January 27^th 2019.  Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events
that have been fulfilled among us,
just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning
and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew,
to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,
most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings
you have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The theme this week is the power and efficacy of the word of God. In the first reading, the people of Israel rejoice when the long-lost book of the Law is read out to them. In the Gospel, Jesus goes into the synagogue and reads the announcement of liberation from the prophet Isaiah. These words are being fulfilled today in the people’s hearing, Jesus announces. The difficulty in our modern world is that words are being emptied of their meaning. Important words like “love” are being misused, profaned, and given contradictory and even perverse meanings. It is important that we recuperate the sense of the importance of words and God’s word in particular. We are rational beings and we are incredibly affected by the words that are spoken to us. We can be exposed to words of salvation or words of destruction. Think of the influence that the harsh words of a parent can have on the heart of the child. Think of the damage that the serpent’s word in Genesis 3 caused to humanity! But inside each one of us are the words of salvation that have been spoken to us through our personal history. How important it is to ponder these words often and proclaim them to others for their salvation also.

A first reading that highlights the beauty and wonder of God’s word

In this third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C, we hear the wonderful first reading from the book of Nehemiah. The book of the Law has been rediscovered after years of being lost. It is read aloud to the people and explained to them. What is striking is the way this reading of the word moves the people. At the same time they cry and rejoice at the event. Sometimes we are not so good at appreciating the gift of the word of God. We have not been educated to do so, perhaps.

The power and efficacy of the word of God is very important in the early chapters of Luke

The Gospel reading for Sunday is a collage consisting of the first four verses of Luke’s Gospel, preceding a portion of the fourth chapter. Luke tells us that he wishes to give an ordered account. He uses the testimonies handed down from eyewitnesses, who themselves, we are told, became “ministers of the word”. This word is one of the principal characters in the early chapters of Luke. The same word will enter into the womb of Mary through the annunciation of the angel. This word is Christ himself and the Gospel reading moves on to recount what happens when he arrives at the synagogue of Nazareth. Again, like the first reading, the scene is one of the liturgy of the word. Jesus unrolls the scroll and reads the text from Isaiah, a passage that speaks of liberation for everyone and the beginning of a time of grace. He finishes with the words: “This text which you have just listened to is today fulfilled”.

Our culture empties words of their meaning and often gives them profane or perverse meanings

The difficulty today is that we are living in a culture that has emptied the meaning out of everything. Technically, our society has embraced a philosophy known as “nominalism” in which the words that we say no longer have any content or substance. Words that are of profound importance, such as “love”, no longer have meaning. Such words have been taken and profaned by thousands of misuses that are banal, contradictory or perverse. Our culture relatives the meaning of words, but the word is nevertheless so important. Humanity has a rational capacity which is nothing less than marvellous. Sometimes we might say regarding a family pet, “The only thing he is not able to do is speak!” But the inability to reason and use words means in reality that the animal lacks almost everything. The word “logos” used for Christ refers to the capacity to articulate a dialogue, the ability to communicate in a refined way as humans can. There are a thousand ways in which one human being can communicate with the heart of another, the spoken and written words, and many other forms of expression.

Some of the words within us are words of salvation. Others are words of destruction.

The point is that all of us are marked by what is communicated to us. We carry words in our hearts. Some are words of salvation, but other words are not. Some of the words within us are deceptive. If a twisted word enters into the heart of a child, a word of rejection, for example, this word is not visible in physiological tests, but nevertheless marks the soul of the child in a profound way. How often we are conditioned by false words. But, surprisingly, we are also saved by a word of truth that enters our hearts. God created through the spoken word. He said “Let there be light!” and there was light. Reality originates in the word of God, and the serpent in Genesis 3, evil, seeks to destroy man through a false word.

God has planted a word of salvation within our hearts. We must constantly recall these words and use them to proclaim salvation to others.

To proclaim the word of God is not a banal thing: it is essential! The Good News is the announcement of liberation. It is not some kind of aimless chatter. When Jesus says, “This prophecy is fulfilled today in your hearing”, he is not talking about theory but concrete reality. The word of God has the capacity to bring to realisation that which it expresses. Human words also have this capacity to some extent. Consider again how the wrong wounds said by a parent can wound the hearts of children. Other words of welcome and affection have the opposite effect. But the word of God has an even greater capacity. If I welcome the word of God, then it is a fertile seed that leads to new life. Our task is to remember this word of liberation that has been spoken to each one of us, and proclaim the word of liberation to others. The liturgy brings to realisation that which it preaches. In the words of consecration, the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine becomes his blood. When the priest says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit”, that baby becomes a child of God. These words are efficacious and powerful. We must celebrate the joy of this word, and engage in an interior spiritual battle against those words that ruin us. There are voices inside of us that confuse us and lead us away from the truth. We must discover that word of God that has been spoken to our hearts. Each one of us, in fact, is a word of God, a creation of the Lord that becomes a personal story. Our story is one marked fundamentally by the providence of God. Alongside all of our pains and sufferings there are the graces and potentials that the Lord has given us. The word of God cares for and conserves the truth. It puts us into a relationship with Sacred Scripture.  It is essential to recall constantly in our hearts those particular words that have saved us and lifted us up, that which has caused us to be reborn, the forgiveness that we have received, the trust that the Lord has placed in us. All of this transforms us into persons that live as children of God, bearing witness to the truth that the Lord wishes us to express to others, the love that he wishes to proclaim to people’s hearts.

January 20^th 2019.  Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL John 2:1-11

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading ...

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GOSPEL John 2:1-11

There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited. When they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the wedding was all finished, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine’. Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’, and they filled them to the brim. ‘Draw some out now’ he told them ‘and take it to the steward.’ They did this; the steward tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from – only the servants who had drawn the water knew – the steward called the bridegroom and said; ‘People generally serve the best wine first, and keep the cheaper sort till the guests have had plenty to drink; but you have kept the best wine till now’.

This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The Gospel recounts the story of the wine running out at the wedding feast of Cana. A marriage feast is an image of the best of relationships, and is often used to symbolize the joy of a proper relationship with God. But the fact is that, sooner or later, the wine runs out in all human relationships! All relationships eventually encounter crises, but a crisis doesn’t mean that the relationship should be broken off or abandoned! A crisis is an opportunity to begin relying on God. Only the Lord can be the basis of a bond that is good and permanent. The crisis is an opportunity to lift the relationship onto a higher level. In the Gospel, when the wine runs out, what does Our Lady do? She turns to Jesus and instructs everyone to do as he says. When crisis comes in life then we must stop relying on our own strategies. Instead we must abandon ourselves in obedience into the hands of Jesus. When we abandon ourselves to him in obedience, then the wine begins to flow! Then we begin to live joyful and productive lives!

In the first reading and in the Gospel, the relationship of God and humanity is represented by the image of a wedding feast.

The first reading contains the beautiful spousal call that is found in the book of Isaiah. The people of Israel will be like a glorious crown held by the hand of the Lord.  “As a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you”. The paradigm of marriage is used to describe what salvation will be like. The Gospel for Sunday recounts the first sign worked by Jesus. It is good that the Gospel uses the word “sign” instead of miracle, because the notion of “sign” points to the deeper meaning of the event. Once again, as in the first reading, the relationship of God and humanity is represented by the wonderful, joyful occasion of a marriage feast. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus begins his public ministry by means of a sign worked at a wedding celebration.

The wine runs out in all human relationships. All relationships eventually encounter crisis. This crisis is an opportunity to begin relying on God. Only he can be the basis of something good and permanent. The crisis is the opportunity to lift the relationship onto a higher level

This text has infinite meaning and richness. Through the ministry of the Blessed Virgin, the power of God erupts during this wedding. As we know, the wine runs out at one point. We should note that marriage is considered the model and highpoint of all human relationships, paternal relations, maternal relations, friendship. And all relationships experience the day when the “wine runs out” – a moment of crisis looms. I know of no human relationship which does not one day have to confront the moment of the desert experience, aridity, emptiness. Wine represents joy, colour, cheerfulness and happiness; the day will come in all human relationships when it will dry up. It is not that the marriage is a mistake if crisis comes: it is when crisis comes that the marriage has the potential truly to begin. Friendship becomes more profound when it is presented with difficulty. Any relationship of collaboration has the potential to become more robust at the moment when confrontation and conflict arise. When parents are no longer able to communicate with their children and don’t know what to do: this shouldn’t be thought of as a moment that should never have arisen – it is a necessary stage of development. It is impossible to live an authentic life except through what we call the Paschal mystery - the moment when there appears to be no more life; when our capacities are no longer sufficient to save the situation. We are inclined to think that if something is right then it should be able to proceed without ever encountering difficulties. But, no, situations that are right are those that know how to confront emptiness. Human life, ironically, is something for which the human being by himself is not enough. Human life is a call to love, love of a spousal kind, where we must go beyond ourselves, beyond the limits of our own talents and capacities. In order to love to the end, it is not enough to have the intention to do so. Our good will, at most, can predispose us to grace. Love is a theological virtue and comes only from God. God has written his love in human hearts and lots of non-Christians are capable of it. But only the creator can overcome the void that one day confronts all human relationships.

In the Gospel the wine runs out and what does Our Lady do? She turns to Jesus and instructs everyone to do as he says. When crisis comes then we must stop relying on our own strategies and instead abandon ourselves in obedience into the hands of Jesus

In the Gospel story, when the wine runs out, the servants are told to fill the jars with water. The Blessed Virgin had said to them, “Do whatever he tells you”. It is important to arrive at our limits in order to discover that God, in that moment, asks for our obedience; to proceed according to his designs; refrain from following our own strategies and instead abandon ourselves to his. Our Lady is the expert at this. She said, “Let it be done unto me according to your word”. She tells the servants to do what Jesus wants and then something extraordinary happens. I usually seek to save situations on my own initiative, only to discover that I am unable. At this point I can abandon everything, which is the case with many marriages that fold up once a crisis arrives. But who says that crisis signifies the end of a relationship? It is a sign of the beginning, but the crisis can only be resolved if I cease to rely on my own strengths. It was this reliance that led to the crisis in the first place! And the crisis is the occasion to abandon oneself into the hands of God and seek to obey him! Pass over to the other side and rely on his strategy. May God allow us to appreciate how he manifests himself through our poverty and humble obedience. It is a curious thing that Jesus changes the water into wine without moving an inch. It is we servants who perform the miracle by filling the jars with water. The Lord tells us what to do and it is our hands that have the joy of performing the beautiful works. May the Lord truly grant that we come to know him through obedience, which is the way out of our emptiness and crises.

January 13^th 2019.  The Baptism of Our Lord

GOSPEL Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
"I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
"You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . At the time of John the Baptist, people were expecting the Messiah to come soon, but what happened at the baptism of Jesus took everyone by surprise. It was expected that the Messiah would be a righteous man who would call others back to a proper fulfilment of our duties before God. But what happens during the baptism is a stunning piece of divine revelation. The spirit hovers over Jesus and we hear the words of the Father, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. At the beginning of Genesis, the Spirit hovered over the waters and brought forth creation. Now he hovers over the waters of the Jordan and the new Adam, the beloved Son, emerges. And this is crucial for the understanding of our own baptism. When we reflect on Jesus emerging from the water, we should imagine that each one of us emerges with him to hear the voice of the Father who delights in us. The tragedy of humanity is our distrust in the loving fatherhood of God. At baptism, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and seals our identity as beloved children of a tender Father. The real work of evangelisation is the task of communicating to people that God is a loving Father who delights in each one of us.

During the baptism of Jesus, we get a major glimpse into the life of God. He is not an abstract task-master but a Father who delights in his Son

The feast of the Baptism of Jesus opens with a wonderful text from the so-called “Book of Consolation” of the prophet Isaiah: “Console my people, console them, says the Lord. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and tell her that her tribulation is over, her sin is expiated.” What is this consolation that is spoken of here? John the Baptist prepares for the arrival of the Messiah and the time arrives for the baptism of Jesus. This year we read the account from Luke’s Gospel. Luke is the only one of the Evangelists who specifies that Jesus is in prayer at the moment of baptism. The heavens open and we hear the voice of the Father who speaks to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. This might seem like a sort of private moment between the Father and the Son, but the reality of what Luke wishes to describe is much different. The people had been wondering if John the Baptist was the Christ. In fact, John seemed to fit the bill, humanly speaking. He was sincere, upright, demanding, conscientious. But he responds, “I am only water. What needs to come is something very different - spirit and fire”. The expectations of the human heart are insufficient in this case. In fact, Luke’s passage makes much of this distinction: human expectations are of a certain sort, but what God intends to accomplish is something unheard of. This unexpected something is revealed by the words uttered by the Father, a phrase that gives us a glimpse into the heart of God: “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased”. In other words, God has a burning inner joy. He is not something merely ethical or abstract or impersonal. He is a father who rejoices in being father. Here we have a revelation of God which is intended by the Lord to stir the human heart. The voice, after all, is heard aloud. It is not a private utterance between Father and Son.

In Genesis, the Spirit hovered over the waters at the moment of creation. Here at Jesus baptism, the Spirit is gain hovering and now it is the beloved Son who emerges from the water.

Jesus is in prayer at the moment of baptism, and we can discern the content of his prayer. While he is praying, the heavens open. The relationship between heaven and earth is no longer blocked. The Holy Spirit in the corporeal form of a dove appears above Jesus. The appearance of the dove is often related to the dove that figures in the story of Noah when it brings the olive branch to the Ark at the end of the great flood. But, for those who know their Hebrew, the dove also recalls the very first lines at beginning of the book of Genesis. When God created the heavens and the earth, darkness covered the abyss and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The term “hovering” signifies someone who protects something during the act of flying (in the Italian used by Don Fabio, the term is “covare” which is the same verb used for a bird that is sitting on her brood of eggs). The spirit is protectively hovering over the waters during the activity of creation. Here in Genesis, of course, it is the original creation that is at issue. In Luke’s Gospel, the same Spirit is again hovering and it sees emerging from the water Christ, the beloved son of God.

The tragedy of humanity is our distrust in the loving fatherhood of God. At baptism, the Holy Spirit comes upon us and seals our identity as beloved children of a tender father.

This is the Spirit that is given to us at baptism and we can have no doubt that the theme of the baptism of Christ is identical to that of the theme of our own baptism. What is given to us at baptism? The identity of being children of God. The Holy Spirit comes upon us as an interior certification that God is our Father. And this is the central point. Doubting the paternity of God is the tragedy of humanity. Becoming children of God in Christ is the escape from our own self-destruction and the foundation of our capacity to love. When we discover that we are loved, we are enabled to love in return. When we discover that we are received, then we become empowered to receive others.

The work of evangelisation is the task of communicating to people that God is a loving Father who delights in each one of us

The heart of man is distrustful and expects to be chastised by God, but is won over by the revelation of the paternity of the Lord. This is the task of everyone involved in evangelisation: to lead people from the conviction that God is distant, or perhaps hostile, to the realisation that he is our Father, that he is on our side. The phrase “In you I am well pleased” becomes a word spoken by the Father to each one of us, a word that reveals our most authentic identity. All of us needs the Spirit to hover over us as he did at creation, to help us begin again from the beginning, to begin again from his love for us, and to appreciate how precious we are to him and how precious are those who surround us. How important it is to communicate to young people how God looks upon them with joy and happiness, with tenderness, and with trust! How important it is that we hear within ourselves this paternal voice. On this feast of the Baptism of our Lord, it is timely for us to rediscover our identity as children of God, that the Holy Spirit might come and melt the ice that is within our hearts, melt those doubts we have about ourselves, our distrust, our loss of our most authentic identity, an identity which is attested solely by God – “You are my beloved child. In you I am well pleased”.

January 6^th 2019.  The Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord

GOSPEL   Matthew 2, 1-12

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   Matthew 2, 1-12

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod, 
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 
"Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."
When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, 
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, 
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, 
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel."
Then Herod called the magi secretly 
and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, 
"Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word, 
that I too may go and do him homage."
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, 
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . The Magi followed that which was heavenly and beautiful. How many people in history have been led to great discoveries by fixing their eyes on that which was noble and beautiful! It is striking that these men travelled with their eyes on the heavens. The alternative is to behave like the serpent in Genesis 3 and crawl on the ground, eating the dust of the earth. In life, we can fix our gaze on what is base and earthly, or we can raise our eyes to what is heavenly. However, the pursuit of that which is noble and good can only lead so far. The Magi end up in Jerusalem, the city of the promises of the Lord. Here they encounter a different kind of illumination, the illumination of divine revelation through the people of God and the scriptures. The Magi are told that scripture foretells that the king will be born in Bethlehem. Now the star and the scriptures coincide in leading the wise men to the stable where they find the mother and child. They are so overjoyed that they give him everything they have. The gold is their wealth; the incense is the perfume of their honour; the myrrh would have been reserved for preparing their bodies for death. So, in effect, that give him their wealth, their honour and their future plans. They have received so much in return that anything they give will seem little in comparison. And this journey of the Magi is our journey too. We must follow the things that inspire us with their nobility and their beauty. We must be obedient to the indications of scripture. Beauty and revelation will thus lead us to Christ, and when we behold him we too will want to give him everything that we have.

The Magi followed that which was heavenly and beautiful. We too must stick tenaciously to that which is beautiful, noble and heavenly

This Sunday coincides with the Feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the manifestation of the Lord to foreigners who have come from afar, from a place that has no connection with the promises that were made to Israel. The journey of the Magi is the journey of one who has followed a path that has led to none other than the main objective of life, the King of kings. How did they find their way? They were astronomers and their expertise consisted in studying the stars. They had great knowledge but this star that rose was something they had never seen before. It was something beautiful, attractive, surprising. And this is how things should be with us. If we are struck in the heart by something that is authentically beautiful, then we should know that this is not something that has happened by accident. When we are struck by that which is noble, that which is heavenly, that which lifts our gaze upwards, then we should not take our eyes off that thing, just as the Magi kept their eyes fixed on the star. How many times people have been led to the Lord because they kept their gaze fixed on that which was beautiful and important! When we stick tenaciously to that which counts, we are led to what is wonderful and authentic. Many figures in history have been led to discoveries that were important for all of humanity because they followed tenaciously that which was beautiful and heavenly.

We can follow what is noble and valid, or fix our gaze on what is base and worldly

What does it mean to follow a star? Celestial phenomena like eclipses can be seen better from some locations. This explains the movement of the Magi. They want to see this beautiful star from the best position possible, and this leads them to their destination. It is a striking thing that they travel with their eyes fixed on heaven. Is there any other way of travelling? In Genesis 3, we hear of the serpent who moves on his belly along the ground. Many people move on this base level, slaves to impulses and desires, things which lead them figuratively “to eat the dust of the earth” instead of living according to the things of heaven. The manifestation of the Epiphany is for those who lift their chins and look towards the heavens to that which is noble.

Pursuing that which is noble and beautiful is not enough. Like the Magi, we also need divine revelation, that which has been revealed to us through the people of God

The path of the Magi, the pathway of heaven, leads to Jerusalem, the holy city, the city of David, the city of the promises. Beauty by itself, in fact, is not sufficient. That which the human being comprehends is only the beginning. The Magi discover the people of God, and a different form of illumination – the scriptures, the prophecies. We are not the first to follow the path of that which is true, beautiful and good. So many before us have discovered the centre of existence. God has spoken to so many people before us through the scriptures and human experience. The Magi discover that there has been a whole antecedent story of revelation through the Jewish people. The next steps of the wise men will be to follow the indications of the people of Israel. They obey the indications revealed to them from the scriptures and they discover that the star and the scriptures both lead to the same place, Bethlehem. The beauty that stirred their hearts (the star) and the scripture that reveals the promise coincide at the same ultimate destination, a shed where a woman has given birth to a child. This new-born life has been signalled by the presence of the star and the indications of scripture, leading to the great joy of the Magi.

The Magi give the child everything, the gold of their wealth, the incense representing the perfume of their honour, and the myrrh which they would have reserved for the preparation of their bodies for burial. Wealth, honour and future plans – all given to the Lord because he gives us so much more in return!

This child is a gift from heaven and is to be adored. The Magi bestow on this child whatever gifts they have at their disposal. What they have received is so great that whatever they can give in return will seem little. The gifts that they give are not really to be understood in terms of the necessities of the child, but in what they themselves have to offer. The gold constitutes their worldly wealth. Incense is, in a sense, the perfume of their glory, the mark of their honour, and this they lay down before the child. Myrrh is used for the preparation of a body for a funeral. The Magi entrust their deaths to the Lord. They have received so much from this baby that they can give him everything, even that which pertains to their most final plans and strategies on earth. Gold, incense and myrrh - possessions, roles and strategies – the Magi give the child everything because they know that they receive much more in return. This is the journey of the wise men and it is also our journey: to follow beauty and scripture, to obey their indications and to arrive at the gift that the Lord Jesus is, and then to discover that we can give him everything because from him we have received much more.