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Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Saturday, January 03, 2009 10:57 AM
Tomorrow at Mass, we will celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. Our gospel reading from Matthew will share the remarkable narrative of the event we commemorate:
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Typically at this time of the year, I find myself making long lists of resolutions. They range from the noble (“find more time for community service”) to the inane (“grow my hair out” or “cut all my hair off”). This year, I have yet to finalize (and thus break) my list of resolutions. But what I’ve been contemplating the past few days is Matthew’s gospel that we will read tomorrow and thinking about its place in my own life.
How overjoyed am I at my chance to visit with the child and Mary his mother, either in prayer, in Adoration or at Mass? Do I make regular time for visits with Jesus outside of my Sunday obligation?
How reverently do I prostrate myself and do him homage when I am coming into his presence? Am I distracted, running late, or worried about what my kids are up to?
What treasures do I bring to the Christ child? To answer this question well, I need to truly assess the treasures that lie within me - surely the loving God who made me knows them, but have I stopped to ask myself if I truly bring honor to Jesus with those gifts? Each of us have gifts within us that can take the place of the gold, frankincense and myrrh.
One of my gifts is the ability to care for my family - by doing that with a humble and loving heart, my service to them can become one of my gifts to Jesus. Another of my gifts is my love for writing. Although I so frequently fall short of the measure I set for myself, does what I write bring glory to Jesus, draw others nearer to him, and shine the light on him rather than on myself?
As we go off to Mass this weekend and celebrate the Epiphany, I invite you to reflect upon your own gifts and how you will share them with Jesus this year. Please remember that no gift is too small if given with a heart filled with love. Do you celebrate the Epiphany in a special way with your family?
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Thank you Lisa! Nice food for thought!
....but don’t be too worried that you are finding yourself “distracted” by your boys goings-ons….remember that HE gave you that, as your primary JOB, when he made you a mother…..if you don’t do it, no one will. :0)
Lisa & Tracy, I thought the very same thing when I read this piece. I enjoyed it VERY much but the part about being distracted by kids hit me funny…I take my 4 kids to Mass alone all the time…if I am not the one who is “distracted” by them (caring for them, wiping noses, etc.) then I feel that I am not doing my God-given job. At Christmas Mass, I spent 3/4 of it sitting w/a 35 lb toddler sleeping on me…but that doesn’t mean I was any less reverent or in awe of His presence. In fact, listening to “What Child is This?” while my daughter slept on me brought me right to tears during Mass (something always does…my kids expect it now ~ lol). God bless your New Year!!!
Mary, you are right - it is our JOB to be distracted I guess. But just a point of clarification - my boys play music at Mass and don’t actually sit with me, but rather with their Dad and our music minister on the altar. So me being distracted by them is not the same as a mom who is lovingly caring for her toddler - it’s me thinking, from afar, “I wish I would have made him comb his hair” or “Why did he wear THAT?”. Going to mass with teens can be almost as much “fun” as having little ones in tow. You’re right - as moms, we should always care for our children first! Believe it or not, I really miss those days of when my boys were much younger in Mass - even though they were terrors at the time!
Mary~how sweet~you brought tears to my eyes….and Lisa~you made me smile….yes, it’s so “real” that we as mothers look upon our teens & think these things….on Christmas day, my son was one of the Altar servers….I found myself staring at the light tan socks that were peaking out from his black robe & of course I told him to wear DARK socks next time…Thanks for the smile!
The King Cake is in process—-just waiting for the dough to rise. Whoever finds the Baby Jesus in their piece of cake gets to do the actual blessing with the holy water when we bless our house this evening. We use the one where you write with chalk above the door frames. This year it will read 20 + C + M + B + 09.
That is our Epiphany tradition….at dinner we will talk about what gifts we will give Jesus this year. I like your ideas about being ready for mass—not only in what we wear, what time we arrive(which we really need to work on!) but also, preparing our hearts and minds to hear the Word and receive Him. Thanks!
To celebrate Epiphany a friend began this a few years ago: We gather with other wonderful families with whom we have met for the four Sundays of Advent and have an Epiphany party- read the gospel, reflection, sing Christmas carols (which is fun after singing only Advent songs the previous four weeks), and then enjoy a meal together.
Our Catholic homeschooling group had an epiphany party! The kiddos were invited to dress as kings and queens and we had a potluck and games. It was lovely!
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