January 3-4, 2026
Dear parishioners,
This weekend, most dioceses in the United States will be celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord, in which we liturgically mark the event of the adoration of the Magi toward Christ, the newborn king. I say “most dioceses” because this actually varies from country to country. The proper date for this liturgical feast, historically and presently, is January 6. However, for an unclear reason, episcopal conferences have permission to move this solemnity to Sunday.
An ancient liturgical practice on the Epiphany of Lord has been to make the solemn proclamation of the date of Easter and of the other important solemnities connected with it: Ash Wednesday, the Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and the first Sunday of Advent. This practice, which is still permitted in the current Roman Missal, always had both a practical and theological purpose. On a practical level, this proclamation served as a reminder as to when different feasts would occur. Because Easter occurs on a different date each year, and because the other feasts mentioned above are calculated from the date of Easter, with the exception of the first Sunday of Advent, it was helpful for all to hear when exactly these movable feasts would be happening throughout the new year.
The theological import behind this practice then comes into view when we see that the other dates revolve around Easter. On the Epiphany of the Lord, Christ is manifesting himself to the world. In so doing, he is already drawing all of creation back to himself and giving it a new start and a much more profound understanding of itself. It is no coincidence that all of creation is in some way shown to come to worship Jesus in the stable: the shepherds on behalf of the Israelite people; their sheep, along with the animals already in the stable, represent all the creatures God first made at the beginning of time. Here too, the pagan Magi are drawn to the one true God, recognizing in Jesus the King of Kings and the Lord of all nations. Even the stars in the sky, which drew the Magi, are obedient to the commands of this newborn king. In a word, by manifesting himself in the flesh, Jesus also manifests to us the meaning of our own existence. He comes to us to offer us redemption, and thereby reveal to us the true purpose of our lives.
Of course, Jesus’ first coming in flesh necessarily points to his Passion, death, and Resurrection for our salvation. This is why the Church’s liturgy has a long-standing custom of announcing the date of Easter on Epiphany. As Pope Benedict XVI explains:
In the mystery of the Epiphany, therefore, alongside an expanding outward movement, a movement of attraction toward the center is expressed which brings to completion the movement already written in the Old Covenant. The source of this dynamism is God, One in Three Persons, who draws all things and all people to himself. The Incarnate Person of the Word is presented in this way as the beginning of universal reconciliation and recapitulation (cf. Eph 1: 9-10).
He is the ultimate destination of history, the point of arrival of an “exodus”, of a providential journey of redemption that culminates in his death and Resurrection. Therefore, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the liturgy foresees the so-called “Announcement of Easter”: indeed, the liturgical year sums up the entire parable of the history of salvation, whose center is “the Triduum of the Crucified Lord, buried and risen”.
This weekend, we celebrate our redemption manifested to us. We join the Magi in laying everything we consider precious and valuable at the feet of Jesus. Indeed, we lay our entire selves before him, knowing that nothing in this life can acquire its deepest meaning and value outside of him.
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
