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This year, as we've celebrated the feast of Epiphany, I have been reflecting on how the journey of the Magi and our own personal journeys are much alike. Of course we are not all kings, or learned scholars, but we are called to follow Christ, the star, wherever He leads.
When we see His light shining in our lives, how do we respond? Do we feel unworthy of the call and turn away? Do we make plans to follow that never quite seem to get off the ground? Or do we leave everything behind to seek Him without a thought to the cost. I am quite sure that the Magi packed enough supplies to make a journey of indeterminate length, just as we would. But what about the supplies we need that cannot be packed? How do we carry faith or hope the way they did? What baggage of fear or doubt to we need to unload to make room for Christ, and that faith and hope?
And when we set out to follow our star and find Christ for the first time, what gifts to we bring to him? We may not have material gold, but we still have gifts to give. One gift is our faith and love. Another is the gift of all our pain and sorrow. Christ carried those to the cross with Him and destroyed them. He has already won the victory for us. If we can give Him our sorrows, He can redeem them. I do not mean that all our problems vanish, or that we don’t need to atone for our sins and seek forgiveness. We still need to do these things. The victory was won by Christ, not by us, and the way to unite ourselves to His will is to follow His commands, and to accept gratefully the graces He offers us. Our problems may still be there, but we will have peace.
The Magi also brought frankincense, a perfume resin. We also offer our prayers to Christ, which we are told in Rev 5:8 are like incense before God. Our prayers are heard as they rise like incense, we use them to bless and praise God, to honor Him.
Even though we cannot literally travel to see the infant Jesus the way the Magi did, we can emulate their journey in spirit. What gifts will we bring when we come?
Carol Ann Chybowski has a Masters in English from California State University, Hayward (now Cal State East Bay), where she published her young adult fantasy, The Seven Oases as her Master’s Thesis. Her work can also be found in A Community Of Voices: Hot Dog! and A Community of Voices: When We Were Young, Young Adulthood., and Spiritual Awakenings: Stories of Praise and Redemption.Carol Ann is a member of the Catholic Writers Guild.
