AN EPIPHANY PRAYER for GENEROSITY The gift you have received, give as gift. Matthew 10:8 + As we recall the manifestation of the Lord to the nations through the Magi, let us pause and remember that the Lord makes His presence known to us too. He is never far from any one of us and walks with us He is light for our eyes. He is the air we breathe, The voice we speak! Come, be the song we sing, Be the path we seek! Jesus, our Messiah, Jesus, our Lord, Come and be our Light! HYMN SONGS OF THANKFULNESS AND PRAISE Songs of thankfulness and praise, Jesus, Lord, to Thee we raise, Manifested by the star To the sages from afar; Branch of royal David s stem In Thy birth at Bethlehem; Anthems be to Thee addressed, Manifest at Jordan s stream, Prophet, Priest, and King supreme; And at Cana, wedding guest, In Thy Godhead manifest; Manifest in power divine, Changing water into wine; Anthems be to Thee addressed, Manifest in making whole Palsied limbs and fainting soul; Manifest in valiant fight, Quelling all the devil s might; Manifest in gracious will, Ever bringing good from ill; Anthems be to Thee addressed,
Sun and moon shall darkened be, Stars shall fall, the heavens shall flee, Christ will then like lightning shine, All will see His glorious sign: All will then the trumpet hear; All will see the Judge appear; Thou by all wilt be confessed, Grant us grace to see Thee, Lord, Mirrored in Thy holy Word; May we imitate Thee now, And be pure, as pure art Thou; That we like to Thee may be At Thy great Epiphany; And may praise Thee, ever blest, THE PRAYER OF SIMEON Luke 2:29-32 Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your Word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people, Israel. PRAYER Everlasting God, the radiance of faithful souls, You brought the nations to Your light and kings to the brightness of Your rising. Fill the world with Your glory, and show Yourself to all the nations; through Him Who is the True Light and the Bright and Morning Star, Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord. Amen.
ISAIAH 60: 1-6 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; MATTHEW 2: 1-12 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet has written But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you wi ll come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel. Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
REFLECTION Today s prayer reminds us that Jesus is the Great Gift to all people, Gentiles and Jews alike. We have seen a great light and we come to see who this might be and led by the star of faith we realize that it is Christ the Lord, our Messiah and Savior. We do not offer Him gold, incense and myrrh but rather the simple gifts of our own lives, the work of our hands and hearts and minds. We return to Him the gifts that God first gave us. What could we possibly ever give Him that could not provide for Himself except our love? During His teaching years among us, He constantly encouraged us to love one another. He showed us how we might do this and still we are somewhat hesitant to live it to the fullest. Today, a new gift-challenge is offered to us. Have you ever thought about donating your vital organs and tissue at the time of your death? It costs you nothing and means so much to others. What would Jesus think of this gift? What keeps you from making this gift of life? A TRUE STORY RICH MULLANE WON'T TAKE HIS CHILD'S PASSING IN VAIN Before my son Rick became a donor at 19, he had thought about organ and tissue donation and discussed it with us. So when the time came on that fateful night in March of 2000, the choice was easy for us. We donated Rick's organs and tissues after he passed away, and he became not only a hero to us, his family, but to approximately 40 people he donated to. It's not just about donating organs hearts, livers, kidneys, pancreas, lungs and intestines. We've also learned how to make available tissues that can make a failing heart beat stronger, or even a complete hip replacement possible. All because someone gave the selfless gift, the gift of life, by being an organ and tissue donor. So, someone today is walking using the bones they received from Rick. Some are seeing the world today though eye tissue Rick donated. And some are even wearing his skin while recovering from severe burns. Please, today, sit and talk with your family. Sign up as a donor and make your wishes known to your loved ones. Sign the back of your license. Enroll in the Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. We know that Rick is still with us, in the people that received his tissues. It's helped us to cope with his loss. We knew what Rick wanted, and it made a difference to my family.
LIVE LIFE THEN GIVE LIFE! PSALM 119 Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the LORD. Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God's ways. You have given them the command to keep Your precepts with care. May my ways be firm in the observance of Your laws! Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all Your commands. I will praise You with sincere heart as I study Your just edicts. With all my heart I seek You; do not let me stray from Your commands. In my heart I treasure Your promise. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach me Your laws. INTERCESSIONS Response: Lord, light up our life. Because we have been gifted by God, we are called to use our giftedness for the building up of the Family of God and especially for our brothers and sisters who are most in need. Individually and collectively we can reach out and touch some one and make a quiet difference in their life and so we pray: May we work to bring about peace in our troubled world, we pray May we labor for equality and justice for all peoples, we pray May we consider giving the gift of organ transplantation, so that others might have life, we pray May we bring literacy skills to those who do not have them, we pray May we welcome the stranger in the person of the migrant and the immigrant, we pray May we secure employment for those willing to work, we pray May we find housing for the homeless, we pray May we go out of our way to care for the elderly and infirm, we pray May we feed the hungry, we pray May we befriend the lonely, we pray O Lord, help each of us to be as eager to give to others in Your name as we are to receive from others. May we always imitate You in Your great love and concern for Your people. Amen.
Father and Maker of all, You adorn all creation with splendor and beauty, and fashion human lives in Your image and likeness. Awaken in every heart reverence for the work of Your hands, and renew among Your people a deep gratitude for the awesome gift of life, and a readiness to nurture and sustain Your precious gift. My we be generous in giving the gift of ourselves and our love back to You in thanksgiving for all that You have done for us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, Who came to live life and ready us for a new and eternal life to come. Amen. + Saint John Baptist de La Salle and all you holy Brothers who have gone before us, help us to nurture the gift of life in one another. Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever!