The Epiphany: Journey’s End or the Start of a New Life in Christ?
Friday 6th January 2023When we began our Advent journey in November, we were challenged to reflect on the story of The Magi and to begin our own journey to encountering The Lord this Christmas.
During this time, we explored a range of themes to help us on our way; discussing ideas of repentance, mission, and responding to God’s call to discover new ways of preparing our hearts for Christ and building up His Kingdom on earth.
But as the Christmas season draws to an end, what are the next steps for us? And how do the lessons we’ve learned during Advent help us as we move forward into the New Year?
Join us as we explore three key lessons from this story of the Epiphany to help us keep the message of Christmas alive throughout the year.
You can follow the links throughout the piece for a recap on our journey so far!
Let God surprise you!
The Wise Men made their way to Herod’s palace in search of the new King of the Jews. Expecting grandeur and majesty, their quest reached its fulfilment not in the splendour of a royal palace, but kneeling in the hay before an infant lying in the manger of a humble dwelling.
How many times has God surprised you in the past? How many times have you encountered Him somewhere or in someone you didn’t expect? There is no limit to the ways in which God can reach out to us and He can often communicate in ways we least expect. So, this New Year, we invite you to let go of your expectations, to open your mind to all the ways God might be trying to speak to you, and to let yourselves be surprised!
Give your heart
The Three Kings arrived bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, pointing to Christ as king, priest, and sacrifice. However, the most precious gift was the very presence of The Magi themselves, the journey they undertook to be there, and their humble homage before a new-born baby.
The incarnation is the start of the ultimate act of love; God Himself becoming man, sharing in our humanity so that we could share in His divinity through His life, death, and resurrection. All He asks for in return is our hearts and our humble devotion to seeking a life lived with Him.
“And they returned to their country by another route.”
Since we first considered the story of the Magi at the beginning of Advent, we too have been on a journey that has led us to the manger. But what next? Do we go back to the same old life as before?
Once again, we follow in the footsteps of The Magi and prepare to journey on “by another route”. Fuelled by the grace we receive through the sacraments of the Church, our challenge is to now live out the themes we have been exploring during the season of Advent: we are invited to look at life with the new perspective opened up to us through repentance and reconciliation; to take up our roles as missionary disciples; and to say “yes” to God’s dream for each one of us.
As we begin a New Year, it’s the perfect opportunity to think of the future, any changes we’d like to make to our lives, new challenges to embrace, or certain habits we’d like to move away from.
This year, why not make that change in your faith life? Whether that’s trying a new way of praying, dedicating more time to prayer, or embracing the graces of regular confession.
To help you get started, we’ve found one or two things you might like to explore:
Women Saints and Spirituality Programme
Monthly Saturday Devotions at The Hidden Gem, Manchester
Of course, we cannot do this on our own, so we ask for God’s grace and the constant intercession of Our Blessed Lady as we move forward into a renewed life in Christ as we pray: Stay with us, Lord, on our journey.
Tagged | Advent | Catholic Church | Christmas
