“We saw his star in the east and came to worship him” (Mt 2:2): this is the testimony that the Magi gave to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, announcing to them the birth of the King of the Jews. On the occasion of the Epiphany of the Lord celebrated this January 6, the Holy Father, in his homily, returned to the three characteristics of the star, “luminous, visible to all, it indicates a path”, of which speaks the evangelist Luke.
Françoise Niamien – Vatican City
On this solemnity of the Epiphany celebrated this Monday, January 6 in the Vatican and in Italy, Pope Francis presided over mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the presence of at least 5,000 faithful. “Feast of the Magi or Kings» in the West, the Epiphany of the Lord is the manifestation of God to the world. “After seeing a new light in the sky, the wise men set out, having changed their lives.recalls the Pope, evoking the star cited by Saint Luke.
“The Bright Star”
First, he notes, “she is bright“. In Jesus’ day, many rulers called themselves “stars”, because they felt important, powerful and famous. However, this “It was not their light that revealed to the wise men the miracle of Christmas.declared Francis emphasizing that “their splendor, artificial and cold, the result of calculations and power games, could not respond to the need for novelty and hope of these people being in search». «It was another light that did it, symbolized by the star, which illuminates and warms by burning and allowing itself to be consumed. The star speaks to us of the only light that can show everyone the path to salvation and happiness: that of love.“, he stressed.
And the Pope indicates that from this “love of God who, by becoming man, gave himself to us by sacrificing his life (…) we are also called to spend ourselves for one another, becoming, with his help, a reciprocal sign of hope, including in the dark nights of life”.
Also, through love, “we can bring to Jesus, the people we meet, by making them know, in the Son of God made man, the beauty of the Father’s face (cf. Is 60, 2) and his way of loving, made of closeness, of compassion and tenderness“. A mission which, according to the Bishop of Rome, must be accomplished without “extraordinary instruments, nor sophisticated means, but by making our hearts luminous in faith, our looks generous in welcoming, our gestures and our words fraternal, full of kindness and humanity».
“Visible to all”
The second characteristic of the star is defined by this “visibility by all». «The magi do not follow the indications of a secret code, but a star that they see shining in the firmament. They notice it; others, like Herod and the scribes, do not even notice his presence”. The star, however, “is always there, accessible to anyone who looks up to the sky, looking for a sign of hope“, said the Holy Father. Then to emphasize that “God does not reveal himself to closed circles or to a privileged few, but he offers his companionship and accompaniment to all those who seek him with a sincere heart.».
For Francis, this star visible to all, indicates in fact that “God is still looking for everyone“. By becoming a man, “He comes into the world to meet every man and woman on earth, regardless of ethnicity, language or people. He entrusts us with the same universal mission“. For this reason, “it calls on us to ban all forms of selection, marginalization and rejection of people, and to promote, in ourselves and in the environments where we live, a strong culture of welcome, in which the barriers of fear and rejection are replaced by open spaces of meeting, integration and sharing; safe places where everyone can find warmth and shelter», insisted the Pope. The star speaks to us of God’s dream: “that all humanity, in the richness of its differences, manages to form a single family, and that it lives in harmony, in prosperity and peace (cf. Is 2, 2-3.4-5)».
The Pope greeting children during mass
The indicated path
Highlighting the third and final characteristic of the star: “that of indicating a path“, the Sovereign Pontiff announced “that this is also an important element of reflection, especially in the context of the Holy Year that we are celebrating, and of which one of the characteristic gestures is the pilgrimage». «By tracing the path, in fact, the star tells us that God meets us where we are, to invite us to set out, to grow with Him in love until it becomes the meaning of our existence.. The starreminds us that on this path, in the Church, we are all part of a people on the move (cf. Ecum. Vat. II, Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 2), who walks humbly, day after day, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus».
The light of the starinvites us to undertake an inner journey” who, as Saint John Paul II wrote for the Great Jubilee of the year 2000, “free our hearts from everything that is not charity“, in order to “to fully meet Christ, confessing our faith in Him and receiving the abundance of His mercy. Only in this way, converted and forgiven, can we announce to all, with missionary enthusiasm, the proximity of the Kingdom of God(ivi.; cf. Exhortation apostolice evangelii gaudium, n. 23). marcher ensembleis a characteristic of someone who goes in search of the meaning of life». «And we, looking at the star, can also renew our commitment to being men and women “of the Way”, always animated by a healthy concern, which pushes us to seek new opportunities to broaden our hearts and to intensify the bonds that unite us to each other in charity“, he explained.
At the end of his homily, the Pope prayed that the Lord would “so with us lights which designate him, like Mary; generous in the gift of self, open in welcoming and humble in walking together, so that we can meet Him, recognize Him and adore Him, and leave renewed, bringing the light of His love into the world».
