3 wise men
What Gifts Do You Have To Offer?
Feast Of The Epiphany
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: January 8, 2023
I saw a story of an old grandmother, a good woman, who was about to go to sleep for the evening on a fierce winter night, when a knock came on her door. It was the wise men, and they told her excitedly about the King born in Bethlehem; they urge her to come and honour him. She peeks out the door. It is an awful night, cold and blustery. She looks back at her warm bed, hesitates, and says, “I will see the Christ Child – tomorrow.” She returns to bed.
Well, the next day she packs some food and gifts and goes off to Bethlehem. But the stable is empty when she gets there. She is sad she missed them but determined. In fact, for the rest of her life she looks for the Child. In her endless journey she finds children, finds them everywhere. In many different places and situations. She leaves gifts at each place hoping that it is the Christ Child.
When she became very old and close to death, the Christ Child appears to her wearing the face of every child she has ever touched and offered gifts. She dies happily knowing that, in spite of her first hesitancy, she did indeed find the Child, not in the manger where she expected him, but in the poor and needy where she never expected him.
All of us need to be on a journey throughout our life. Search for the Christ Child. Offer gifts to those we meet. Each day and in each moment, be searching for the Christ Child in unexpected people and places. Be ready to offer gifts to all we meet. What gifts do we have to offer?
The gift of kindness, the gift of a smile, of whatever we are able to give at that time. The gift of our time to listen, the gift of our prayer on behalf of others, the gift of a phone call to someone alone or grieving. The gift of our wealth for those who are struggling without enough.
Like the Wise Men, we all need to be on a journey, searching for the Christ Child. Are you ready to see the Christ Child today in some unexpected place, in some unexpected person? The grace of God, the light of God, reaches out to the whole world, to all people. Offer the gift of your very self to all you meet, offer gifts from your treasure chest. In this way you can meet the Christ Child just like those Wise Men.
Why Did You Come To Mass?
Epiphany 2020
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: January 5, 2020
Why did you come to Mass today? Each of you may have your own reasons for coming here.
What are some possible reasons?
- You wanted to hear a good homily.
- You like to hear good liturgical hymns and music.
- Somebody else insisted that you come today, perhaps a parent or spouse.
- Maybe you have read some recent studies that show the health benefits of spirituality.
- Maybe you like to meet up with some fellow parishioners.
- Maybe you are following the church’s obligation to attend Sunday Mass.
- Perhaps you wanted to pray with your family.
All of these might be good reasons to come to the Eucharist. But, the fundamental reason we come to a church to celebrate the Eucharist is the same reason that the Wise Men, the Magi, went out on their journey. We come here to search for Jesus.
Like the Wise Men, when we find Jesus, we meet the Living God, we see a model for our human lives. We are to be seekers as the Wise men were seekers. In searching for Jesus we are searching for God, we are searching for truth.
All of us are to search for truth, to search for God. In our lives we are to seek to find Jesus. Where do we go to find Jesus?
In The Bible, especially the Gospels. Spend time reading the Gospels, search to know Jesus.
In The poor and needy. Go visit someone in need, there you will find Jesus hidden in the poor.
In The Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Here in this Eucharist we encounter Jesus as the Word of God and the Bread of Life. “The way we pray is the way we believe.” In this Eucharist we can find Jesus and come to know him.
In Science. As Catholics we believe that wherever there is something true, we can embrace it. In science as we come to understand the universe we also come to know more deeply the mystery of God.
In other believers. Our Catholic Faith says that whatever is true, whatever is good in other religions can also be embraced by us.
Finally, within our own family and friends.
Story of a man who took great pride in that he would search for truth wherever in the world. He would travel all around the world to meet wise figures, to discover new truths. One day, his wife took him aside and pointed out to him that in all this searching for truth all around the world he was neglecting his family. It seems he did not want to hear that truth.
Like the wise men, we are to be seekers, searching to find and know Jesus. As we seek for truth wherever it is found, we find Jesus and so we come to know God. But, in seeking for Jesus, we need to make sure we do not miss Jesus right near to us, within our family, our friends, our ordinary parish.