Collect Series: Collect for Solemnity of Epiphany

 COLLECT SERIES

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

COLLECT PRAYER

The Collect for the Solemnity of Epiphany Year B reads as follows:

 

O God, who on this day 

revealed Your Only Begotten Son to the nations by the guidance of a star, 

grant in Your mercy, that we who know You already by faith, 

may be brought to behold the beauty your subline glory. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

 

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

 

In making this prayer tangible, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

1. How has God revealed Himself to You in your life?
2. How will God be King of my heart this coming week?
3. How will Jesus shine brightly in my life this coming year?
4. What are the shadows of my world which I need to address this coming year
5. How can I reach the brightness of Heaven this coming week? 
6. What steps will I take to start the process/start again?

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION

 Today’s Gospel is from Mt 2:1-12.  In this Gospel we hear a distinct contrast in the way  the 3 Wise men from the East and Herod reacted to the news of the birth of Jesus.  The Wise men did homage and then opened their gifts, whilst Herod, fearful  of losing power and status was insincere in his intention of doing homage but wanted to kill the baby.  He perceived the birth of Jesus as a threat to his power whereas the Wise men accepted the prophecies from Scripture  and wanted to genuinely find this new born King.

We may wish to ask ourselves as we ponder this Gospel which character do we identify most in our lives. Are we fearful and territorial at work fearing that someone else may be promoted and not us?  Do we know how to give Jesus homage and worship Him?  Do we spend any time in our prayer adoring the Lord or are our prayers focused on our needs or needs of others?  Intercessory prayer is good but are we only asking God for our needs – in a sense using Him rather than being in relationship with Him.  I am sure we have all had relationships where we have felt used rather than appreciated, loved and respected.  What about God- do we adore and give Him full attention at Mass and in our prayer time?

Many parishes still have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time worshiping and praising Jesus in this way. Even if your parish does not have adoration, do not let that stop you from incorporating adoration of the Blessed Sacrament into our prayer and spiritual lives.  We can still gain the benefit of it if we approach it with faith. Nothing is impossible with God.  Jesus will know our desire to spend time with Him and will come to us via online adoration.

On the Solemnity of Epiphany, we can review our spiritual lives and ask ourselves which star are we following?  Are we following Jesus, the light of the world who will shine in our darkness/sin and help us or are we following the star of fame, fortune and power like Herod? 

If you have not made adoration of the Blessed Sacrament part of your prayer life up to this point, why not review your prayer life and commitments and make adoring the Lord a priority in your week either in person in your parish or another parish or online. 

You may wish to  sing today The First Nowell