Adoration of the Magi, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1485-1488, Tempera on Panel, Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence.

Today’s readings are rich with meaning, and we have some snippets to help you reflect on what God has revealed about himself.  First, the Mass Readings for today:

Word format: Epiphany

Pdf format: Epiphany

The Epiphany is all about God’s revelation to the world.  But how does God reveal himself to you personally?  Fr Barron talks here about Oprah-style ‘spirituality’ versus God’s particular revelation of himself in Christ.

Want to do some quiet adoration?  Let God speak to your heart through the music and art in this video.

Finally, Fr John Speekman has some great insights on God’s plan here.

Here is a small distillation of his thought, but you need to read the whole article to get the explanation.

And so, from the Epiphany event we learn a few truths:

• The Father is presenting the world with his only Son, born of the Virgin. He is indeed ‘King of the Jews’, as the wise men call him, but only when he is ‘exalted’ on the Cross will the title take on its most accurate meaning.
• The Father has a plan to make his Son known to the world. It is a sovereign plan; which, despite all resistance, will be fulfilled. Herod may plot but God’s purpose will be accomplished– the wise men will simply return ‘by a different way’.
• God sees the heart. The presence of God’s Son on earth will reveal what lies in the hearts of men. The Magi who travel to seek the divine child travel in a line as straight as their hearts; while Herod shows himself to be evil. He is the precursor of all those throughout history who will oppose Jesus in one way or another, trying to expunge him from the earth.
• God has come for all men. The Magi were pagans, perhaps even astrologers, and were invited to find and worship the Lord of the Universe. He was revealed to them and before him they fell to their knees and ‘did him homage’.