LESSON for Epiphany of the Lord

God Is Faithful

My dear brothers and sisters, every human heart is absolutely starving for someone to trust. Someone who not only will promise to never let us down, never judge us, never abandon us, but someone with enough goodness and enough power to keep that promise. Every one of us needs someone we can lean on no matter what, someone we can go to no matter what, someone who will be glad to see us no matter what - someone who is utterly, totally, unhesitatingly, faithful. That someone is God.

The coming of the Wise Men to adore the baby Jesus is one of the Bible's most beautiful proofs of God's faithfulness. More than 500 years before Christ's birth, God had promised, through his prophet Isaiah, that he was going to lead "all the nations" to Jerusalem to share in the light of salvation. He even promised that they would bring gold and incense.

The Wise Men came from the non-Jewish world; they represent the nations. By coming to Christ, they enter into the light of salvation bringing gifts. This shows us that God is good because he kept his promise. It also shows us that God is all-powerful - the ups and downs of history are under his control. And this is our God, the same God that we come to worship Him today. The same God who will give himself to us today in the Eucharist.

All of God's goodness and power are ours because we belong to Christ and Christ is the incarnation of God's faithfulness. Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.

It means trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:

• Let nothing trouble you / Let nothing frighten you
• Everything passes / God never changes
• Patience / Obtains all
• Whoever has God / Wants for nothing
• God alone is enough.

The Sacred Heart Keeps His Promise

We have all heard of the famous promises that the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to Saint Margaret Mary. One of these promises was that anyone who faithfully goes to Mass and worthily receives Holy Communion on nine First Fridays of the month in a row is sure to die with the sacraments.

On summer, 2008 there was tragedy struck a Catholic high school in Chile. This particular school practices the First Friday devotions every year. On the fateful day, a busload of 27 girls was traveling on an annual, week-long field trip.

The bus was driving along a winding country road near the mountains. The inexperienced bus driver took one of the turns too fast, and the bus slammed into the barrier at the side of the road. The bus tipped over and rolled several times before it crashed to a stop only a short distance away from a ravine 200 yards deep. Some of the girls were thrown out of the bus; some were pinned underneath it; others were stuck inside of it. All of them were injured, and some lay there dying.

It just so happened that a few hundred yards behind the bus, on the same road, there was a Catholic priest driving back to his parish. When he turned the corner where the accident occurred, the dust hadn't even settled yet. He saw the overturned bus, pulled off the side of the road, and rushed to the scene with his stole and his holy oils. Nine of the teenage girls in the accident died, but they died with the comfort and grace of the sacraments, and their families can rest assured that they are with the Lord.

The Sacred Heart had kept his promise, because he is faithful. Christ doesn't always show his faithfulness by shielding us from the cross (though many times he does); rather, he shows his faithfulness by staying right by our side and sharing our crosses, even when they hurt the most.

Following the Star of Conscience

God is always guiding us, always accompanying us; he never forgets about us. To live in tune with this beautiful, powerful truth of our faith - that we can count on God - means to freely obey our conscience. Conscience is the secret chamber of the soul. Only two people have the key: you and God.

In that secret chamber of our conscience, God shows us the star that can lead us to true meaning and joy. In that secret chamber of our conscience, God tells us what we need to leave behind in order to become truly free.

What has he been telling us our conscience? What has he been asking of each of us? He loves each of us more than we love ourselves, and so he is always urging us forward on the path of life.

Like a good coach, he never stops encouraging us to give our best, to be true to our Christian calling. Maybe he has been nudging your conscience, telling you to break off an unhealthy relationship or to take the first step to heal a broken one. Maybe he has been inviting you to follow your true vocation, maybe to the priesthood or the consecrated life. Maybe he has been warning you to be more faithful to a particular relationship or responsibility.

Only you and God know which star he has been pointing out. Sometimes we are afraid to follow it. Today he is reminding us that we have nothing to be afraid of. He is trustworthy. During this Mass, let's ask for the grace to follow that star. And at Holy Communion, let's pray for all those people who have stopped following it, or who still haven't seen it. God hasn't given up on them, and neither should we.