[1] At the first time the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephtali was lightly touched: and at the last the way of the sea beyond the Jordan of the Galilee of the Gentiles was heavily loaded. [2] The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light: to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, light is risen. [3] Thou hast multiplied the nation, and hast not increased the joy. They shall rejoice before thee, as they that rejoice in the harvest, as conquerors rejoice after taking a prey, when they divide the spoils. [4] For the yoke of their burden, and the rod of their shoulder, and the sceptre of their oppressor thou hast overcome, as in the day of Median. [5] For every violent taking of spoils, with tumult, and garment mingled with blood, shall be burnt, and be fuel for the fire.
[6] For a CHILD IS BORN to us, and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, God the Mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. [7] His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace: he shall sit upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever: the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9: 1-7
Epiphany is a great feast for any number of reasons, but one reason is not often remarked upon as often as it should be in my opinion. The Three Wise Men were the first gentiles to worship Christ. Throughout the Old Testament there were statements that when the Messiah came, He would be bringing salvation not only for the Jews but for all people. From His birth Christ was the light for the Gentiles predicted by Isaiah.
At Epiphany in 412 AD, Saint Augustine hit this point home:
A somewhat loftier task! Not all men love
Coppice or lowly tamarisk: sing we woods,
Woods worthy of a Consul let them be.
Now the last age by Cumae’s Sibyl sung
Has come and gone, and the majestic roll
Of circling centuries begins anew:
Justice returns, returns old Saturn’s reign,
With a new breed of men sent down from heaven.
Only do thou, at the boy’s birth in whom
The iron shall cease, the golden race arise,
Befriend him, chaste Lucina; ’tis thine own
Apollo reigns. And in thy consulate,
This glorious age, O Pollio, shall begin,
And the months enter on their mighty march.
Under thy guidance, whatso tracks remain
Of our old wickedness, once done away,
Shall free the earth from never-ceasing fear.
He shall receive the life of gods, and see
Heroes with gods commingling, and himself
Be seen of them, and with his father’s worth
Reign o’er a world at peace.
If wise men were to come from the East today they would say that the light in the Catholic Church has grown too dim to follow and that the leadership is to blame.
Vatican II was a catastrophe for the Church and must be abrogated in it’s entirety.
Novus Ordo designates today as Epiphany. The Traditional Catholic Calendar and the 1928 BCP Calendar have Epiphany on January 6th which is tomorrow. Traditionally, today is the 2nd Sunday after Christmas.
Epiphany was normally celebrated on January 6th because it supposedly happened 12 days after his birth on Christmas Day (i.e., the 12 Days of Christmas), making January 6th the traditional date for this event in the calendar.
There is some debate on this, however. It’s possible that the real Epiphany happened a year or two after Christ’s birth when He was a toddler because King Herod in jealousy ordered all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem to be slaughtered.
Nevertheless, I think the Church should stick to the Traditional Calendar to preserve a sense of sacred progression in what is happening instead of all this post-Vatican II revisionism.
LQC…the USCCB moved Epiphany to Sunday in the NO. In other parts of the world it remains on January 6. The TLM and the Eastern Catholics in the USA observe Epiphany on January 6, where it belongs.
The USCCB has moved other important solemnities to Sunday…Ascension ( except for Pennsylvania and New Jersey) and Corpus Christi come to mind.
Penguins Fan, Thank You! The USCCB is contemptible. Effeminate, weak, cowardly and contemptible.
PS, I usually stick with the Morning and Evening Prayer Scripture Readings from the 1928 BCP because they pretty follow the pro-Vatican-II calendar Scripure Readings and using the BCP is easier for me as I get older.
Any timeline for the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Magi needs to make allowance for the Presentation in the Temple forty days after His birth. The commotion that took place when the Magi visited Herod announcing the birth of a king would have made going to the Temple after their visit a hazardous action. I’m not sure that Simeon and Anna could have been as free with their comments about Christ if the meeting of the Magi with Herod had already taken place. The offering of two birds was that of a poor family, which makes me think that they had not yet been given the gifts of the Magi. You also have to account for the flight into Egypt.
*
I’m not sure if it would be possible to establish a hard date for any alternative to the current calendar date on which the Epiphany is celebrated. The current date does keep it close to the Christmas season.
Always a favorite hymn. A favorite feast. Maybe because my great grandfather’s middle name was Casper. Named after one of his three uncles who were known as the Three Kings: Balthazer, Casper, Melchior. They were born in Alsace but emigrated to St Charles MO. Hence Gasper was Anglized as Casper. At 16 he was orphaned and a German family took him to Mankato MN to live and work. Great grandfather became very wealthy with many drug stores. A devout Catholic he and Mary his wife were very generous to the church. First generation
……only in America.
Good thinking time wise. The priest at Old St Mary’s Cathedral was wond
Oops he wondered if the Magi’s gifts went with the Holy Family to Egypt?.
Isaiah 56 makes it clear that the covenant would be extended to all those who obey. It says “for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Christ said the same thing when cleaning the Temple of the money changers, who had setup shop in the Court of the Gentiles. The Court of the Gentiles was the only place where non-convert Gentiles could pray to the God of the Jews. You could say that driving out the money changers was making room for the Gentiles.