Star of wonder

Epiphany of the Lord

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the child Jesus as recorded only in Matthew’s Gospel. Tradition places three kings in the crib even though Matthew never states that there were three Magi or that they were kings. However, the fact that they are often depicted as men of differing nationalities, one from Africa, one from Asia and one from Europe emphasizes the meaning of this event and feast.  It suggests that all nationalities and races were present at Jesus’ birth. Everyone is included in God’s revelation of His Son. The word Epiphany literally means “manifestation” or “showing forth.” God is revealing himself to humanity. 

Little is known about the Magi; they travel from the East following a star which is an astrological sign, so they are thought to have been astrologers, religious leaders, or royal advisors. They came to seek the newly born king, the one who would be the light to the nations. The grace of revelation compelled the Magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar) to follow the light of the star, which came to rest “over the place where the child was.” Like the Magi we as Christians are on a pilgrim journey and need to be directed, today we ask ourselves what star can we follow? When have you searched for the Lord? Have you encountered any roadblocks, or deception or wrong turns? How has God kept you on the right path? Often people we encounter in our daily lives can influence the direction of our pilgrim journey. 

The purpose of the star that guided the Magi ended when it came to rest, but its spiritual light is always present in the Word of the Gospel which is still able today to guide every person to Jesus. The story of the Epiphany calls us to think about who guided and revealed himself to the Magi: God. Today God calls us in our everyday activities within our family, what precious gifts can we present to him? The Magi offered gold which symbolises Jesus’ Kingship, frankincense an oil used for worship, symbolising his divinity and myrrh, a perfume used in anointing the dead before burial, pointing toward Jesus’ passion and death. What precious gifts can I present to Jesus? We can present the gift of ourselves, since each one of us is valuable to God. Offer God the gold of your talents and gifts. The frankincense of your worship and prayer, and the myrrh of your sufferings and heartache. In doing this we will become that guiding light which leads others to Christ.   

A reading from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2: 1-12) 

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.

The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

  1. Read the Gospel story so that you are familiar with it.
  2. Reflect on what the Gospel story is saying to you. Which points would you highlight and why?
  3. The gifts of the Magi are special because in giving them they acknowledge who Jesus was to be, our Lord and Saviour. Pray this week that you will acknowledge Jesus as Saviour in all that you do and say.
  4. The Epiphany teaches us that God does not discriminate among people, he came so that all maybe saved. Do I welcome strangers who come to our Eucharistic celebrations? If not, then how can I be more welcoming to people of different nationality and race?    
  5. Together with your family find the right time to read this Gospel. The environment helps, so before you start, prepare;
    i. The Bible reading from St Luke (2, 16-21)
    ii. Statue, icon or picture of Mary
    iii. Cover the table with a white clot
    iv. A computer/laptop with the readings and clips
  6. Go through the steps with your children (2 age groups are being suggested).
  7. Feel free to adapt to your situation
  8. Be creative 😊 
  9. Go to the Prayer Corner section to continue praying as a family. 

Today is the feast of the Epiphany. We remember the Wise Men or Magi who visited Jesus in Bethlehem bringing him gifts and worshiping him. Listen to the story of their journey and the gifts they gave to Jesus to honour him.

  • The gifts which the Magi offered to Jesus show that they knew that Jesus was the Saviour promised by God.
  • A small box wrapped in paper to represent a gift
  • Star template
  • A pencil/pen
stars templateDownload

Think of the best gift you have ever received. What was it? What, made it so special to you? Why was it so special to you? Maybe because it was something you had really wanted for a long time, or maybe it was because the person who gave it to you was very special. Do you think the size of the gift is important, or the thought that went into it? Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany and many people around the world give gifts today instead of on Christmas Day. When we listen to today’s Gospel, we will understand why they do this. The wise men (Magi) from the east find the child Jesus by following the light of a bright star, they are foreigners, travellers from a faraway country. The star went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child Jesus was with his mother Mary and Joseph. The Magi gave three gifts to baby Jesus. Three very special gifts to honour Him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We know what gold is, it is a precious metal which is rather expensive. It makes us think of royalty and wealth. Frankincense is a fragrant gum resin from African trees and was burned as incense by the Priests in the Temple as an offering to God. By bringing this gift the Magi knew that Jesus was both God and man. Myrrh is a perfume and was used to prepare a persons’ body for burial. The Magi by presenting this gift knew that Jesus would suffer and die. So why do you think that these gifts were special? The answer is that they showed that the Magi truly recognized who this tiny baby was. They worshipped him as the Saviour of the world, the Saviour of everyone including you and me. We too as followers of Jesus are called to offer our gifts to Jesus. Gifts are not just things; we can give actions and words to show others that we love Jesus.

Think about what you might do to shine with love like that bright star which the Magi followed all the way to the child Jesus. Offer these as gifts to Jesus by writing them on the stars and placing them in the box. Showing kindness and being helpful are some ideas to help you.

Listen to the song, We three Kings.

Sign of the Cross.

Dear God, help me always recognise your Son Jesus as Lord and Saviour. May we shine with love like the star of Bethlehem. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. After Jesus’ birth, the Magi (wise men) followed a bright star from the east and found their way to Jesus to offer Him gifts and to worship Him. We celebrate that God’s loving gift of salvation is for all people.

  • When Jesus was born God gave us the greatest gift of all. God’s saving love is offered to all people and Jesus welcomes all those who seek Him.
  • Chalk like the teacher uses on the chalkboard

If we were planning to visit someone in a place which we had never visited before, like another town or village and were unsure of the route to take we might ask someone who knew how to get there to give us directions. Or we might enter the destination on our GPS or use Google maps! A map will show us exactly how to get to our destination in the shortest possible time. Throughout our journey we will need to pay attention to check if we are going in the right direction. By doing this we will surely reach the place which we set out to visit. 

After Jesus’ birth a bright star appeared in the east and was seen by some wise men called Magi and they believed that it announced the birth of a king. They followed the guiding light for many days all the way to Jerusalem and started asking where they might find this new king as they wanted to worship him. Herod the Roman ruler was worried by the news of a new king and met with the Magi and asked them to return to him after they had found the king so that he too could worship him. But the real reason was because Herod wanted to kill any new kings who would threaten his authority. 

The magi didn’t have a map to follow but they managed to find the child Jesus by following the star which stopped over the place where baby Jesus was with his mother Mary and Joseph. When they found baby Jesus they presented their precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and they bowed down and worshiped him. They were told in a dream not to return to Herod but to take a different route home. Today there are still people who seek Jesus, there is no map to show us the way or star to follow, but we can listen to other people who can help us to find Jesus. Like our parents, priests, teachers, and catechists. We also have the Bible. We can find our way to Jesus by reading God’s Holy Word. The Bible is the star and the map which will lead us to Jesus so we should try to read it so that we make sure that we are headed in the right direction.   

To celebrate the feast of Epiphany with your family you might like to perform the Catholic tradition “Chalking the door,” it is a blessing on our lives and homes. We invite God’s presence into our homes and ask his blessing on all those who live in it and all those who will visit throughout the year.  Ask a priest to bless your chalk and then use it to write on or above your front door. Write the year and the symbols C+ M + B, like this.

20 + C + M + B + 23

It means “may Christ bless this house.” The letters stand for the names of the Magi, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The crosses represent Christ.

Listen to the song; We three Kings.

Sign of the cross

Dear God, thank you for all the people who act like that bright star of Bethlehem and lead us to you. Thank you for the best gift of all, the gift of your Son Jesus. Amen.

coming soon.

How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the upcoming Sunday's Scripture readings, helping you to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.