Epiphany Blessings

Close-up of Creche in Lanherne's Chapel.

Dear Friends and Family,

A blessed Feast of the Epiphany! May God grant you some share of the graces of wisdom and adoration that the three wise men received on this day so long ago.

Here, it has been a very blessed day, and is not quite done... but I'll come to that. Thank you for your prayers for a speedy recovery. While much of the past 10 days disappeared in sleep or waking hours where my brain was not functioning well, I now seem to have pulled out of the flu bug. As a precaution I slept a bit later than usual this morning, but was then able to tackle the day's Confessions, two sung Masses, visiting, etc. and my throat is still functioning, albeit a bit tired--but that can be cured soon enough by turning in earlier than usual tonight.

Where to begin to recount the many blessings of today? So many of them have proper names--they are the members of the two congregations, that of Lanherne and that of St. Edward's. It is humbling and wonderful to see so many good people, making so many sacrifices for their faith, manifesting charity and support in so many ways toward one another, working so hard to raise their children well, etc. etc. To give just a few small examples: After the Mass in Plymouth, I discovered that our organist had not only worked to prepare the beautiful music that he led during today's Mass, but had also been up until 5 AM baking a special Mexican cake that is eaten on the Epiphany! So after Mass, we had the joy of eating that cake and the suspense of seeing who would get the pieces with the three statues of baby Jesus.... Then there will little children to play with. While waiting for the cake to arrive in the hall after Mass, and trying to keep the children from rioting, I led them in a game of "Simon says" which went fine, the last "Simon says" was "Simon says go quietly to the table and stand there as I lead the blessing of the cake..." worked like a charm.

Then there was holding a little baby boy, and then--earlier in the morning--picking up a bigger boy, now about 4 years old, but who is such a joy, a little down-syndrome boy that God has blessed us with at Lanherne. Hopefully a future altar boy in a few years... There would be so many other examples of sacrifice and charity to relate, but if I did so I would either be indiscrete, or foster pride by publishing what they'd done, or both. So, I'll just mention one more: a young mother who generously provided everything necessary for the Epiphany blessings, which leads me to the other sort of blessings from today.... the liturgical ones.

On the Feast of the Epiphany, the traditional custom is to bless "Epiphany Water" on the eve of the Epiphany. It is by far the longest blessing of the year, taking about 30 minutes if not sung, and a good deal longer if sung. It involves a litany of the saints, an extended exorcism, a Te Deum, etc. Then, on the Feast of the Epiphany, chalk is blessed (including an exorcism) for use in blessing homes. Then gold, frankincense, and myrrh are blessed. For the gold, the congregation can place wedding rings, etc. on the plate to be blessed. Such items are blessed (and exorcized) and then given back to people. As for the Epiphany water and chalk, those are distributed to the faithful to take home and use to bless their homes. The chalk is used to write the year and initials of the three wise men over the doorpost to the home, to call down God's blessing and protection on all who enter.

Then, for the fourth time during Christmastide, I had the privilege of kneeling before the Infant Jesus, incensing Him, adoring, Him, then picking up His tiny statue and presenting Him to each of the Nuns and to each of the faithful for their adoration.

But the day's blessings are not yet done... In just a few minutes the Nuns will be singing Christmas carols before the creche, so I will sign off and head down to the chapel to pray and hear them sing.

May Jesus and Mary watch over you and grant you an abundance of blessings as we begin this new year.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari