Feast of Epiphany of the Lord
January 6th 2018
Gospel: Matthew 2,1-12
Homily of the Pontiff Samuel
(Draft)
«The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh» (Mt 2:10-11). This passage of Matthew’s Gospel, brings us back to live the moment in which Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is welcomed and worshiped as the Son of God by three wise men of far countries, who started their journey following the Star (Mt 2:2.7), the Sign given by the Father to humanity, which led them to the Grotto where the Father gave humanity a part of Himself, Christ, His Only Begotten Son (Jn 1:14b; 1Jn 4:9) who, grafted into the Bosom of Her who is the Sign, Mary, by means of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35), became flesh and came to dwell among us (Jn 1:14), Sign of Truth and of Eternal Life.
The three wise men did not profess the religion that was dominant in that land at that time, but they came from distant countries, with other cultures and other religious beliefs. However, even without understanding the extraordinary event that awaited them, they set off on a journey, animated by good will. And following the Star, they found (God). They found (God) because they wanted to find (Him), without fear of questioning their life, their same culture or their religious beliefs. Thus, the Star led them to the Saviour (Lk 2:9).
Now as then, those who want to find the Sign of God in history, must seek It (Mt 7:7), by abandoning their human certainties and their beliefs, and letting themselves be led by the Star, Mary, who guides the people on their journey, to contemplate the Saviour (Acts 5:31; 13:23). Following Mary, the Star of God who guides every man and woman of good will, no one will ever lose sight of the presence of the Spirit of the Saviour (2Tim 1:10; Tit 1:4, 2:13; 2Pt 1:1), which proceeds in history and manifests Himself to those who want to find Him.
On this day, humanity will feel the presence of God’s sons who, on their journey, will lead the people and will make every heart searching the Truth to experience the live presence of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, who has come down in this Land of Love to bring the hearts of the sons back to the Father’s Heart (Mal 3:24), so that this Cradle, the second and last Grotto of the manifestation of God, may shine in the hearts of everyone, so that many people may welcome the universality of the Christian message that this Mother Church, expression of the Father, will make more and more heard.
To be able to live all this, in these our times we must understand once again every sign that the Father has wanted to give to all humanity (Is 7:14; 9:5). Every sign that leads to Christ and to His Spirit (Rom 8:9b), which was given in the history of man and of humanity to bring all the hearts back to live holiness, and a live and total faithfulness to the Father’s Heart, in the respect of His will. All that has been handed down, will be proposed again and made understood so to ensure that Christian identity may be understood in the essence and lived in the substance, without the justifications or the mystifications of who, in this time, has become the promoter of the greatest anti‑Christian revolt in the history of God, aimed to eradicate the true Christianity from the hearts of all peoples (cf. 1Jn 2:18). Those who have become apostates (2Thess 2:3), and have wanted to challenge the Father, forget that there is a limit and a time for everything, which is the limit and the time established by the Father: «A time, two times, and half a time» (Dan 7:25; 12,7; Rev 12:14).
At that time, who were the ones who came to adore the Sign of God? The priests? The scholars? The savants? No. Only the humble shepherds (Lk 2:15) and the wise men come from far countries (Mt 2: 1-2). Jesus and history teach us this.
Mary, the Mother Church, the Cradle of the Father’s Love and the Tabernacle of His live Love (Rev 21:2-3), are the Sign given in these times to this arid and lost humanity, which closes the ears for not wanting to hear and the eyes for not wanting to see the work aimed to de‑Christianize the peoples, enacted by the “Pharisees” and the “Herods” of today, who try, by deceit and mendacity, to kill in the bud the Sign of God (Lk 2:34), causing a state of devastation in the hearts of so many innocents (see Mt 2:16) called to live the manifestation of God.
For those who want to understand and welcome the Sign of the Father, the time has come to undertake the journey, following the example of the humble shepherds and the wise men from distant countries, and to get away from today’s Pharisees who, even knowing (Mt 2:4), did not go to see and did not allow those who would have desired to go and contemplate, to welcome the Sign given by the Father to humanity.
Now as then, he who wants to recognize and welcome the Sign of God descended from Heaven in this Blessed Land, is to renounce to himself, to his prejudices and to his human convictions (Mt 16:24); and to set out on the journey, led by the shining example of life of God’s Maiden, She who with wisdom, sapience and faithfulness, gave all Herself to the Father’s call and, embodying the virtues of Mary, has led a lot of people to contemplate the Sign of Love donated by the Father in this Land.
To you all, yearning to know the whole Truth, I say: «Come, follow Mary, She who, with Her example of life, leads you to recognize in Baby Jesus the Sign (Lk 2:12) given by the Father for the salvation of this humanity. Come, come to this Cradle of Love, the last Grotto of God’s manifestation: bow down (2Kings 17:36; Ps 29:2; à-95:6; 99:5.9; Mt 2:11), to worship the Spirit of the Saviour (2Pet 2:20), descended to this Land of Love to give Life to all His sons (Jn 1:12) and to all men and women of good will» (Lk 2:14). And so be it.
