Dear Church,
This is the Feast Day of Light, Epiphany meaning manifestation. The manifestation of our Lord to the world, symbolized by the wise men, all people still adore Him and we do too. Isaiah proclaims so powerfully a message of hope saying, “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.” It is just a beautiful procession of people with lights and riches flowing out boldly in the world. We say the wise men will come and “Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.” You can see Epiphany is a wonderful Feast Day of Light, of manifestation, of revealing the sacredness of the Lord and His coming to us. How can we go wrong, when we gather together and just know this is a great Feast of Light, Great Feast of Manifestation, Feast of Adoration and Praise, and a Feast of just giving our self in awe to our God. Start off the New Year in this wonderful spirit of praising God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Try to love one another as you love yourself. Imitation blessed by St. Teresa of Calcutta. Alleluia!
St. Paul says, “God’s grace was given to us” and we have what is needed by revelation. Let this manifestation continue on as we reflect on the wise men coming. Congratulations to each of you who considers yourself a wise person, the Lord is in your lives. You are now those wise people who know how to live a wonderful life of love. Enjoy this New Year of 2016! It is going to be a time where we will continue to delight in studying the Word and growing spiritually by receiving the Lord in communion in all of our devotional prayers and remembering and respecting in a special way the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King with a flare of understanding and Nelson Mandela, a person of light. Keep growing spiritually as we began this year of 2016. Finally, this pastor simply says, “A joyous, spirit filled, New Year. May 2016 bring you fullness and riches. Continue the spirit of Pope Francis, who is really reaching out and challenging people to live more decently, humanly, compassionately, and totally involved with the poor of the world. We have the opportunity to do all these things. So let it happen!
Love, Fr. Bob
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