Saturday, January 4, 2025
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, January 4 (today!) // Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
Sunday, January 5 // The Epiphany of the Lord
Monday, January 6 // Optional Memorial of Saint André Bessette, Religious (in USA)
Tuesday, January 7 // Optional Memorial of Saint Raymond of Penyafort, Priest
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
We celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord tomorrow, as we do every year on the Sunday closest to January 6. Epiphany is the word the Church uses to talk about Jesus manifesting Himself as the Messiah to the world. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about “[c]aravans of camels” coming and “bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD” (Isaiah 60:6). These and other words of the prophets were like a guiding star for Israel, giving them signs to look for to know the Messiah had come. In the Gospel of Matthew, the “magi from the east” (Matthew 2:1) when following a physical star, sought guidance in Jerusalem from the priests and scribes. The magi went on to Bethlehem and were overjoyed to see the child with His mother. “Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts” (Matthew 2:11). Sounds familiar, right?
When the magi came to do homage to Jesus, did the scribes and priests believe the signs they saw? Did their hearts “throb and overflow” (Isaiah 60:5)? If they had raised their eyes and looked about, they would have seen that the Messiah was at hand, and through Israel shining God’s light on all nations. Saint Paul tells us that we are now all “co-heirs” and “members of the same body” (Ephesians 3:6). The magi were the first gentiles to worship the Savior of the world, and now we still pray, “May all kings bow before him, all nations serve him” (Psalm 72:11). We, as inheritors of this promise, can kneel beside the magi opening the treasure of our hearts and offering the gift of our lives.
I am praying for you this week, dear sister.
Your partner in the promise,
Susanna
Read the Readings for The Epiphany of the Lord:
First Reading // Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm // Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Second Reading // Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Gospel // Matthew 2:1-12
Prayer Practice // Light a candle today to celebrate the Light Who came into the world this Epiphany.
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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