The days of the Octave of Christmas draw us now to the celebration of the New Year and of Mary, the Mother of God. In rather succession, we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany! The book of Numbers (6:24,25) tells us: “The Lord bless you and keep you! The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.” The Prophet, Isaiah (60:5) says to us: “Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart will throb and overflow.”
We hear and are called to truly know what God has done for us, what God does for us even now, and then to truly allow our lives, our very being to be conformed to the power and love of God. The Angels who brought glad tidings to the Shepherds and the Star that guided the Magi from distant lands to the simple, humble setting of the Child in the Manger call to us even now. The Mystery of which Paul writes to the Galatians (4:4-7) and to the Ephesians (3:2-6) is the very mystery entrusted to us now!
We are called to labor, even struggle when necessary to get it right, but the foundation for our labor, even our struggle at time is the intense joy at knowing what God has done and what God chooses to do with us and for us even now. The treasures we are able to open and lay before Him are boundless, for they are His treasures given as a Gift to us!
Fr. Tom