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The Christmas Cycle
We believe in Christ, the Son of God, and we consider ourselves fortunate to be permitted
to witness daily the manifestation of God in the celebration of Mass and in the
reception of Holy Communion. We pray that we may be permitted to continue witnessing
this miracle. We desire this privilege for our brethren also, for we may not come to the
Father without them.
Prayer
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that what we celebrate with solemn office, we may attain
by the understanding of a purified mind. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Sunday after Epiphany
The Mass
On the feast of Epiphany, Christ revealed His glory for the first time. When He came into the
world, it was in the silence and secrecy of Bethlehem. At Epiphany, however, He asserts His right
to dominion over men and over His Church by accepting the submission of the three kings.
The Church, into whose fold are gathered the nations of all ages, seeks Him out to offer Him
gifts in acknowledgment of His right to rule. These are the thoughts which the liturgy develops
from the story of the visit of the Magi.
Christ manifests Himself a second time at His baptism in the Jordan. There the heavens
open, and He is publicly proclaimed the Son of God. A third manifestation of His divinity will
be made at the marriage feast at Cana. “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee;
and manifested His glory. And His disciples believed in Him” ( Jn 2:11).
This third manifestation of Christ’s divinity is the theme of the liturgy on the second Sunday
after Epiphany. As we enter the house of God on this day to attend Mass, the Gospel calls attention
to the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana. With the eyes of faith we see the splendor of
our hidden God, and we adore Him. About us we hear the children of God cry out for mercy,
“Lord have mercy on us.” Then they burst into song, the song of the angels, “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.” After this song of exultation the liturgy prays,
“O almighty and eternal God, who rulest all things both in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear
the prayers of Thy people and grant us Thy peace in our days” (Collect).
The peace of God produces concord in the hearts of men and gives them the strength to
continue in the practice of virtue. One who possesses the peace of Christ is borne up by His
spirit and His strength, and makes Him manifest by good works. In such a Christian life, as
described in the Epistle, the power and glory of Christ are made manifest. Verily, “the Lord sent
His Word, and healed them” (Gradual), reformed them in a new life, and established them in
the fullness of divine strength. “Praise ye the Lord, alleluia.”
The devout Christian heart is touched by the story of the miracle at Cana. The Lord with His
divine power commands the water, and it ceases to be water; it becomes wine, excellent wine, fit
for a wedding feast. All nature is subject to Him. The elements do His bidding and adore Him.
At the Offertory of the Mass, drops of water are mingled with the wine, and in the Consecration
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