Epiphany
Cathedral of Mary Our Queen
January 4, 2026
The Search of the Magi
Once again, we celebrate the search of the Three Wise Men – astrologers, we sometimes call them, because, in their search for truth, they gazed at the stars, seeking in the heavens clues to the meaning of life and human destiny. A 7th century monk, St. Maximus the Confessor, describes their search thus: “A star glitters by day in the East and leads the Wise Men to the place where the Incarnate Word lies, to show that the [Eternal] Word [made flesh] surpasses in a mystical way knowledge derived from the senses, and to lead the Gentiles to the full light of knowledge” (Five-Hundred Chapters).
Although he is but a child lying in a manger, Jesus is “the light of the world”, for “…in [him] are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Attracted by the One who is “God from God and light from light,” the Wise Men set out on their journey of encounter. They first encounter the insecure and vicious Herod, who is disturbed by reports of a newborn king in Bethlehem of Judea, fearful that a rival has appeared on the scene. Herod has no interest in the Wise Men’s search for truth, wisdom, & knowledge. Herod’s only interest is in power – his own. So, with destructive intent, he sends the Wise Men on their way with the request that they report back to him what they found.
Led onward by a star, the Wise Men continue their journey to the humble dwelling where they encounter Mary and Joseph, and the Baby Jesus lying in a manger. It is there that they encounter the One for whom they had been searching, the One who would fulfill the deepest longings of their mind and heart, the One who would bring them peace, joy, and wholeness. The prayer St. Anselm of Canterbury penned centuries later applies to them: “Let me seek you [Lord] in desiring you and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you and love you in finding you” (Proslogion). In finding Jesus, the Three Wise men attained their kingly status. The gifts they presented to the newborn Savior summed up their newfound, royal knowledge and wisdom: gold, symbolizing Jesus’ kingship, he the Lord of History; frankincense, symbolizing Jesus’ divinity; and myrrh symbolizing Jesus’ humanity & mortality, as if to foreshadow his suffering.
The Search Goes Continues
The Three Wise men from the East personify our search for God. No longer do we gaze at the stars to divine the truth about God and ourselves, but as Maximus the Confessor teaches us, “the faith is like a star which leads those who are called by the power of grace…to recognize the Word incarnate” (op. cit.).
Let us make no mistake, the search continues. Just yesterday, I attended the Seek Conference in Columbus, Ohio. It was a gathering of 17,000 young adults, mostly college age, young people seeking the face of the Lord Jesus, seeking the fullness of the faith, seeking how to give their lives in love to the Lord and to others. At 8:30 in the morning, a vast auditorium was filled with young people. They were avidly participating in Holy Mass, listening attentively to the Word of God, soaking up the Divine Word as dry ground absorbs water. And how moved I was as they reverently entered into the Sacrifice of the Mass. Belief in the power of Christ’s Cross and Resurrection, belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist – was palpable. Later, I met with the many young people from Baltimore who were in attendance. They were from UMBC, Towson, Hopkins, and various parishes. They packed the room that had been reserved for the meeting and I spoke with as many of these young people as I could. It would do your heart good to meet them – God is at work in our midst!
There are other signs that the search for the fullness of faith is underway. Here at the Cathedral, more than 30 young people will enter the Church at Easter, and throughout the Archdiocese, it is projected that more than 1,000 will enter. As you’ve heard me say many times, the Archdiocese of Baltimore is blessed with 61 seminarians, and more than 17 are in application for next year. Mass attendance in the Archdiocese is up nearly 10% year over year. And perhaps you will be surprised to learn that last year, more than 100,000 men, many of them young, joined the Knights of Columbus.
Going Home by Another Route
What is happening? Is all this the result of clever slogans or careful planning? – I think not! Perhaps what is happening in the hearts of these young people is the same thing that happened in the hearts of the Wise Men. The Wise Men were told in a dream “to return home by another route.” Perhaps our young people are being told by the Spirit of God, to find their way back to their spiritual home by travelling a route other than the one mapped out by our culture – a culture that demonstrates time and again its incapacity to make us happy.
That “other route” was summed up by St. Therese of Lisieux when she wrote: “On the day of my conversion, charity entered my heart, and with it a yearning, to forget myself always. Thenceforth I was happy!” When our search for God leads us to the Incarnate Word, charity enters our heart, and with it a yearning, not to give the Lord gold or frankincense or myrrh, but to give him our very selves, thus fulfilling the deepest longings of our hearts. ‘Let [us, O Lord], seek you in desiring you, and desire you in seeking you, find you in loving you, and love you in finding you.” Amen!