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Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord 2013

Pope Benedict XVI's Homily at Holy Mass
- in English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish

"Dear Brothers and Sisters!
For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history. Thus the liturgy reads the Gospel which relates the journey of the Wise Men, together with the magnificent prophetic visions of the 60th chapter of the Book of Isaiah and Psalm 71, which depict in bold imagery the pilgrimage of the peoples to Jerusalem. Like the shepherds who, as the first visitors to the newborn Child in the manger, embodied the poor of Israel and more generally those humble souls who live in deep interior closeness to Jesus, so the men from the East embody the world of the peoples, the Church of the Gentiles – the men and women who in every age set out on the way which leads to the Child of Bethlehem, to offer him homage as the Son of God and to bow down before him. The Church calls this feast “Epiphany” – the appearance of the Godhead. If we consider the fact that from the very beginning men and women of every place, of every continent, of all the different cultures, mentalities and lifestyles, have been on the way to Christ, then we can truly say that this pilgrimage and this encounter with God in the form of a Child is an epiphany of God’s goodness and loving kindness for humanity (cf Tit 3:4).

Following a tradition begun by Blessed Pope John Paul II, we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord also as the day when episcopal ordination will be conferred on four priests who will now cooperate in different ways in the ministry of the Pope for the unity of the one Church of Jesus Christ in the multiplicity of the particular Churches. The connection between this episcopal ordination and the theme of the pilgrimage of the peoples to Jesus Christ is evident. It is the task of the Bishop in this pilgrimage not merely to walk beside the others, but to go before them, showing the way. But in this liturgy I would like to reflect with you on a more concrete question. Based on the account of Matthew, we can gain a certain idea of what sort of men these were, who followed the sign of the star and set off to find that King who would establish not only for Israel but for all mankind a new kind of kingship. What kind of men were they? And we can also ask whether, despite the difference of times and tasks, we can glimpse in them something of what a Bishop is and how he is to carry out his task.

These men who set out towards the unknown were, in any event, men with a restless heart. Men driven by a restless quest for God and the salvation of the world. They were filled with expectation, not satisfied with their secure income and their respectable place in society. They were looking for something greater. They were no doubt learned men, quite knowledgeable about the heavens and probably possessed of a fine philosophical formation. But they desired more than simply knowledge about things. They wanted above all else to know what is essential. They wanted to know how we succeed in being human. And therefore they wanted to know if God exists, and where and how He exists. Whether He is concerned about us and how we can encounter Him. Nor did they want just to know. They wanted to understand the truth about ourselves and about God and the world. Their outward pilgrimage was an expression of their inward journey, the inner pilgrimage of their hearts. They were men who sought God and were ultimately on the way towards Him. They were seekers after God.

Here we come to the question: What sort of man must he be, upon whom hands are laid in episcopal ordination in the Church of Jesus Christ? We can say that he must above all be a man concerned for God, for only then will he also be truly concerned about men. Inversely, we could also say that a Bishop must be a man concerned for others, one who is concerned about what happens to them. He must be a man for others. But he can only truly be so if he is a man seized by God, if concern for God has also become for him concern for God’s creature who is man. Like the Wise Men from the East, a Bishop must not be someone who merely does his job and is content with that. No, he must be gripped by God’s concern for men. He must in some way think and feel with God. Man has an innate restlessness for God, but this restlessness is a participation in God’s own restlessness for us. Since God is concerned about us, he follows us even to the crib, even to the Cross. “Thou with weary steps hast sought me, crucified hast dearly bought me, may thy pains not be in vain”, the Church prays in the Dies Irae. The restlessness of man for God and hence the restlessness of God for man must unsettle the Bishop. This is what we mean when we say that, above all else, the Bishop must be a man of faith. For faith is nothing less than being interiorly seized by God, something which guides us along the pathways of life. Faith draws us into a state of being seized by the restlessness of God and it makes us pilgrims who are on an inner journey towards the true King of the world and his promise of justice, truth and love. On this pilgrimage the Bishop must go ahead, he must be the guide pointing out to men the way to faith, hope and love.

Faith’s inner pilgrimage towards God occurs above all in prayer. St Augustine once said that prayer is ultimately nothing more than the realization and radicalization of our yearning for God. Instead of “yearning”, we could also translate the word as “restlessness” and say that prayer would detach us from our false security, from our being enclosed within material and visible realities, and would give us a restlessness for God and thus an openness to and concern for one another. The Bishop, as a pilgrim of God, must be above all a man of prayer. He must be in constant inner contact with God; his soul must be open wide to God. He must bring before God his own needs and the needs of others, as well as his joys and the joys of others, and thus in his own way establish contact between God and the world in communion with Christ, so that Christ’s light can shine in the world.

Let us return to the Wise Men from the East. These men were also and above all men of courage, the courage and humility born of faith. Courage was needed to grasp the meaning of the star as a sign to set out, to go forth – towards the unknown, the uncertain, on paths filled with hidden dangers. We can imagine that their decision was met with derision: the scorn of those realists who could only mock the reveries of such men. Anyone who took off on the basis of such uncertain promises, risking everything, could only appear ridiculous. But for these men, inwardly seized by God, the way which he pointed out was more important than what other people thought. For them, seeking the truth meant more than the taunts of the world, so apparently clever.

How can we not think, in this context, of the task of a Bishop in our own time? The humility of faith, of sharing the faith of the Church of every age, will constantly be in conflict with the prevailing wisdom of those who cling to what seems certain. Anyone who lives and proclaims the faith of the Church is on many points out of step with the prevalent way of thinking, even in our own day. Today’s regnant agnosticism has its own dogmas and is extremely intolerant regarding anything that would question it and the criteria it employs. Therefore the courage to contradict the prevailing mindset is particularly urgent for a Bishop today. He must be courageous. And this courage or forcefulness does not consist in striking out or in acting aggressively, but rather in allowing oneself to be struck and to be steadfast before the principles of the prevalent way of thinking. The courage to stand firm in the truth is unavoidably demanded of those whom the Lord sends like sheep among wolves. “Those who fear the Lord will not be timid”, says the Book of Sirach (34:16). The fear of God frees us from the fear of men. It liberates.

Here I am reminded of an episode at the very beginning of Christianity which St Luke recounts in the Acts of the Apostles. After the speech of Gamaliel, who advised against violence in dealing with the earliest community of believers in Jesus, the Sanhedrin summoned the Apostles and had them flogged. It then forbade them from preaching in the name of Jesus and set them free. St Luke continues: “As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the name of Jesus. And every day… they did not cease to teach and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah” (Acts 5:40ff.). The successors of the Apostles must also expect to be repeatedly beaten, by contemporary methods, if they continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that can be heard and understood. Then they can rejoice that they have been considered worthy of suffering for him. Like the Apostles, we naturally want to convince people and in this sense to obtain their approval. Naturally, we are not provocative; on the contrary we invite all to enter into the joy of that truth which shows us the way. The approval of the prevailing wisdom, however, is not the criterion to which we submit. Our criterion is the Lord himself. If we defend his cause, we will constantly gain others to the way of the Gospel. But, inevitably, we will also be beaten by those who live lives opposed to the Gospel, and then we can be grateful for having been judged worthy to share in the passion of Christ.

The Wise Men followed the star, and thus came to Jesus, to the great Light which enlightens everyone coming into this world (cf Jn 1:9). As pilgrims of faith, the Wise Men themselves became stars shining in the firmament of history and they show us the way. The saints are God’s true constellations, which light up the nights of this world, serving as our guides. St Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians, told his faithful that they must shine like stars in the world (cf 2:15).

Dear friends, this holds true for us too. It holds true above all for you who are now to be ordained Bishops of the Church of Jesus Christ. If you live with Christ, bound to him anew in this Sacrament, then you too will become wise men. Then you will become stars which go before men, pointing out to them the right path in life. All of us here are now praying for you, that the Lord may fill you with the light of faith and love. That that restlessness of God for man may seize you, so that all may experience his closeness and receive the gift of his joy. We are praying for you, that the Lord may always grant you the courage and humility of faith. We ask Mary, who showed to the Wise Men the new King of the world (cf Mt 2:11), as a loving mother, to show Jesus Christ also to you and to help you to be guides along the way which leads to him. Amen."

Papa Benedetto's words at the Angelus in St Peter's Square
- in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish

"Dear brothers and sisters!
I apologize for being late. I ordained 4 new bishops in St Peter’s Basilica and the rite lasted a little while. But today we celebrate above all the Epiphany of the Lord, his manifestation to the nations, while many Eastern Churches, according to the Julian Calendar, celebrate Christmas. This slight difference, which superimposes the 2 moments, makes us see that the Child, born in a grotto in Bethlehem, is the light of the world, who directs the journey of all peoples. It is a combination, which makes us reflect, also from the point of view of faith: on the one hand, looking upon Jesus we see the faith of Mary, of Joseph and the shepherds; today, the Epiphany, we see the faith of the 3 magi, who came from the East to worship the king of the Jews.

The Virgin Mary, together with her husband, represent the “stump” of Israel, the “remnant” foretold by the prophets, from which the Messiah was to come forth. The magi represent the peoples, and, we can also say, the civilizations of the earth, the cultures, the religions that are, so to say, on their way to God, in search of his kingdom of peace, justice, truth and freedom. There was at first a nucleus, personified above all by Mary, the “daughter of Zion”: a nucleus of Israel, the people who knows and has faith in that God who is revealed to the Patriarchs and along the path of history. This faith reaches its fulfillment in Mary, in the fullness of time; in her, “blessed because she believed,” the Word became flesh, God “appeared” in the world. Mary’s faith becomes the first fruit and the model of the faith of the Church, the People of the New Covenant. But this people is from the beginning universal, and this we see today in the figures of the magi, who arrive in Bethlehem following the light of a star and the instructions of the Sacred Scriptures.

St Leo the Great says: “There was once promised to Abraham countless descendants who would be begotten not by the flesh but by the fecundity of faith” (Sermon 3 for Epiphany, 1: PL 54, 240). Mary’s faith can be joined with Abraham’s: it is the new beginning of the same promise, of the same unchanging plan of God that now finds its completion in Christ Jesus. And Christ’s light is so limpid and powerful that it makes the language of the cosmos and that of the Scriptures intelligible so that all those who, like the magi, are open to the truth can recognize it and arrive at the contemplation of the Saviour of the world. St Leo continues: “Let the great mass of the nations ... all peoples ... enter in, indeed, let them enter into the family of the patriarchs, let them adore the Creator of the universe, and may God be known not only in Judea but in all the earth”. We can also consider the episcopal ordinations that I had the joy to confer this morning in St Peter’s Basilica from this perspective: 2 bishops will remain in the service of the Holy See and the other 2 will depart to be pontifical representatives in 2 other countries. Let us pray for each of them, for their ministry, and that the light of Christ shine upon the whole world."

After the Angelus

"Cari fratelli e sorelle!
Come ho già indicato, domani le Chiese d’Oriente che seguono il calendario giuliano celebreranno il Natale del Signore: nella gioia della fede comune rivolgo ad esse il mio più cordiale augurio di pace, con uno speciale ricordo nella preghiera. In Italia ricorre oggi la Giornata della Santa Infanzia, dedicata ai bambini che si impegnano per la diffusione del Vangelo e per aiutare concretamente i coetanei che ne hanno più bisogno. Cari bambini, vi ringrazio e vi incoraggio: portate a tutti l’amore di Dio!Cari fratelli e sorelle!

Je suis heureux de saluer les pèlerins francophones et particulièrement nos frères chrétiens d’Orient qui célèbrent le Saint Noël. Je salue également ceux d’entre vous qui sont venus pour l’ordination de Monseigneur Thevenin. L’Épiphanie manifeste que le salut apporté par le Christ est pour tous. En adorant cet Enfant, c’est-à-dire en croyant qu’il est Dieu, notre Sauveur et notre Roi, recevons la mission qu’il nous confie : le faire connaître à ceux qui nous entourent. Soyons comme une étoile pour les personnes qui cherchent l’espérance et repartons de la crèche comblés de la joie de Noël ! Bonne fête à tous !

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims present today, including the boys of the Palestrina Choir of Saint Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, who sang this morning at the solemn Mass of the Epiphany. At that ceremony I had the joy of conferring episcopal ordination upon four priests, including Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu of Nigeria. May the new Bishops be faithful successors of the Apostles, always bearing witness to Christ, who today reveals the face of God to the nations. May the Lord bless all of you and grant you his peace!

Ganz herzlich begrüße ich am heutigen Fest der Erscheinung des Herrn alle deutschsprachigen Pilger und Besucher, besonders alle Gäste, die zur Bischofsweihe von Erzbischof Georg Gänswein nach Rom gekommen sind. Sterndeuter aus dem Osten bringen dem neugeborenen König kostbare Gaben. In den Geschenken kommen drei Aspekte des Mysteriums Christi zum Ausdruck: Das Gold weist auf das Königtum Jesu hin, der Weihrauch auf seine Gottessohnschaft und die Myrrhe auf das Geheimnis seiner Passion. So strahlt uns Christus auf als der Heiland und Retter der Welt. Die Freude des neugeborenen Erlösers erfülle euch alle und eure Familien!

Saludo a los peregrinos de lengua española que participan en esta oración mariana. En esta solemnidad de la Epifanía del Señor, a ejemplo de los Magos de oriente, invito a todos a buscar a Dios con sencillez de espíritu, sin sucumbir ante el desaliento o la crítica. Él se revela a los humildes y a los pobres de espíritu. Él no se cansa de llamar a la puerta de nuestro corazón. Encontrar a Dios es lo mejor que le puede ocurrir a un hombre. Abramos, pues, nuestra vida a la luz de su gracia y descubriremos la fuerza necesaria para edificar una sociedad cada vez más reconciliada y solidaria. Feliz domingo.

Serdecznie pozdrawiam – zgromadzonych na modlitwie Anioł Pański – Polaków. Szczególnie pozdrawiam uczestników Orszaków Trzech Króli, którzy wzorem ewangelicznych Mędrców ze Wschodu, wędrują ulicami wielu miast do duchowego Betlejem, by spotkać narodzonego Zbawiciela. Niech ta inscenizacja umocni wierzących, zbliży do Kościoła tych, którzy się od niego oddalili, pomoże znaleźć Boga tym, którzy Go szukają. Uczestnikom Orszaków i wam wszystkim z serca błogosławię.

Saluto i pellegrini di lingua italiana, in particolare i familiari e gli amici del neo-ordinato Arcivescovo Mons. Vincenzo Zani, Segretario della Congregazione per l’Educazione Cattolica. Saluto l’associazione Famiglie Libere Associate d’Europa che dà vita al corteo storico-folcloristico, ispirato quest’anno alle tradizioni della città di Arezzo e del suo territorio. A tutti auguro una buona festa e un buon anno. Grazie. Buona festa e buon anno!"

BXVI - Angelus, Sunday 6 January 2013 - © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana