The Epiphany of the Lord had its epicenter this morning in St. Peter's Basilica, with a Mass presided over by the Holy Father and concelebrated by the Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, together with other cardinals.
The celebration was attended by numerous cardinals, bishops and high ecclesiastics, priests and lay faithful. Also present were the six Benedictine nuns from Argentina who now form the monastic community of the Mater Ecclesiae monastery, where the Pope Emeritus resided. Benedict XVI during these years, until his death.
Image of the towns
"The Magi set out on a journey in search of the King who has been born. They are the image of peoples on a journey in search of God, of strangers who are now led to the mountain of the Lord, of those far away who can now hear the proclamation of salvation, of all those who are lost and feel the call of a friendly voice," the Pope began by pointing out in the homilyFor now, in the flesh of the Babe of Bethlehem, the glory of the Lord has been revealed to all nations, and "every man shall see the salvation of God.
"Let us observe these wise men who come from the East and let us dwell on three aspects: they have their eyes fixed on heaven, their feet on earth, their hearts prostrate in adoration," the Pope pointed out.
Eyes fixed on the sky
"The Magi have their eyes fixed on heaven. They raise their heads to await a light that illuminates the meaning of their lives, a salvation that comes from above. And so they see a star arise, the most luminous of all, which attracts them and sets them on their way. This is the key that reveals the true meaning of our existence: if we live enclosed within the narrow perimeter of earthly things (...), our life is extinguished," Francis meditated.
"Brothers and sisters, eyes fixed on the sky!" he encouraged. "We need to have our gaze raised upwards, also to learn to see reality from above."
In particular, the Pontiff pointed out three areas in which we need the Lord. In the first place, "we need him on the path of life, to be accompanied by the friendship of the Lord, by his love that sustains us, by the light of his Word that guides us like a star in the night.
"We need it in the journey of faith, so that it is not reduced to a set of religious practices or an external habit, but becomes a fire that burns us from within and makes us passionate seekers of the face of the Lord and witnesses to his Gospel.
"We need it in the Church."
And thirdly, "we need him in the Church, where, instead of dividing ourselves according to our ideas, we are called to put God at the center. we need him to abandon ideologies in the Church." "Ecclesiastical ideologies no, ecclesial vocation, yes," he added outside the written text.
"He, and not our ideas or our plans. Let us start again from God, let us seek in Him the courage not to stop in the face of difficulties, the strength to overcome obstacles, the joy to live in communion and harmony", he continued.
God opens us to a great hope
The Magicians teach us that "the encounter with God opens us to a greater hope, which makes us change our way of life and transforms the world," the Holy Father went on to say.
Francis quoted Benedict XVI on this point: "If true hope is lacking, happiness is sought in drunkenness, in the superfluous, in excesses, and people ruin themselves and the world. [For this reason, we need men who nourish great hope and therefore possess great courage. The courage of the Magi, who set out on a long journey following a star, and who knew how to kneel before a Child and offer him their precious gifts (Benedict XVI, Homily, 6 January 2008)".
Adoration: a taste for prayer
Finally, the Magi have their hearts prostrated in adoration, the Pope affirmed. "A king who came to serve us, a God who became man, who has compassion on us, suffers with us and dies for us. Before this mystery, we are called to bow our hearts and bend our knees in adoration: to adore the God who comes in littleness, who dwells in the normality of our homes, who dies for love," he stressed.
"Let us rediscover the joy of the prayer of adoration," he urged the faithful. "Let us recognize Jesus as our God and Lord and offer him the gifts we have, but above all the gift that we are, ourselves." "There is a lack of prayer among us," he commented, also outside the planned text. "May the Lord give us the grace to know how to adore," concluded the Pope.
At the Angelus
Afterwards, at noon, the Pope prayed the Marian prayer of the Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace, and has extended to the faithful his considerations on the feast of the Epiphany.
For example, he recalled that "today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, that is, his manifestation to all peoples, represented by the Magi," who "after allowing themselves to be challenged by the appearance of a star, set out and arrived in Bethlehem. There they meet Jesus, "with Mary, his mother", prostrate themselves and offer him "gold, frankincense and myrrh".
"To adore Jesus in the Eucharist is to give meaning to time."
"In the Child Jesus, we see God made man. Therefore, let us contemplate him, let us marvel at his humility. To contemplate Jesus, to stand before him, to adore him in the Eucharist: it is not to waste time, but to give meaning to time; it is to find the direction of life in the simplicity of a silence that nourishes the heart. Let us also place ourselves before the Child, let us pause before the manger".
And we also find time to look at the children, the little ones who also speak to us of Jesus, with their trust, their immediacy, their amazement, their healthy curiosity, their capacity to cry and laugh spontaneously, to dream. God is like this: childlike, trusting, simple, a lover of life (cf. Wis 11:26), a dreamer: he became flesh and loves to share with us the mystery of life, made of tears and smiles.
Playing with children, like grandparents do
"Let us stop, then, to talk, play and laugh with our children; with patience, as grandparents know how to do! Let us listen to what they tell us and what God tells us through them. If we place ourselves before the Child Jesus and in the company of children, we will learn to be amazed and we will leave simpler and better, like the Magi. And we will know
to take a new and creative look at the world's problems".
"May Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, increase our love for the Child Jesus and all children, especially those tested by wars and injustice," he prayed.
Prayer for peace, Missionary Childhood
After praying the Angelus, Francis mentioned that it was the 60th anniversary of the meeting in Jerusalem between St. Paul VI and the Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras, with the aim of praying together, of walking together, of having a gesture of unity.
Let us pray for peace in the Middle East, in Palestine, in Israel, in Ukraine and throughout the world, encouraged the Pope, who expressed his closeness to the victims and families of the explosions in the Middle East. Iran.
The Holy Father recalled the Missionary Childhood DayHe mentioned the children around the world who are involved in spreading the Gospel.
