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.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
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.
Gospel
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
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.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.
h/t WeeWeed!
Good morning:
Regarding “h/t WeeWeed!,” been there, done that, 🤣😂🤣
There are times I feel insignificant.
My heart though is filled .
Praise God.
Blessings.
Praise God from whom all of our blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below. . .
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts …
Praise Jesus, we need you here more than ever.
The American commercial seasonal traditions of Christmas has displaced the traditional Christian liturgical seasons that go back millennia at the heart of our true civilization focused on the story of Our Lord. I never knew the details of this until I became Catholic. I appreciate and look forward to your celebration of these seasons throughout the year!
Amen! Commercialized “Christmas Creep” happens earlier and earlier every year. This year at work, I put my foot down and insisted that we stick to the Liturgical Calendar; no mention of Christmas until after Thanksgiving, and even then it was in the context of Advent, a season largely forgotten. I played Advent Carols until Christmas Eve, when I started playing Christmas Carols. Today, the 12th Day of Christmas, I took down the tree and put away the decorations. There was no sense of regret, but of a season accomplished. Now, we enter Epiphany, which has its own traditions. God bless you one and all!
None of that was allowed in my state government job. Even some decorations offended one person so none were allowed, much less any music of the season.
😂😂🤣🤣 sneaking into mass. Been there and continue to. Some say the wife will be late to her own funeral. I just love her with all my heart. 🙏🏽❤️
In the old days one could set the clocks ahead five minutes.
That Mass pic is hilarious!! God bless.
I sure like the teaching about the Magi, Sundance and Menagerie.
Our Lord likes to sneak in without being noticed.
He never interrupts nor contrdicts.
Just lets me be a fool.
Sneaking in like
a Magi !
For behold, darkness shall cover the earth…
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light!
This Messiah also came to mind….I’ve often wondered if there is a double entendre hidden in this Scripture verse – that the burden the Lord gives us is light -and it’s also to carry his light and be light to the world.
Here is that part under Robert Shaw’s direction:
We all know the Magi didn’t visit Christ on the night he was born. My understanding is by the time the Magi arrived Christ was around 2 years old? My question is this if the Magi visited Christ in Bethlehem it must be that Joseph and Mary stayed in Bethlehem after the birth of Christ and didn’t return from where they had come from? Did Joseph and Mary then settle in Nazareth when they returned from Egypt? Hope this is an appropriate post here? TIA
Matthew 2 explains the sequence of events. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202&version=NIV
Questioning is always good, with the reasonable understanding that we can never have all the answers. I hope this article helps with some of your questions.
https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-truth-of-the-nativity-story
Great wisdom in this reply, Menagerie.
Questioning, honest conscience driven questioning, is always good, accepting that we can never have all the answers. That is the story of my life, as it is now with my large family of kids – the harder the questions from them the better … and it’s ok to not have all the answers completely figured out. We won’t know everything until we reach the other side of this “vale of tears”.
Thank you!!! I read that and it helped me better understand the order of events after Christ’s birth up until they fled to Egypt!
There seems to be some confusion by the comments here as to the ‘circumcision’ of Jesus, and the ‘presentation’ of Jesus in the Temple at Jerusalem. = They are two different events.
The Calendar of the Catholic Church did list (at one time) the circumcision of Jesus on January 1, which is now the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. [2025 a Holy Day of Obligation.]
The Feast of the Presentation of Lord at the Temple occurs on February 2, 2025 in the Catholic Church. … The ‘circumcision’ of Jesus and the ‘Presentation’ are two different events.
********************
See the Bible Luke chapter 2
“When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
“When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,”
****************************
The members of the Holy Family are Jews, and obeyed the Law of Moses.
The Catholic Churches will refer to the Bible to demonstrate the teachings of the Church. … An understanding of Scripture must include the teaching that Jesus walked the Holy Lands and built His Church. … When we read the Bible for edification, we do NOT see that Jesus carried a big sack Bibles around with him, handing out Bibles and saying, “Here read this book and tell me what >you think!” … Jesus built a Church, and that Church has the teaching authority.
************************
This reply is under Menagerie’s comment, as I find the ‘Breitbart Deputies’ to be excellent Gatekeepers of truthfulness at TheConservativeTreehouse.
Yes they stayed in Bethlehem for a while after the birth. Luke records the short trip to Jerusalem on the 8th day. Mary would have had a time of purification. Joseph was at least ancestoraly from Brthlehem. The under two years is the age of the boys Herod ordered killed based on when the star originally appeared. That part of the story is never read in the liturgical selections. Herods actions caused Joseph to take the family to Egypt until Herod died. Then he went back to Nazareth because Herods son was ruling in Judea.
The infants killed by Herod were really the first Christian martyrs.
Concerning the star, Karlis Kaufmanis has the best researched explanation I have ever heard.
Joseph and Mary left Bethlehem when an angel of the Lord told them to ‘Get up, take the child, and flee to Egypt.’
And as always with God’s perfect timing, it was right before Herod’s killers murdered all the babies 2 and under, just like you wrote.
I think that the reality of “the Scriptures” is simply: “they are what they are.” The Bible is a compilation of sources that were not written in conjunction with each other. The compilation was assembled by a very-human committee.
We now realize that the “New” origin “Gospel” documents were each written “well after the fact.” (We plainly see that they are not consistent. And, we are incapable of now knowing if any word was changed, for any then-political reason.)
I think that you simply must “accept” this. Because it is more-or-less true of every “historic” source, Christian or not. “We look through a glass, darkly.”
IMHO, if you now ask of these writings “literally true, infallible, etcetera,” you are simply asking too much of “words on vellum.” It is IMHO frankly too much to insist upon this.
If the Lord wishes to speak to you, He can if necessary use rocks. He has obviously quite-successfully used these writings for many centuries, in spite of their apparent “imperfections.” Listen carefully to what that “still, small voice” says to you each day . . .
An interview with defense attorney / Chicago journalist / atheist that sought out to prove that Jesus did not rise..
He thought it would take a day or 2 to prove.
He spent 2 years researching the risen lord
– and became
a believer
( not atheist).
i.e.
along the journey
he had a revelation of truth,
an epiphany…
Interview of Lee Strobel
3 hours
https://shawnryanshow.com/blogs/the-shawn-ryan-show/srs-152
I’m glad you do this, Menagerie.
Epiphany gets overlooked nowadays.
In my opinion, worship following a liturgical calendar year is of great value in following in Jesus’s footsteps and understanding the Bible. It just helps our brains see the whole picture and not miss important lessons.
Dear God, I have so much to be thankful for on this Epiphany Sunday. But today I thank You for sending Your only begotten Son, that He might be the light of this world. May Jesus Christ always be the light of my life and I pray that I too will shine brightly in this world and direct others to You God. As they come to You may they be transformed and know You as their savior, Amen.
Amen.
Sun is shining brightly here this crisp winter morning for the first time in weeks. A reminder that the dark has not overcome the light.
The Greeks dive for the cross here in Tarpon Springs Fl…13 year old males
from the Collects, Second Sunday after Christmas (before Epiphany):
“O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One god, forever. amen.”
link to the Lectionary page with the standard Psalms, Gospels, readings for the second Sunday after Christmas but before Epiphany:
https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC/Christmas/Christmas2.html
and this is a link to the Collect, and other readings, for tomorrow, the celebration of the Epiphany, or circumcision of Christ, which is the newer revised Collect:
https://www.lectionarypage.net/YearABC_RCL/Epiphany/Epiph_RCL.html
the original, traditional Collect for the Epiphany is:
“Almighty God, who madest thy blessed Son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit; that our hearts and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, we may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.”
About the commentary of the Magi seeing ‘The Star in the East’ in the video. … Reading a bit further in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
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.”
************
“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.”
************
The ‘Star’ does NOT seem to ACT like a ‘star’ in Heaven as people understand the scientific universe today. … The ‘Star’ >must have been one of God’s angels and/or miracles.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bible quote from the Gospel of Matthew. New American Bible, on United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, webpage.
Agreed. The only plausible celestial phenomenon is a “comet.” And, the appearance of comets has been interpreted as “auspicious omens” in many ancient traditions besides this one. (It remains unexplained how it could “stop ‘precisely over'” a particular home in a particular town . . .)
But, I think, it is rather pointless to try to identify “some actual comet.” To me, “this is not the point.” The story is what it is. You simply cannot expect to go back several thousand years and find “certainty.” I feel that it is pointless to try. There simply is no “reliable chain of custody.”
The “star” was the God’s Skekinah glory lighting up the heavens.
As the pillar of light when God led His children out of bondage, God’s glory is seen throughout the Bible as bright light.
The magi had seen Christ’s “star” months before they got to Bethlehem. The Magi knew a Savior would be born to the Jews because hundreds of years earlier they had been taught by Daniel (while he was in bondage) that his people were waiting the arrival of their Savior. Daniel had been given charge over/leadership over the Magi and he taught them what he loved best, God’s Word.
The word for star in the Bible was kowkab (other spellings too I just don’t remember off the top of my head), and it was, to many biblical scholars, interpreted incorrectly. Like many words then and today, one single word can have multiple meanings, and kowkab could mean star, but it could also mean prince or angels.
If the Magi were following the star to find the Baby, why did they need to ask Herod “when” the star appeared; it would still be seen by them.
The Star appeared the night Jesus was born, because God’s Skekinah glory was there, shining down — shining around — for all who had eyes to see could and would see it.
Search Kaufmanis Star of Bethlehem. He was an outstanding astronomer who researched the Star historically and scientifically. His conclusion is that it was a triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7bc. In spring it occurred just before sunrise, in fall it appeared again as the planets separated and then came back together. Late in the year, corresponding with the journey from Jerusalem, the planets came together again shortly after sunset. As the planets appeared that evening, they would go to the west at the fork in the road to Bethlehem, and then begin to set on the horizon “right over the house” where Jesus was. Note also that most people never noticed the star. It didn’t light up bright as day. It was only evident to those who studied the heavens at night.
We can speculate endlessly, and it is good that we might do so. It could have been “God’s glory.” It could have been a “triple conjunction.” But the documents that we now have to read simply do not tell us. For one thing, we cannot precisely establish the date and time of the event! (It undoubtedly was not “December.”)
Unrelated: This is, FYI, not the only case found in preserved ancient writings where an auspicious birth (of a hero) was indicated by “signs in the heavens.” Nor is Jesus the first or only man “born of a god.” If you care to look at “those old books that your professor did or didn’t require you to read,” there’s really some fascinating stuff in there.
You seem not to believe that the Bible is real or that is has been bastardized by man, as if God is not in control of His Word.
We do, indeed, have “documents” that clearly tell us everything God wants us to know about Jesus birth. It is called the Bible, the Holy Scriptures.
For those who believe God’s Word I offer this —
Let us search the Scriptures and reason together (Isaiah 1:18)
The other word for “star” that I could not remember earlier (and have since looked up in my old research) was kokab (pronounced Ko-chav). It was used primarily to mean, 1) to shine or, 2) to blaze forth.
Kokab was used in the old testament to describe angels, men and in Numbers 24:17 to describe a coming Messiah.
But Bible translators, wanting to help us (and themselves) understand the incomprehensible, changed what was written as “to shine” or “to blaze forth” into the word star.
Numbers 24:17, “I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not nigh. There shall step forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”
I see Him, I behold Him, but suddenly, instead of it being a person that is being discussed, a star ‘steps forth,’ a “star” out of Jacob — another person.
There shall step forth a shining, a blazing forth, or, God’s Skekinah glory, which means God’s dwelling place through the line of Jacob.
When God descended on the tabernacle He did so as light. After Moses saw God’s glory his face was radiant. Angels who have been in God’s presence are brilliant white, and, when Jesus revealed His glory to Peter, John and James “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:2.
When Jesus was born an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds, and “the glory of the Lord” shone around them, announcing to Israel that their Savior had arrived. From Luke 2.
God’s Skekinah Glory lit up the sky when angels announced the birth of The Savior.
Meanwhile, in the east, Persian “magi” (a large sect of religious/academic astrologers) see “His star.” Matthew 2:2
Five hundred years earlier Israel had been overthrown and the prophet, Daniel, was among those exiled to that pagan land. But during Daniel’s time in Persia he had shown the Persian King that Daniel’s God was “the God of gods and the Lord of lords” Daniel 2:47, and because of that the King put Daniel in charge of all the Magi. Daniel 2:48
When the Magi saw God’s skehinah glory they remembered reading that Daniel’s God would “set up a Kingdom that would never be destroyed” and “would endure forever.” Daniel 2:44
Persian Magi who knew that an “Anointed One” of God would come to Israel (Daniel 9:25) headed to Israel where they knew the Anointed One would be. They did not need a star to tell them where to go, they needed a star to know when He had come.
In Jerusalem King Herod’s chief priests answered the Magi that the Anointed One would be born in Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah. . . out of you will come a Ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Micha 5:2
The Magi left and went approximately 5 miles away to Bethlehem. The star “went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.” The shining forth of God Almighty went ahead of them until they got to where God’s glory dwelt.
Through the captivity of Israel and Daniel, gentile astrologers knew to “bow down and worship” Jesus, and they “opened their treasures [meant for The King] and presented the King of kings with gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.” Matthew 2
Satan has made sure that there will always be other “events” that he can use to conflate God’s glory with the sinful acts of man. Nothing new under the sun.
There is a great DVD called The Star of Bethlehem by Frank Larson. Used to be free but it tells the story of how he used scripture and a computer program to “find” the star in the sky. One year I gave the DVD as a Christmas gift to family and friends. It’s a powerful film
💟 💟 💟 💟 💟
here is a link for the 2025 Liturgical Calendar, Episcopal leaning but most non-Roman Catholic or various Orthodox factions follow along similar patterns:
https://www.lectionarypage.net/CalndrsIndexes/Calendar2025.html
and this link is to that same site’s Lectionary Central which has links to the Gospels, Epistles, Psalms, and sermons from a cross-section of Priests and Pastor that coincide with the calendar.
https://www.lectionarycentral.com/index.html
as a note, I’ve been using this as a guideline to follow upon realizing my, now former, church left the Christ in favor of new age diversions and there is a sense of being in sync with the Holy Spirit for those who are not able to, or can’t find, a church that meets their spiritual life.
Thank you. Sounds like what I have been looking for while I continue my search for a physical church.
Epiphany – appearance of a divine being
also
3
a
(1)
: a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2)
: an intuitive grasp of reality through something (such as an event) usually simple and striking
(3)
: an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure
With the realization that Christ is perfect comes the realization that man may be created in the image but can never be perfect here on earth.
The futile striving for a “perfect society” in its many and varied forms here on earth is a rejection of biblical teachings and the greatest gift ever given.
Everything man made is flawed to a greater or lessor degree. The Creator’s works are flawless and beyond human capacity.
Just thoughts…have a blessed Sunday.
In New Orleans Epiphany was celebrated with the “king” cake decorated in Purple, Green, and Gold representing the gifts of the Maji. It marked the start of traditional carnival season. These days king cakes tend to be more associated with Mardi Gras day. Also in tradition the masked balls were the focal point, but today parading seems to have taken over, probably due to being a mass tourism event.
No doubt all of our traditions have been muted these days. The King Cake tradition is still alive, I think. It begins with the start of Lent. A King Cake with a small plastic baby inside it is brought to social occasions. We usually had one in the lunch room at work. Whoever got the piece of cake with the “baby” was obliged to bring the next cake. So it would go until Easter.
There are bakeries in Louisiana which ship King Cakes of various compositions. My favorite was the praline filled cake from Gambino’s bakery.
Here is my hypothesis on the Star of Bethlehem:
In 1981 the Voyager spacecraft discovered a mysterious giant hexagon on the north pole of Saturn…a perfect geometric shape atop all the hundreds of circular tiers that make up the ringed planet. It remains today one of the greatest mysteries of the natural world that atop a world beset by violent winds, the hexagon remains, static and unmoving.
So I took a picture of Saturn’s great hexagon and connected the opposing points and to my great surprise it formed a Star of David! Do it yourself and you will see that the Star of David and the hexagon are fractals of each other.
And here’s the part that may explain the Star of Bethlehem having its origin on the planet with the Star of David:
No one knows exactly why the Ringed Planet has such prominent rings but one hypothesis is that the rings were once a moon of Saturn, until a comet from the Kuiper belt struck it, scattering the moon into thousands of fragments that eventually coalesced as the rings we see today.
Such an impact would light up the night sky and remain highly visible from earth as sunlight reflected on all those thousands of fragments.
And that, I believe, is a plausible explanation for the bright star that suddenly appeared to the Magi!
Happy Feast of the Epiphany to those on the new calendar. For those on the traditional calendar, have a blessed Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus today and a joyful Epiphany of the Lord tomorrow.
Epiphany is always a big thing everywhere in Spain
JANUARY 05 2025 – in Alcoy
Cavalcade of the Three Wise Men
20 + C + M + B + 25
The importance of the whole story about the Magoi (Matthew 2:1-12) is quite likely unknown by most Christians. That’s because we’ve not spent much time learning about it, even though it is Scripture, Old Testament (Numbers 24:14-25; Micah 5:2-5; Isaiah 60:2-6) and very specific prophetic Scripture at that.
Oh, we all know and have visualized one way or another the “We Three Kings” Christmas carol, and have seen Nativity scene imagery like the above for the sum of our lives, but that’s not the half of it. There’s more… so much more to the story.:
The Magoi and the Birth of Jesus Messiah
https://eschatologytoday.blogspot.com/2011/01/magoi.html
https://americanminute.com/blogs/todays-american-minute/epiphany-christs-manifestation-to-the-world-the-history-of-the-holiday-on-the-12th-day-of-christmas-american-minute-with-bill-federer