Reflecting on Today's Readings

January 4, 2013

This Week's Readings

The Epiphany of the Lord

Reading 1: Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Reading 2: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel:  Mt 2:1-12

I am always surprised at the fact that the Church never does fail, and it is obvious in this weekend's readings how that is true.  Epiphany Sunday is a perfect way to start the New Year, especially this year!

We ended last year with heavy hearts.  There was a lot of violence in the world.  A lot of evil was unleashed.  As we begin this new year, there are a lot of mixed emotions.  Will it ever get better?  Is this year going to be the same as last year?  Or worse?  What will 2013 bring exactly?  It would be so easy to let these thoughts and feelings take over our lives.  To give in to despair is all too easy these days.


One thing that I have learned in my life is to never assume that you have hit "rock bottom."  Don't ever assume that you're at the lowest you can go, because I promise you can go lower.  It's not over until it's over.  But we know that when it's over, it's good.  Because it's Heaven.  That's our goal.  Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) that's Jesus' goal, too!  That's why He came here!

I think that a lot of Catholics get discouraged these days, when they see the influences that are on the children of this world.  The kids who attend public schools aren't allowed to pray, and are often blatantly taught anti-Christian (and anti-Catholic specifically) teachings.  Whether or not that is true is not for me to say.  I am, after all, not a teacher, nor a student, nor a parent of a student.  I have no idea what goes on in those schools.  However, I can tell you what my experience of the world has been, and it's that the media not only portrays, but actively celebrates immoral behavior.  Virginity is a vice and sexual immorality is a virtue.  Drugs are accepted, and drug laws pass with flying colors.  Doctors have become addicted to prescribing birth control.  Rather than looking at the root medical problem, birth control is being pushed on women by lazy doctors who claim that they "need" it for medical reasons.  To many doctors, religion is no excuse to not be on the pill, or some other contraception.  To them, there is no excuse.  It is being paid for by those who believe it is evil.  Abortion is now being celebrated.  All of these things go directly against the Catholic Church, and all of these things are becoming more and more "normal" as time continues.  And yet, Catholicism lives.  Why?

Today's readings shed some light onto that topic.  There isn't a lot of information given about these Wisemen.  I have heard that they were astronomers, and that's pretty much all that I know.  But who was it that sent them to Jesus?  It was the very one who was trying to stop Jesus; it was Herod.

This passage gives me great hope.  It is proof that no matter how bad things in the world get, no matter how ugly our media, politics, schools, etc, become, they can try to stop Jesus, but in the end, they may just be driving us closer towards Him!  What great hope this gives me!

I remember times in my life when someone told me that I couldn't do something.  I had a friend, once, in college, who told me that I would never go to my 7:00 am classes because it was so early (and I had to get up extremely early to catch the bus to get to the class that was rather far away).  Simply because she said that I couldn't do it, I did do it to prove her wrong.

When something is denied me, it is my instinct to go after that thing even more.  And when my faith is being tested, when someone tries to prevent me from praying, or speaking about my faith, or change my views on my faith, I am stubborn enough to seek those things even more.  The schools can try to keep prayer out of them, the government and it's politicians can work to oppress the faith, but in the end, they, like Herod, will only achieve the opposite.  They will solidify the views of the faithful, strengthen them (as they give them the resistance they wouldn't have otherwise had), and, ultimately, the Church and it's loyal followers will survive.

"Lord, every nation on Earth will adore You," says this week's Psalm.  I believe that will be true.