Thought on the Epiphany

So while I was at Mass, I had a thought about what else the Epiphany means to us today.

Epiphany means "manifestation" ...Epiphany means "manifestation," and we call it this because Christ was made manifest as King and Saviour to the Gentile Magi. And that's certainly the way it was portrayed in today's homily.

Generally, it is often pointed out that it was Gentile Magi using a method proscribed in Judaism (Astrology) to come to Christ. It is part of St. Matthew's wider purpose of showing that Jesus came to the Jews who did not always recognise the signs that point to Him, and then to the Gentiles of whose number some find it easier to see the signs. And while I think that's all well and good ... I think there's something even more profound about this image.

You see, I think this prefigures the Eucharist. Every time the priest says "hoc est enim Corpus meum," Christ becomes really present. That is to say, he becomes manifest. And just as Christ's full majesty was "hidden" by His human body, so too is the Majesty of Christ "hidden" from us by the accidents of bread and wine.

That is what I think is most profound in this historical instance. Not only did the Magi fulfill Old Testament Prophecy, as the Holy Father points out, by their coming. But they and we have a powerful image of Christ's lasting legacy to the World: his death which redeemed us. And this same redemptive death -- the one died once and for all -- is made present, made manifest to us each time the Mass is celebrated.