Time to Make God Manifest

The word Epiphany means “to make manifest.” Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, is today made manifest as symbolized by the arrival of the magi. It is also traditional on this day to solemnly announce the date of Easter for the upcoming year. As you listen to this chant, maybe the dates aren’t so important any more, but notice the structure. Everything revolves around Easter. Everything else is reckoned according to the fixing of this date first. Likewise we are told that what Easter is to the year, Sunday is to the week.

The new civil year is often a time when we get a new calendar. With today’s proclamation in mind you might ask yourself, “What do I put on my calendar…what is most important?” Particularly, as we look at our weekly calendar, can we truly say that Sunday is the center and everything else revolves around this most important day? What place does Sunday Mass have on our calendars? If someone looked at our calendar, would they be able to conclude that Sunday Mass is the central focus of our week around which everything else takes its place?

The star of Bethlehem manifested the presence of Jesus to the magi. We pray that our lives will also make God manifest to those around us.