We have seen the Light that hovered over the Child and His Holy Family that now hovers over our family with the same intensity and with the same purpose!

Today we accept the mantle of the magi who now must leave the serenity of the cave and proclaim that the Light they have seen is the brightness of God’s Glory.  We take this responsibility to preach by our words and actions not as a part time Christian, but a lifetime disciple of Jesus.

Our Holy Father speaking about the new evangelization has called us to preach this way: To return to an intense sacramental life; to support by tithing and service the mission of bringing others to Church; and to enter into dialogue with those who have fallen away from God and no longer consider Him relevant to their lives.

You are in the marketplace. You witness first-hand the Star which shines brightly, pointing to Jesus as the only Way to get through the madness that is becoming the world without God.  Our Christmas celebrated this year in its simplicity and joy is but a foreshadowing of the life we could live everyday of we but follow that Star. What makes us different is that Christmas for the Disciple is not what we give as gifts but that we give gifts.

The work of the disciple, of which you are all engaged, is to first remember for ourselves and then to present again to the heart and the mind of the distracted and confused families in our community, the beauty and the constant newness of our encounter with God. God GIVES us a gift and is well pleased!!

We experience God at this manger, at this Altar and at the table of our family gatherings. We encounter God in our giving. It is here the world will find its true happiness and where the Star will take its final rest.

And now the three wise men place in our hands the three gifts of their humble encounter with Christ and beckon us to imitate their giving: Gold, the treasure of our catechism, Frankincense, the offering of our Sacrifice in the Mass and Myrrh, the peace and contentment of knowing, loving and serving God in this world and in the next.

We can be so happy today because His Light has come and the Glory of the Lord shines upon us. You who have accepted the torch of this new Way of living as a result of what you have seen and experienced here will brighten our neighborhoods with more giving and true joy.

“You yourselves have become radiant at what you see” (Isaiah 60: 1-6)! Go, be the Star pointing to Christ, the true Light of the World!