Following this morning’s Mass in the Vatican Basilica, at midday the Pope appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with thousands of faithful gathered below. Recalling the fact that “today we celebrate the great Feast of the Epiphany, the mystery of the apparition of the Lord to all people, as represented by the Magi who came from the East to adore the King of the Jews”, the Pope said that “the star and Holy Scripture were the twin lights that guided the journey of the Magi, who appear to us as models of authentic seekers after truth”.
The Magi, he went on, “were men of learning in the broadest sense, who observed the cosmos and held it to be a vast book full of signs and divine messages for mankind. Their wisdom, then, far from being self-sufficient, was open to further revelations and divine calls”.
“The culmination of their quest came when they found themselves before ‘the child with Mary his mother’. The Gospel says that ‘they knelt down and paid him homage’. They could have been deluded, even scandalised; yet, being true wise men, they were open to the mystery which revealed itself in such a surprising way, and with their symbolic gifts they showed they recognised Jesus as King and Son of God. In that gesture the messianic oracles announcing the homage of the nations to the God of Israel were fulfilled.
“One final detail confirms the blend of intelligence and faith in the Magi”, the Pope added. “This is the fact that, ‘having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road’. It would have been natural to return to Jerusalem, to the palace of Herod and the Temple, in order to announce their discovery. Instead the Magi, who had chosen the Child as their king, kept that discovery hidden, like Mary or, better still, like God Himself. And so, just as they appeared they disappeared in silence, contented but also changed by their encounter with the Truth. They had discovered the new face of God, a new regality: the regality of love”.
The Pope appealed to the Virgin Mary, “model of true wisdom, to help us become true searchers after the truth of God, always capable of experiencing the profound harmony that exists between reason and faith, between science and revelation”.
After the Marian prayer, the Holy Father congratulated “our brothers and sisters of the Eastern Churches who celebrate Christmas tomorrow. May the mystery of light be a source of joy and peace for all families and communities”. He then reminded those present that the Solemnity of the Epiphany coincides with the Day of Missionary Children, which has as its motto this year: “children helping children”. “Promoted by the Venerable Pope Pius XII in 1950, this initiative educates children to form a mentality open to the world and to show solidarity with their more disadvantaged peers”, said Pope Benedict. In this context he concluded by expressing his affectionate greetings to “all the young missionaries present on the five continents, and I encourage them always to be witnesses of Jesus and announcers of His Gospel”.
VATICAN CITY, 6 JAN 2010 (VIS)