Manifestation

According to Google from Oxford Epiphany means

  • the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1-2)
  • a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being
  • a moment of sudden revelation or insight

Today Maia and I were struggling to wake up for breakfast and mass. Lately our choice of mass time is 9:30 at St. Edwards; we are always late. Today I didn't feel like rushing. I woke up calling on Maia to wake up, multiple times. I was brushing my teeth and thinking "maybe we can go to 10:45 mass at Christ the Good Shepherd, no need to be in a hurry today, we don't have faith formation at 1100am, no faith formation at 6:30pm (note: I teach 3rd grade faith formation at St. Edward's on Sundays,). it's technically a free day. YIPPEE!" You could call that an epiphany. Right?!?! I walk out to the kitchen and tell Mike we should just go to 10:45 mass. He agrees; shit, we are already running super duper late for 9:30 mass. Finally, Maia wakes up, we eat breakfast, get dressed and...

GUESS WHAT!!! We were on TIME for mass!! Right on time!! Pats on the back for the Leong's tooo - day.

The homily began with the cantor singing or chanting the next holy days of obligation, or it sounded like it. Is this something new? I haven't been to mass at Christ the Good Shepherd in such a long time. It felt so good to be back. It was like coming home. Next, came Father Innocence with his homily on the Epiphany and I LOVED it!! I'm going to briefly share what I learned at mass, which is rare because honestly I can't focus half the time and sometimes the homilies just don't interest me. Sorry mom and dad...I'm telling the truth.

Today in the Catholic faith we celebrate the Epiphany. I've always looked at today as the Day of the Three Kings, the end of Christmas. On this day, the Magi traveled from afar to gift the baby Jesus Gold, Frankincense, and Myrr. Fr. Innocence broke down the meaning of each gift as the following:

  • Gold: Symbol of royalty, represents His kingship. God came down as man in Jesus Christ.
  • Frankincense: Father said to break it down to Frank & Incense. Throw away Frank and all we have left is Incense. In those days, incense was used in worhship by temple elders/priests and points to His divinity
  • Myrr: Many of us may know of Myrr as a perfume or deodorant. During that time it was used as an oil for the dead. Why give a baby a gift such as this?!?

These gifts were a foretelling of Jesus' life in this world. Prophecies being fulfilled.

What is the Epiphany about? Before I post what I found on the good ol' internet. I have to reflect on myself. Why do I not know this? Yes, I am Catholic. Yes, I went to Catholic school from elementary to college. No, I don't remember or know all the answers. I grew up with a mother & father who are devout in their faith as well as dear friends who are educated in our faith as well as strong in their practice. Am I ashamed that I don't know the answer, No. I am grateful and blessed to want to know more or remind myself of what I may have once known. As humans we are not perfect, we are perfectly imperfect. Having the curiosity to educate ourselves and share what "A-hah" moments we have is a a true blessing.

Taken from National Catholic Register

What is the feast of the Epiphany about?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

"The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament. The Epiphany shows that “the full number of the nations” now takes its “place in the family of the patriarchs”, and acquires Israelitica dignitas (is made “worthy of the heritage of Israel”) [CCC 528]."

With all that, I go back to Fr. Innocence and his homily. At the end he asked for us to reflect on one thing.

What gift would you give to Jesus Christ? to God? If you are not Catholic or Christian, IF you could relate to this with your religion, your faith, belief; What gift would you give to your universe, your higher being?

Pause for a moment to reflect.

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What was your gift? I am sure it was beautiful and a great gift. For us, giving our self to Him is all he needs. Fr. said "the only gift He needs is of yourself." YOU. How easy and simple is that!!! But wait. The first thing that came to my mind "Am I worthy enough? Is the Angela that I am today gift worthy for Jesus Christ?" Here I am Lord, this is what you are going to get! Ehhhhhh Just Kidding. Nope. Nope. Nope.

My mom used to always lecture us on how we present ourself in church. What we would wear, how we fixed our hair. Our make up. If you were going to meet the King, how would you present yourself. We always talk about "what will get us to heaven?" We all want to go to Heaven.

Here I am sitting in church trying to relate the Epiphany to my life and reflect on what Fr. Innocence asked of us. Me as a gift to Jesus Christ. I would definitely not give him the current version of myself. I have so much work to do physically, mentally, and spiritually. 2020 is my year to grow and be the best version of me for Christ, family, friends, and myself. I've spent the last 39 years finding myself, learning and growing. Trying to decipher my purpose in life, outside of being a wife and mother. I know there is more in me. The curiosity in me is going to pull it all out. God gifted us another year. Be present. Be Mindful. Each second is an opportunity to better yourself. Create the best version of you as a gift for God, a gift for Jesus Christ. You want to give Him your best. Share it with others. Be infectious lol! Life is full of epiphanies and that's what makes it so intriguing.

(Photo: Taken Christmas Eve 2019 at my mom and dad's. Their nativity scene. Ironic that I took photos of the three kings. Here I am today blogging on the Epiphany.)