Feast: The Epiphany of the Lord is celebrated on 6 January or the Sunday between 2 January and 8 January.

The feast of the Epiphany has a rich history, especially in the early centuries of Eastern Christianity. Its like a colourful tapestry woven on many strands: at one and the same time it commemorated the birth of Jesus, the visit of Magi, his baptism in Jordan, and the sign he gave a Cana when he turned the water into wine. All of these, it may be suggested, are "epiphanies" or "manifestations" of the divine - every one of them cause for joyful celebration.

In Western Christianity the focus of the feast has narrowed down to the visit of the wise men known as Magi. Yet itself this exotic story invites us to let our horizons be thrown wide open.

Those who come from searching for the Messiah are foreigners from afar, possibly magicians and astrologers, They are sincere seekers for the truth who "divine the mystery" before them. In telling their story Matthew is anticipating the very last versus of is gospel in which Jesus bids the Eleven to go and make disciples of all nations. The readings for this feast are the same each year (A, B and C).

Resources from:

1. "The Weekday Missal - A New Edition - Weekday Masses For the Proper of Seasons * Ordinary Time * The Proper of Saints * Occasional Masses * Masses for the Dead", Collins, 1982, This edition 2005.
2. Break Open the Word