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The Light of the World
found watching when the Lord appears. Happy are they if they have not become involved in
worldly vices and temporal affairs, but hold their lamps burning in their hands when the coming
of the Lord is announced.
At the end of the world the Lord will appear with power and majesty. Then He will raise
us to life again, and those who have been faithful He will invite to share with Him the glory and
the majesty that He has received from His heavenly Father. The whole life of a Christian, then,
must be a vigil on the threshold of eternal life. For this reason the Church prays continually, with
eyes and heart uplifted, that Christ will come and receive His bride. How little we understand
the significance of the feast of Epiphany! We are too much concerned about the things of this
world to understand the meaning of this “manifestation” of the Lord.
Prayer
O almighty and eternal God, do Thou direct our actions according to Thy good pleasure, that
we may deserve to abound in good works in the name of Thy beloved Son, who with Thee
reigneth forever and ever. Amen.
Feast of Epiphany
Christmas brought us a new light. As the sun after dawn climbs to the zenith, so in the sacred
liturgy in the time after Christmas the spiritual Sun, Christ, rises higher and begins to enlighten
and bless the world. Christ resides in His Church; He “is risen upon her” like the sun. Yet more
than that, He has become one with His Church; Christ and His Church now form one being,
one organism of grace. As theologians put it, Christ and His Church form one mystical body.
“Today the Church is betrothed to her heavenly spouse, for in the river Jordan Christ washed
away her sins; and the wise men bearing gifts hastened to the royal wedding; and the guests
refreshed themselves with water made wine” (Benedictus antiphon at Lauds). What a
charming picture of the wedding feast! “Lift up thy eyes round about and see; all these are
gathered together, they are come to thee; thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters
shall rise up at thy side. Then shalt thou see and abound, and thy heart shall wonder and
be enlarged” (Epistle).
Baptism is the door by which we enter the Church (first Sunday after Epiphany). In the
Gospel of the second Sunday after Epiphany, we reach the climax of the theme of Epiphany.
This Gospel recounts the story of the wedding feast at Cana. Men enter the Church through
baptism, and in union with her they are espoused to Christ and are thus able to partake of the
wedding feast. Presently the wedding feast represents the reception of Holy Communion, and
it symbolizes the eventual union with Christ in heaven. There we shall experience the perfect
epiphany, the complete revelation of Christ.
The feast of Epiphany is a mystical betrothal, and for this reason the Church sings the
song of the bride today at Matins: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be
joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; and with the robe
of justice He hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned
with her jewels” (Is 61:10). Here is the mystery of the Church, the mystery of human life, the
secret of human greatness. The Church, and we ourselves with her, are caught up into a vital
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