Epiphany of the Lord

Dear Epiphany Family, 

Happy and Blessed New Year! We have all been eager to put 2020 behind us. What a blessing it is to celebrate our parish feast day, The Epiphany of Our Lord, to start the new year! While our parish was formed from the beautiful traditions and heritage of the previous parishes of the East Side, but together, unified as one parish, we can better make known Jesus Christ to the East Side and beyond. The word “epiphany” itself means “to shine upon,” “to manifest,” or “to make known”. We especially celebrate how Jesus Christ was manifested to the world through the visit of the Magi. In this new year (as in every year, every day, every moment) we are called to allow Jesus to reveal Himself anew in our lives and hearts by opening ourselves up to Him in prayer, the sacraments, the Scriptures, those in need, as well as the ordinary events of daily life. 

At least at times we can be discouraged by the state of the world we live in. We all experienced difficult and challenging times in 2020 from various fronts. We should act and work for justice (which always should begin with prayer) in our society and the world around us but we cannot neglect the work of conversion that is so necessary in each of our lives. How can the world change if we do not change? Join me in encountering Jesus Christ anew in this new year. He is longing for us to give ourselves to Him that He may love, guide, comfort, heal, challenge, and change us. Venerable Fulton Sheen noted that after the Magi encountered the child Jesus they went home by another route, not only to avoid the threat of Herod, but because those who encounter Christ never go back the same way they came. May we encounter Him and set out on a new route this new year. Jesus, I trust in you! 

In Christ, Father Eric