Vatican News
On Tuesday, marking the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Pope Leo XIV presided over Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica for some 5,800 faithful.
At the start of the Mass, the Pope closed the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica, the last of the Holy Doors opened for the Jubilee Year. The gesture marked the end of months in which “a stream of innumerable men and women, pilgrims of hope,” crossed the threshold of the Basilica, journeying toward what the Pope described as “the new Jerusalem, the city whose doors are always open.”
The Magi and Herod
Reflecting on the Gospel of the Day, taken from Matthew, the Pope in his homily focused on the joy of the Magi and the fear of Herod, noting that Scripture never hides the tension that accompanies God’s manifestation. “Every time Sacred Scripture speaks of God manifesting himself,” he said, “it does not hide the contrasting reactions, such as joy and agitation, resistance and obedience, fear and longing.” The Epiphany, he added, reveals a God whose presence never leaves things as they are: “Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, aware that in his presence nothing stays the same.”
This divine appearing, the Pope continued, marks the beginning of hope. God’s presence “puts an end to that type of melancholic complacency which causes people endlessly to say, ‘There is nothing new under the sun.’” Instead, “something new begins which determines the present and the future,” fulfilling the prophetic promise: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
Yet it is Jerusalem, the Pope continued – a city accustomed to revelation, that is troubled by the Magi’s search. Those who know the Scriptures and “think they have all the answers,” the Pope noted, “seem to have lost the ability to ask questions and cultivate a sense of longing.” The city is unsettled by those who arrive “moved by hope,” threatened by what should instead be a source of joy. “This reaction,” he said, “also challenges us as a Church.”
The searching of today’s men and women
Reflecting then on the Jubilee, Pope Leo invited the faithful to consider the spiritual searching of today’s men and women. “Who were these men and women, and what motivated them?” he asked. “What did they find? What was in their hearts, their questions, their feelings?” Like the Magi, he said, many still feel compelled to set out. “The Magi still exist today,” he stressed. They are those who “sense the need to go out and search, accepting the risks associated with their journey,” even in a world that is often “unpleasant and dangerous.”
The Gospel, the Pope said, calls the Church not to fear this movement of searching humanity, but “to appreciate it, and orient it toward God who sustains us.” This is not a God who can be controlled. “He is a God who can unsettle us because he does not remain firmly in our hands like the idols of silver and gold; instead, he is alive and life-giving, like the Baby whom Mary cradled in her arms and whom the wise men adored.”
For this reason, holy places must communicate life. Jubilee pilgrimage sites, the Pope said, “must diffuse the aroma of life, the unforgettable realisation that another world has begun.” He then posed the question: “Is there life in our Church? Is there space for something new to be born? Do we love and proclaim a God who sets us on a journey?”
In contrast there is Herod, whose fear of losing power distorts his response to God’s action. Herod, the Pope noted, “fears for his throne and is agitated about those things that he feels are beyond his control.” Fear, he warned, “does indeed blind us.” The joy of the Gospel, by contrast, “liberates us,” making believers “prudent, yes, but also bold, attentive and creative,” and opening paths “different to those already traveled.”
At the heart of the Epiphany
At the heart of the Epiphany, said Pope Leo, bringing a close to his homily, stands a gift that cannot be bought or controlled. “The child whom the Magi adore is a priceless and immeasurable Good.” His revelation does not take place “in a prestigious location, but in humble place,” and yet to Bethlehem it is said: “You are by no means least.”
“It is wonderful to become pilgrims of hope,” the Pope said. “It is wonderful for us to continue to be pilgrims together.” Finally, he concluded, if the Church resists becoming a monument and remains a home, he concluded, she may yet become “the generation of a new dawn,” guided always by Mary, Star of the Morning, toward “an extraordinary humanity, transformed not by the delusions of the all-powerful, but by God who became flesh out of love.” – Vatican News
