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Illustration: The Three Magi, Byzantine mosaic, c. 565,
Pope Francis’ Angelus Reflection for the Solemnity of the Epiphany
Saint Peter’s Square – Monday, 6 January 2025
“The Maji know that something unique is happening in the history of humanity”
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today the Church celebrates the manifestation of Jesus, and the Gospel focuses on the Magi, who at the end of a long journey arrive in Jerusalem to adore Jesus.
If we look closely, we will discover something stranger: while these wise men came from far away to find Jesus, those who were close by do not take a step towards the grotto in Bethlehem.
Drawn and guided by the star, the Magi made enormous expenses, giving up their time, accepting the many risks and uncertainties of which there was no shortage in those days.
And yet they overcame every difficulty to get to see the King Messiah, because they knew that something unique was happening in the history of humanity, and they did not want to miss the event.
They had inspiration within, and they followed it.
On the other hand, those who lived in Jerusalem, who should be the happiest and the most prompt to rush, stayed still. The priests and theologians correctly interpreted the Sacred Scriptures and provided directions to the Magi about where to find the Messiah, but they do not move from their “desks”.
They were satisfied with what they had, and they did not go seeking; they did not think it was worth the effort to leave Jerusalem.
This fact, sisters and brothers, makes us think and in a way provokes us, because it raises a question: to which category do we belong today?
Are we more like the shepherds who hurried to the grotto in the middle of the night, or the Magi from the East who confidently set out in search of the Son of God made man?
Or are we more like those who, although physically very close to him, do not open the doors of their hearts and of their lives, remaining closed and insensitive to the presence of Jesus?
According to an old story, a fourth king arrives late in Jerusalem, precisely during Jesus’ crucifixion – this is a beautiful story; it is not historical, but it is a beautiful story – because he stopped along the way to help those in need, giving them the precious gifts he had brought for Jesus.
Finally, an old man arrived and said to him: “In truth I say to you, all that you have done for the least of your brothers, you have done it for me”.
The Lord knows everything that we have done for others.
Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us so that, imitating the shepherds and the Magi, we are able to recognize Jesus close by, in the poor, in the Eucharist, in the abandoned, in our brother, in our sister.
