Happy Epiphany!

COMPARE AND CONTRAST:

The birth, as told in the Gospel of Luke, was heralded by an angel, whose words to the shepherds of Bethlehem were, “Be not afraid, for I bring you tidings of great joy.” The Gospel of Matthew tells us of the three wise men from the East who, guided by a star, visited the babe bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This is the story of Christmas that we, as Christians, need to tell. We need to be sure that our children know it, that it’s emphasized in religious education classes—and in our homes.

(….)

As for the four biblical stories outlined above, Catholics generally had a high level of belief, but there too, the numbers are trending downward.  In 2017, 83 percent said they believe in the virgin birth (86 percent in 2014), 82 percent said an angel announced Jesus’ birth to shepherds (90 percent), 80 percent said wise men guided by a star brought Jesus gifts (84 percent), and 87 percent said Jesus was laid in a manger (92 percent).  In 2014, 76 percent said they believed all four elements happened; in 2017, 71 percent said that.  While those numbers are not dramatically poor, the survey found that millennials, including Christian millennials, are less likely than older respondents to believe all four biblical stories.  We don’t want to wring our hands over these numbers, but we do want to open our eyes and try to halt or even reverse the slide. The Christmas story, after all, is the start of what has been called The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Don’t Gloss over the Christmas Story (Editorial, Catholic New York 12/21/2017)

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany on which we hear the familiar story of the
Magi, those ancient astronomers who follow a divine GPS to discover the One they are searching
for. Although scripture scholars remind us that this is not a historical event but rather an infancy
narrative pregnant with theological and scriptural meaning, the journey of the Magi has captured
the imagination of artists through the centuries. It is also timely in our own age when there are
so many people who are refugees and immigrants, people fleeing from poverty and the ravages
of war.

From the Pastor’s Desk, (Fr. Bob VerEecke S.J, 1/7/2018 Bulletin of St Francis Xavier parish, New York)

Fr VerEecke does not occupy at all some kind  of “fringe” position in the New York Archdiocese. On the contrary, the very same Catholic New York reports favorably on the performance of his dance production at the Sheen center in 2016 and 2017. (The Jesuit head of America Media sits on the board of the Sheen center)