Epiphany

Epiphany, or the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, falls on Sunday, January 5 this year.  We celebrate when the three kings came from the east to pay homage to Jesus.

“The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.⁷ In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.⁸ Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.⁹ The Epiphany shows that “the full number of the nations” now takes its “place in the family of the patriarchs”, and acquires Israelitica dignitas¹⁰ (is made “worthy of the heritage of Israel”).” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, 528

Learn more about Epiphany, from Northwest Catholic:

• Learn more about the gold, frankincense and myrrh that the kings presented to baby Jesus.
• Do this Catholic Epiphany Blessing for your home.
• Learn about celebrating Epiphany in your home.

Learn about all the feast days of the Christmas season and ways to celebrate at archseattle.org/Christmas.