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The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord



By Jean Lupinacci

What is Epiphany?

Epiphany is also known as Three Kings Day or Feast of the Three Kings. The word originates from the Greek epipháneia, translated as manifestation. It is the annual commemoration of the visit of the Magi as the manifestation of Jesus to the first gentiles to pay him homage. Magi is from the Greek root meaning “magic” or Wise Men. They may have been gentile astrologers since they were guided by a rising star. Epiphany is the final day of the twelve days of Christmas. However, the Church celebrates the liturgical season of Christmas up until The Feast of the Baptism of The Lord, which is usually celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany except when Epiphany is celebrated on January 7 or 8. If that is the case, the Baptism of The Lord is celebrated on the Monday after Epiphany.

History

In the early church (4th century), Epiphany was celebrated on either December 25 or January 6, depending on where you lived. It was a commemoration of Jesus’ very early life that showed him to be a manifestation of God and included his birth, the Magi's proclamation that Jesus was a King, his baptism, and Jesus’ first miracle of changing water to wine at the wedding feast in Cana.

Eventually, Epiphany was split into the celebration of Jesus birth on December 25 and the Epiphany visit of the Magi on January 6. The following Sundays we now celebrate the Baptism of Jesus and the wedding at Cana. In the United States and in some other countries, Epiphany is celebrated on the Sunday after January 1, which in 2024 falls on Sunday, January 7. In the Eastern Church, Epiphany still includes all the celebrations of Jesus early life on Jan 6-7.

Journey of the Three Magi

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, Magi from the East (probably from modern-day Persia or Iran - 800-900 miles from Bethlehem) followed the rising star to pay homage to Jesus by prostrating themselves (lying face down) and bringing gifts. Also, they most likely arrived well after the birth of Jesus, and in fact, the Bible states that “on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” not a stable. Nowhere in the Bible does it say there were three wise men. The number three is assumed because the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are noted in the Bible story. Most crèche sets include three magi, but I have a set from Mexico that has five magi, including three women. Popular tradition says there were three and that their names were Gaspar/Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar/Balthazar. As we can see there are many traditions that we enjoy that are not biblical.

Epiphany traditions

1.    Blessing of salt. Salt is blessed by a priest on Epiphany. The salt represents being the “salt of the earth” and is then used in the home throughout the year. 

2.    The Blessing of Chalk and Doorways. Like the salt, chalk is also blessed by a priest on Epiphany and used to chalk the top of the door to your home. The formula of the marking is the year (2024) and the initials of the traditional names of the Three Kings: Caspar (C), Melchior (M) and Balthasar (B). It is, however, an easy tradition to adopt, and a great practice whereby we dedicate our year to God from its very outset, asking His blessing on our homes and on all who live, work, or visit them there. The practice invokes a blessing on those who live in the house, and – in remembrance of the Magi - all visitors to the home.

3.    Display of crèche sets. Some churches display family crèche sets on Epiphany. We have a large wooden crèche display in our front yard.   

4.    Epiphany party. Last year we had a party on Epiphany with a small gathering of friends. We shared food and a king cake. A king cake is a cake shaped like a crown with a baby Jesus put into it. The person who gets the piece with the baby Jesus is king for the day. At our party we also shared our most meaningful Christmas gift. 

What are your Epiphany traditions? 



A little over a year ago, Pope Francis issued an apostolic letter on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Francis de Sales. He titled the letter, “Everything Pertains to Love,” a phrase that DeSales had used in his preface to his Treatise on the Love of God, and which Pope Francis said summarized the saint’s spiritual legacy.

Francis de Sales taught that every human being was created with an innate love for God, a desire to be united to the divine. Because of original sin, that desire often was distorted and directed to less worthy or even sinful objects, but that distortion could be corrected through the saving life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. For Francis, the ultimate criterion for discerning a course of action was love. He said, “It is love that grants perfection to our works,” and “it always comes back to the question of where the greatest love is to be found.” The priority that he gave to love was the foundation of what he is, perhaps, best known for: his teaching on true devotion and where it can be practiced. For Francis, “True and lively devotion presupposes the love of God; indeed, it is none other than a genuine, and not generic, love of God.” As Pope Francis explains, “devotion is far from something abstract. Rather, it becomes a style of life, a way of living immersed in our concrete daily existence. It embraces and discovers meaning in the little things: food and dress, work and relaxation, love and parenthood, conscientiousness in the fulfilment of our duties.” 



Based on this understanding of devotion, Francis de Sales makes a claim that is as striking today as it was when he wrote it, and it has reverberated down the four hundred years since then: Those who think that devotion is restricted to some quiet and secluded setting are greatly mistaken. Devotion is meant for everyone, in every situation, and each of us can practice it in accordance with our own vocation. If God has created every one of us with that desire to love him, then, clearly, he would not have limited its fulfillment to those who lived in monasteries and rectories.

In fact, Francis explains that the heights of holiness can be experienced by those living in the world, doing what God calls them to do and being what God calls them to be. In The Treatise on the Love of God, he writes about ecstasies, those experiences of intense awareness that transcend the everyday. He explains how some people can experience ecstasies of emotions, where they are drawn out of themselves by an experience of beauty. Others can experience an ecstasy of intellect, where they are caught up in the experience of what they see as true. He acknowledges the validity of both of these, but also warns that they can have very little to do with our love of God. There is, however, a third kind of ecstasy, that of “work and life,” an ecstasy of actions, of good works, done not out of obligation, nor out of habit, but out of love for God. Of this ecstasy of work and life, Francis says, “because no one can go out of and above himself in this manner unless the eternal Father draw him, it follows that this kind of life is a perpetual rapture and a continual ecstasy of action and operation.”

Francis de Sales saw his role as a spiritual director as well as a bishop to be helping the men and women of his time to recognize the cords of love with which God was inviting them to himself, and to strengthen those cords by authentic devotion. The mission of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales is to continue his work in the twenty-first century.

St. Leonie Aviat, OSFS – January 10

It is a safe bet that of the three saints whose feasts the Oblates at St. John Neumann celebrate in January, St. Leonie Aviat is the least well known. She was born in the French commune (town) of Sézanne in 1844 and was enrolled as a boarder at the Visitation convent school in Troyes in 1855. There she came under the guidance of the charismatic superior, Mother Marie de Sales Chapuis, VHM and the convent chaplain, Fr. Louis Brisson, who would later found the congregation of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Besides his work at the convent, Fr. Brisson grew concerned at the situation of young girls who had come to the city to work in the factories; he established centers where they could relax in safety and a healthy atmosphere when they were not working. At first these he appointed lay directors for the centers, but it soon became obvious that they needed women with a stronger faith background who would commit themselves completely to this apostolate. By that time, Leonie had graduated from school and was discerning a call to religious life; after consulting with Brisson, she and a former classmate, formed a community of sisters called the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales. The two made their first profession of vows in 1871, and a year later Sr. Françoise de Sales, as Leonie was known in religious life, was elected the first superior general of the young congregation.

Under her leadership in collaboration with Father Brisson, the Oblate Sisters grew and established a number of parish schools. After one term, she stepped down and was sent to Parish to establish a boarding school for girls. The next 14 years were difficult; the Superiors General who succeeded her treated her coldly and with disrespect. However, in 1893, she was re-elected and served as general for the rest of her life.

The congregation had expanded to countries in Europe and mission territories in South America and Ecuador, and she proved a capable administrator. In the early years of the 20th century, however, the French national government passed a number of laws that closed schools run by most religious congregations. Seeing the writing on the wall, Leonie moved the generalate of the sisters from Troyes to Perugia, Italy, where it remained for the rest of her life. In late 1913 she became ill and on January 10, 1914, she died in Perugia.

When Leonie was canonized in 2001, Pope John Paul II said, “The resolution which distinguished Mother Aviat so well, ‘Forget oneself completely,’ is also for us an appeal to go against the current of egotism and easy pleasures, and open ourselves to the social and spiritual needs of our time.” The Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales, who have served in Fredericksburg in our own diocese, as well as in the dioceses of Wilmington, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, maintain the spirit of St. Leonie Aviat in their dedication to their students and in the quality of religious life she has inspired in them.

Two years ago, when I was 12, my mom asked me if I wanted to go to Washington, DC for the March for Life with her and the Pro Life Ministry at SJN. I agreed, and in January 2022 I went to my first March for Life. That was the start of me advocating for pro-life issues. A quote from one of my favorite book characters from the Trials of Apollo perfectly describes the pro-life movement when she says, "Every living thing deserves a chance to grow." This quote clearly describes the reason I stay on the pro-life path.



In my three years in the Rooted Middle School program at SJN, we have done so much to grow in our faith and the pro-life way. One example of this is that every year we raise money to pack about 40,000 meals for people in poor countries. 

A big misconception about the pro-life movement is that it is exclusive to the issue of abortion. It is not, it represents so much more than that. While the issue of abortion is an important part of the pro-life movement, I believe that being pro-life is about respecting all of God's creation at all stages of life.

My experience at the March for Life was exhilarating and powerful. I could see God's love at work in all the people who attended. I've just turned 14, and I am headed back this year! No matter where you stand on the topic of pro-life, I invite you to join me in the pro-life ministry to March for Life!

Hypothermia Prevention Week: In the 16th Year

by Pam Dister

St. John Neumann’s Hypothermia Prevention Week is familiar to many parishioners; our parish and its partners have been hosting our unhoused neighbors since 2008. Do you know how SJN’s participation began? In 2007, there was an article in the newspaper about the non-profit FACETS’ facilitation of the County’s Office to End Homelessness’ program. No Catholic churches were listed as hosts, and our own facility was larger than many of the hosting churches. Participants in SJN’s JustFaith Program were already being mentored by and volunteering with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. We worked with Fr. Tom Murphy and the Diocese to become a hosting church. Our interfaith planning team provided volunteers from a variety of faith traditions. Sign up was done by hand before and after Masses, and numerous educational articles were placed in the bulletin. JustFaith alums and participants provided much of the volunteer muscle as the parish learned about the new program. It took a few years, but the rest is history!

One popular element of our Hypothermia Prevention Week is our casserole drive. We started the drive to help Embry Rucker, the North County Hypothermia Prevention Shelter, and the Reston Drop-In Center. I was familiar with the idea because my mom had participated in casserole drives at church. I knew that my family loved the Swiss Chicken Vegetable Medley casserole that my grandma had made for us, so I found other favorites, made sure they fit the pans, and put 75 pans out. They flew off the tables, and parishioners wanted more. We added to our repertoire by asking guests what they would like (mac and cheese is a favorite), and now have about a dozen recipes and over 200 pans. Since on-site volunteers need to be 18 or older, we thought this would be a way for parents with children to participate in direct action. Our casseroles have even been delivered to Embry Rucker during snowstorms (thank you, Subaru) when scheduled volunteers were unable to provide meals. We now serve many of them at our shelter, and our guests have given us “Best Food” awards. This year will be our 16th year of caring for the unhoused at the annual Hypothermia Prevention Shelter, and we continue to feed them well.