By Father Rich Tomkosky
This past Sunday, we celebrated the fact that Jesus came not just to save the Jewish people but the Gentiles (non-Jews) as well. He is the Messiah not just for Israel but for the whole world!
The Wise Men (Magi) from the East coming to adore Jesus shows the inner desire on the part of all people for salvation from sin, death and evil, which the Incarnation of Jesus begins to bring about. What are the lessons for us in celebrating this beautiful feast?
Ponder God’s infinite love for us! God came among us in the person of Jesus to live with us, teach us, and save us by His Glorious Incarnation, Birth, earthly Life for 33 years, culminating in His Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension. Then on Pentecost Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and gave us the gift of the Catholic Church as the Ark of Salvation to continue His mission of salvation until the end of time.
Jesus did His part; now what is our response?! Humility? Seeking the Truth? Growing in virtue? Are we excited about our Catholic faith? Do we realize it is the greatest gift that God has given to us in this life? It is the treasure beyond imagining, for it is the key to entering into eternal bliss with the Most Blessed Trinity – if we live it well!
Our Catholic faith is an infinitely greater gift than any talent we may possess; it is also so much greater than the things the world obsesses about: looking good, possessions, money, status, notoriety and fame! Do we comprehend this reality, and prioritize our lives in accord with our Catholic faith?
Our Catholic faith should be the treasure of our life! Or is it, sometimes in all honesty, an afterthought in our daily life and choices? We go to Mass once a week, maybe, usually skip the Holy Days even though it’s a serious sin to miss, and that’s about the extent of it, in terms of living our Catholic faith. Are we a just a cultural pick & choose Catholic, or are we a committed – all in – Catholic? Something to ponder.
What an example the Wise Men (Magi) set for us in seeking out God and the truth. Why are they called wise? The saints say they were wise because they established proper priorities in life over the years. They were humble enough to give Jesus homage and realize that salvation comes from the Jews as Jesus points out later in the Gospel of John. Jesus is the King of the Jews and the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and now He is also the Savior of the whole human race, of which the wise men are representatives.
They were also wise because they actively sought goodness through living a life of virtue. They sought truth by living a life of study and reflection, on the meaning and purpose of life: pondering the “big questions.” Mary and Joseph were surely amazed by their visit to see Jesus.
In our life, are we searching for ultimate truth for a deeper union with God or are we just satisfied and complacent where we are? If we have questions or even doubts or difficulties in our faith life, do we honestly and diligently seek answers by consulting the Catechism of the Catholic Church, reading good orthodox Catholic spiritual books, asking priests whom we know are faithful to the Church’s Magisterium and not making up their own version of Catholicism for answers to our faith questions? Are we praying and reflecting diligently? Do we follow this holy pattern in our life of seeking the ultimate truth that can only be found in Jesus and in Catholicism?
Finally, the Magi or Wise Men teach us that it is not enough to seek the Truth of God, we also need to give a special gift back to Jesus. They brought Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts represented kingship (gold), divinity/priesthood (frankincense), and death (myrrh) respectively. Jesus fulfilled all those roles in His life: King, God/priest, and Sacrificial Offering for our sins.
What is our gift in return to Jesus? The greatest gift or expression of gratitude to the Lord is to live out our Catholic faith to the fullest, to study it, to treasure it, to protect it from danger, and to live it with passion and integrity. God gives us the holy means to do so through the Sacraments, the Bible and Catechism, daily prayer, and daily opportunities to die to self and grow in the likeness of Christ.
Let’s give our life to Him more fully this year! We will then have a peace, a joy, a meaning, a purpose that alone truly fulfills the deepest desire of the human heart: union with the Trinity! Then we will be wise like the Wise Men! God bless you.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
