correspond to reality? The Apostle John writes in his First Letter: "God is light; in him there is no darkness" (I Jn 1: 5); and further on he adds: "God is love". These two affirmations, taken together, help us to understand better: the light that shone forth at Christmas, which is manifested to the peoples today, is God's love revealed in the Person of the Incarnate Word. Attracted by this light, the Magi arrived from the East.
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Homily
Solemnity, Feast of the Epiphany
St Peter's Basilica
6 January 2006
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In all likelihood the Wise Men were astronomers. From their observation point, situated in the East compared to Palestine, perhaps in Mesopotamia, they had noticed the appearance of a new star and had interpreted this celestial phenomenon as the announcement of the birth of a king, specifically that in accordance with the Sacred Scriptures of the King of the Jews (cf. Nm 24: 17). The Fathers of the Church also saw this unique episode recounted by St Matthew as a sort of cosmic "revolution" caused by the Son of God's entry into the world. For example, St John Chrysostom writes: "The star, when it stood over the young Child, stayed its course again: which thing itself was of a greater power than belongs to a star, now to hide itself, now to appear, and having appeared to stand still"
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Homily
Solemnity, Feast of the Epiphany
St Peter's Basilica
6 January 2009
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The cycle of the Christmas Solemnities leads us to meditate on the birth of Jesus, announced by the angels who were surrounded with the luminous splendor of God; the Christmas Season speaks to us of the star that guided the Magi of the East to the House in Bethlehem, and invites us to look to Heaven, which opens above the Jordan as God's voice resounds. These are all signs through which the Lord never tires of repeating: "Yes, I am here. I know you. I love you.”
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Homily
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Sistine Chapel
11 January 2009
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| Feast, Epiphany |
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Let us pause in spirit to contemplate the image of the adoration of the Magi. It contains a demanding and ever timely message. It is demanding and ever timely, first of all for the Church, which, reflected in Mary, is called to show to mankind Jesus, nothing but Jesus.
Indeed, he is the All, and the Church exists solely to remain united to him and to make him known to the world. May the Mother of the Incarnate Word help us to be docile disciples of her Son, the Light of the nations!
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Homily
Solemnity of the Epiphany
Vatican Basilica
6 January 2007
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The Magi were probably wise men who studied the skies, but not in an attempt to read the future in the stars ... rather, they were men who sought something greater, who sought the true light, the light capable of indicating the path to follow in life. They were individuals who were certain that the creation contains what we could describe as God's signature, a signature that man can and must seek to discover and decipher.
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Homily
Epiphany of the Lord
Vatican Basilica
6 January 2011
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For the Magi, it seemed logical to seek the new king in the royal palace. Yet the star guided them to Bethlehem, a small town; it guided them among the poor, among the humble, to find the King of the world. God's criteria are different to those of mankind. God does not show Himself among the powerful of this world, but in the humility of His love, the love which asks us to welcome it in our freedom, in order to transform us and enable us to reach the One who is Love.
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Homily
Solemnity, Epiphany of the Lord
Vatican Basilica
6 January 2011
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The love that Jesus, born in Bethlehem, brought into the world binds to himself, in a lasting relationship of friendship and brotherhood, all who welcome him. St John of the Cross says: "In giving us all, that is, his Son, in him God has now said all. Fix your eyes on him alone... and you will find in addition more than you ask and desire"
(Ascent of Mount Carmel, Book I, Ep. 22, 4-5).
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General Audience
Paul VI Audience Hall
3 January 2007
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| Feast, Epiphany |
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At the very moment when the Magi, guided by the star, adored Christ the new king, astrology came to an end, because the stars were now moving in the orbit determined by Christ…
It is not the elemental spirits of the universe, the laws of matter, which ultimately govern the world and mankind, but a personal God governs the stars, that is, the universe; it is not the laws of matter and of evolution that have the final say, but reason, will, love—a Person. And if we know this Person and he knows us, then truly the inexorable power of material elements no longer has the last word; we are not slaves of the universe and of its laws, we are free.
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Encyclical Letter
Spe Salvi
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