Did you know that the very day of the Epiphany is the same day of our Lord’s Baptism in the Jordan River and the very day of our Lord’s public ministry beginning at Cana in Galilee? In fact we could summarize these three days with three significant words: the star, the water and the wine. In our eternal life we must follow the patterns established by God Himself for our advancement in virtue and union with Him.
First, the star presents to the Gentile a new light entering a tired and dried up world. It was a world in darkness yearning for a fresh outlook on life itself. How much our very days imitate those times. With our Catholic faith being placed in the closet that a new man oriented vision might unite all the divisions we know are present in this world. The star is new and its light point to a new born King who will rule not by force but by Love itself. This light illumines the truth of our very being in this world. This light warms the soul with the testimony of God’s desire to share His eternity with us. To follow this star today we must return to the testimony of the past: our tradition and our magisterial pronouncements. We find the first in the Bible and the second in “What the Church teaches.”
After studying the star we turn to the water. The truth calls us to the reality of sin. Sin on our part is the calling card God uses to indicate to us the depth of His love for us. Our Lord came to the Jordan as “humanity”, our representative. He took upon Himself all of our sins and there in the Jordan He receives the Baptism of John, a baptism of repentance. The water of our own baptism is contained in that event because we truly are sinners and we really need to understand the horror of sin and the need to repent and repair. All of our hurts come to us because of sinful attitudes and actions. To correct them we must come to the water of baptism which is renewed again and again in the confession of our sins. From the cleansing effect of the water we humbly come and approach the wine that brings with it eternal joy.
Wine is produced by the crushing of the grape, the fruit of the vine. Our Lord knew from all time that “without the shedding of Blood there could be no forgiveness of sin” (Heb. 9:22). The reason for His life was to unite the star with the water and finally inundate all baptized soul in His Blood, the wine of the New Testament. What a joy to realize that union of this pattern in our daily life by accepting the joys, sufferings, routines and reactions of others to whatever we do, say or think. Everything is bound together in that which gives us life: blood. To sacrifice in union with the Blood of the Lamb is to accept the will of God and experience the peace that comes in that will.
So January 6th the Magi, the baptism and the miracle of the water turned to wine reminds us of our eternal desire and our divine destiny. If only we can train ourselves daily to let the light of truth shine on our lives. If only we could recall in the hurts and rejections of others the life of Jesus filling us with the rejection of the world, the flesh and the delights of the devil. If only we could hide in the hearts of Jesus and Mary then we could realize that special bond of Blood that sets us free.
As we enter into 2019 let us pray for the chastisement we deserve and may it come quickly so that Demon-crats will not be able to kill any more children. Let us pray for the repentance of people like Nancy Pelosi, Schummer and company for the hell they create in our society is nothing like what the demons will do to their souls if they do not return to their Creator and Redeemer. I fear for their souls and pray daily that they will come back to their spiritual senses for as long as they seek only world power they are running to the pit of hell preserved for false leaders. In the end nothing can touch the soul in obedience to God’s holy will. Through our Lady we will conquer and one day the hearts of Jesus and Mary will rule this world of ours.
A Happy and Holy New Year in the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt
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