Thank you to Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar the wise men from the east who visited our worship sites on the Feast of the Epiphany. Bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to be offered to the King of kings. What is a gift? An oblation, offering, bestowal or sacrifice? It is the giving of oneself without any expected return. We would like to express our gratitude to Christian Orlowski, Michael Capen, Michael Chiappone, Adrian Banks, James Cantella and Richard Cundra for allowing us the opportunity to re-live that sacred moment of the epiphany. It was a moment for us to reflect upon what we do at liturgy during the offertory procession. Let our offering of bread be the offering of our labor, our hardships, and our grateful hearts for the needs met through the body of Christ. Let our offering of wine be the offering of our joys, the fruits of our labor, our hopes, and thankfulness for the invitation Christ has given to us to join Him at table. As we pass the basket from person to person throughout the congregation, let our monetary offering to the Lord, which is the responsibility of the entire faith community; be for the financial betterment of the parish. May these gifts be given without any expected reward.

 

 May God fill your hearts with the gold of charity; bless you with the sweet smelling incense of desire to worship in praise, and finally the myrrh of hope so that you never lose heart amidst the hardships of life. Christmas is a special time when miracles still do happen and did happen here in our midst.