Epiphany at St. Patrick’s – Sermon by Father Levine

Fr. Joseph Levine; Holy Family Catholic Church and Missions, Burns, Oregon; January4, 2026

We celebrate today the Epiphany of the Lord. The word ‘epiphany’ means ‘manifestation,’ it is the manifestation or revelation of God.

There are three levels involved in this manifestation: the exterior, visible manifestation, as the star manifests the child, who is the Son of God made man; the interior invisible reality, namely the divinity hidden beneath the human appearance of the child, and the faith, hope, and charity in the hearts of the Magi, expressed by the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; finally, there is the full glory of the complete fulfillment of the promise in the heavenly Jerusalem, when God will be all in all. (cf. 1 Cor 15:28)

These three levels are also found in the sacraments of the Church: there is the visible sacrament, the invisible grace communicated to the person who receives the sacrament with living faith, and the realization of the final goal promised by the sacrament, eternal life in the heavenly Jerusalem.

We can also consider three stages in the journey of the Magi: to Jerusalem, to Bethlehem, and to their country, whereby they progressively attain each level of the epiphany or sacrament.

If we consider the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem, it is at once resplendent with the star and the gifts, but humble in the appearance of the Child and his Mother, and threatened by the persecution of Herod.

This corresponds to the life of the Christian in this world. The faithful Christian truly shares in the life of Jesus and Mary, in a hidden fashion accessible to faith. He possesses both the dignity of being a child of God and the threat of persecution. At the same he is set apart, we could say, by the splendor of the sacrament in which he shares. Yet, the sacrament is at once resplendent in the outward ritual and simple in the appearance of bread and wine, or water, or olive oil, or a laying on of hands.

Today’s 1^st reading and Psalm, however, speak of the fulness and perfection that are not seen either in Bethlehem, nor outwardly in the Christian life in this world, but are possessed interiorly in the soul, as a promise and down-payment on what is to come in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Already the glory of the Lord shines in the soul that lives in faith, hope, and charity. Already, the King’s Son, Jesus Christ, reigns in the faithful soul, extending his peaceful dominion from sea to sea, from the depth of divine love and mercy to the depth of human misery and longing (cf. Ps 41[41]:7). Already, the River of the Holy Spirit, the River of Living Water (cf. Jn 7:37-39), dwelling in the soul, progressively transforms the soul even to the ends of the earth, reaching to the least of the soul’s powers, feelings, desires, and memories. Already Christ the King rescues the poor soul who cries out to him from the assaults of the devil and the temptations of the fallen flesh.

Yet, when it comes to the public homage rendered by the kings of the earth, the Magi represent only the first fruits, and these first fruits have also been offered from time to time through history. It is evidently but a partial fulfillment. The full harvest will only come in the heavenly Jerusalem, after all of Christ’s enemies, the last of which is death, are subdued beneath his feet. (cf. 1 Cor 15:25-26, Rev 21:22-27)

Now, let us return to the journey of the Magi, which shows us the path we must follow. Only let me translate that journey into a very modern setting.

We can consider St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the heart of Manhattan. The Cathedral is constructed in an ancient gothic style but buried in the midst of the towering modern structures of midtown Manhattan.

I will start with myself in 9^th grade, before I was Catholic, when I was devoid of faith, and lived in Manhattan. I cannot remember ever having seen St. Patrick’s that year, though I am quite sure that I must have walked right by it. I also walked by other Catholic churches in Manhattan without seeing them.

Fifth Avenue, in front of St. Patrick’s is busy with traffic, cars and trucks on the street and pedestrians on the sidewalk. Most of them are probably hurrying about aimlessly, because they do not know where they are coming from – created in the image of God – or whither they are they going, called to the life of heaven. They are as blind to the presence of the Cathedral as I once was. Darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds the peoples.

Now, let’s move inside the church. It is a tourist attraction; that means that during any hour of the day there are crowds milling about, admiring the visible beauty, taking photos, but still blind to the reality that can be perceived only by faith. They see only the splendid product of human artistry and craftsmanship. It is as though they see only gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, but not their meaning and purpose.

Next, let us show up for the 10:15am Mass on Sunday; the church is now packed with worshippers. Now, we have arrived, we could say, in Jerusalem. The word of God is proclaimed, just as the scribes in today’s reading correctly stated where the Messiah was to be born; so also the truth of the word of God is taught in the Catholic Church – whether it is lived or not. So also the Holy Sacrifice is offered, just as sacrifice was offered in the Jerusalem temple in the time of Herod.

Nevertheless, we could ask how many present at that Mass are like the people of Jerusalem in the time of Herod, merely going through the motions, seeing only the outward sign, scarcely different from the weekday tourists, even though they happen to be Catholic? How many are there like the Magi, truly seeking God because some light of grace has shone like a star in their hearts and they are trying to respond to that light and be faithful to the light that has been given to them?

Next, let us return during a weekday and let’s take a walk along the side of the sanctuary, past the main altar, to the Chapel of Our Lady, hidden in the very back. There it is quiet; there the Holy Eucharist is exposed in the monstrance – like the Child in the arms of his Mother – there a handful of faithful kneel, like the Magi, in adoration. We have arrived in Bethlehem.

The One who sustains the universe by his word of power – unlike Atlas, represented by the statue on the other side of Fifth Avenue – is present there in the monstrance. (cf. He 1:3)

In the world any appearance can be faked. That is why a crowd at Mass does not mean that they have all really drawn near to God. At least it is more likely that those who have taken the time, outside Mass, to kneel before Jesus in the monstrance or tabernacle have passed through the outer sign and have entered into the reality perceived by faith.

“Epiphany” or “Manifestation.” Why does it seem that it is given only to a few? At the Last Supper, St. Jude asked that very question. Lord, what happened, that you manifest yourself to us and not to the world. (Jn 14:22) Jesus answered him, If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. (Jn 14:23-24)

What happened? People refuse to listen to God; people refuse to obey God.

“We will make our home with him”, “We will dwell within him.” In this life, the real epiphany is interior and depends on our willingness to live by the word of God, which in turn depends on our faith. God gives the grace, but often we are heedless, rushing by like the crowds in front of St. Patrick’s. Or we are complacent, like the crowd at Mass in St. Patrick’s, punching their ticket, filling their obligation, but not changing their life.  

God gives grace to everyone; God gives light to everyone. In the measure that we respond and are faithful we receive more grace and light, grace and light to pursue the journey, like the Magi. The path of the just is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day – the glory of heaven. (Pr 4:18)

They departed for their country by another way. What is their country? Their earthly place of origin, or their true homeland, which is heaven, the Father’s house?

Home! We all have a longing for home. Even those from broken homes long for the home that wasn’t. When children grow up and leave home, but get married, it is with the hope of establishing a home, but even if they are successful in doing so, that new home will, in the end, be as temporary as their childhood home was. “Empty nests” are a sign that point upward to a more lasting home. The only home that will last, our true home, is the Father’s house, where Jesus has prepared a place for us. (cf. Jn 14:2)

Whether the goal is clearly perceived or not, all human striving in this world is for some goal – a home, where the person will belong, in which the person will find satisfaction, find rest, peace, and happiness. All human striving in this world is for some goal, but only one goal, the Father’s house, is the true, final, and ultimate goal. Most of human striving is like that of the crowds in front of St. Patrick’s going this way and that, blind to their origin and destiny. To them, St. Augustine would cry out the lesson that was so hard for him to learn: “Seek what you seek, but not where you seek it. You seek a blessed life in the land of death. It is not there.” (Confessions, Bk IV, Ch 12)

So also, St. Augustine speaks to God saying, “You have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (Confessions, Bk I, Ch. 1) The heart that understands its restlessness pursues the journey of the Magi. To reach our true home, we must learn to depart from this world of death, like Christ returning to his Father, to go to our country by another way, not the way pursued by human conjecture and groping in the dark, but the way taught by Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. (Jn 14:6)

Bethlehem is the goal of one journey, the journey towards faith, and the beginning of another, the journey of faith. If we really reach Bethlehem, our lives will be changed, as were the lives of the Magi, we will no longer travel following the paths of human opinion, but we will travel by another way, reliant on the word of God, following the path of faith. So also, because that transformation of life is gradual, taking possession ever more completely of our life, from the River to the ends of the earth, we must continually return to Bethlehem, continually return to adoration of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist, so as to be continually transformed, until the partial epiphanies of this life give way to the resplendent glory of heaven.