WDTPRS – Epiphany Collect: transformed by the beauty of Your sublime glory

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the ancient Western Church and in the East, Epiphany was more important than the relative latecomer Christmas.  Epiphany is from the Greek word for a divine “manifestation” or “revelation”.  There are many “epiphanies” of God in the Scripture.  Think, for example, of the burning bush encountered by Moses.

The Latin Church’s antiphons for Vespers reflect the tradition that Epiphany was thought to be not only the day the Magi came to adore Christ, but also the same day years later when He changed water into wine at Cana, and also when He was baptized by St. John in the Jordan.  In each mysterious event, Jesus was revealed to be more than a mere man: He is man and God.

The Epiphany Collect was in the 1962 Missale Romanum and in ancient sacramentaries.

Deus, qui hodierna die Unigenitum tuum stella duce revelasti, concede propitius, ut qui iam te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam speciem tuae celsitudinis perducamur.

Stella duce is an ablative absolute.  The adjective hodiernus means “of this day, today’s”.  In older Latin, celsitudo is “lofty carriage of the body”. In later Latin it is used like the title “Highness”.  In our liturgical context it is a divine attribute, God’s transcendent grandeur, glory.

SUPER LITERAL VERSION:

O God, who on this very day revealed your Only-begotten, a star as the guide, graciously grant, that we, who have already come to know You by faith, may be led all the way unto the beauty of Your glory to be contemplated.

OBSOLETE ICEL (1973):

Father, you revealed your Son to the nations by the guidance of a star. Lead us to your glory in heaven by the light of faith.

NEW CORRECTED ICEL (2011):

O God, who on this day revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations by the guidance of a star, grant in your mercy, that we, who know you already by faith, may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory.

In Latin prayers species (three syllables) often means “beauty”. It is also a technical, philosophical term about the way the human intellect apprehends things.  Species has to do with the relationship between the thing known and our knowing power.  A species transforms the mind of the one perceiving a thing.  The object we consider acts upon our power of knowing.  Simultaneously, the knowing power acts upon the object known.  Our knowing power’s active and passive aspects meet in the species and the object of our consideration is known directly, without intermediaries.  Easy.

This is what we are praying for, hoping for, living our earthly lives for: to see God face to face, directly and immediately.

In this life we know God only indirectly, by faith, our reason aided by the authority of revelation and by grace.  This is St. Paul’s “dark glass” (1 Cor 13:12) through which we peer toward Him in longing.

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the Father’s Beauty. He is Truth and Beauty and Glory itself.

St. Hilary of Poitiers (d 367) conceived God’s divine attribute of glory as a transforming power which divinizes us by our contact with it.  After Moses talked with God in the tent of the Ark, he wore a veil over his face, which became too bright to look at.  We pray today, literally, to be brought “all the way to the beauty of glory (species celsitudinis)” of God “which is to be contemplated”.  His beauty will act on us, increase our knowledge of Him and, therefore, our love for Him … for all eternity.   We will be, all the more, the images He intended.

Christ could be understood to be the species celsitudinis of this prayer. Contemplate His truth and beauty.  Christ is the true speaker and spoken truth of every prayer of every Mass.

If eternal Beauty transforms us, “divinizes” us, then beauty in this life changes us too.

The Christian life moves from credere to intueri, from believing to gazing, from assent to participation.

This movement is at the core of what St. Augustine of Hippo famously wrote about God as pulchritudo tam antiqua et tam nova, beauty ever ancient and ever new. For Augustine, beauty is truth perceived in its fullness. To see God’s beauty is to be reordered by love. Knowledge remains external unless it draws the soul into what it knows.

Likewise, St. Gregory of Nyssa describes the Christian journey as an unending ascent into divine glory. The vision of God never exhausts itself, because God is infinite. Each true vision enlarges desire and refines the soul. The Epiphany Collect echoes this dynamic.

Could a fostering of beauty in our churches help us reach people today in a way that arguments or other appeals may not?

Our liturgical worship of the Most High God must lead us to encounter beauty, truth, transcendent mystery.  Holy Mass requires the finest architecture, vestments, music – everything – we can summon from human genius, love and labor.  What we sing and say and do in church, and the church itself, ought to presage the liturgy of heaven, where the Church Triumphant enjoys already the Beatific Vision.

Liturgy should be “epiphany”, wherein we encounter transforming mystery.

We are our rites.

Let us celebrate every Mass in such a way that we become shoeless Moses before the burning bush which is never consumed.

Let Mass make us Magi with sight and mind fixed in longing upon the beautiful, true and yet speechless Word, in whom transcendent glory was both hidden and revealed.

Posted in Christmas and Epiphany, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Save The Liturgy - Save The World, WDTPRS | Tagged ,
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An Epiphany Prayer to the Magi for the Sophisticated

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Click!

Here’s something I penned some years ago. Recently, a member of my text group brought up Waugh’s book and Helena’s prayer. Hence, here it is again.

Evelyn Waugh wrote a terrific little book, Helena.  It is about the mother of the Emperor Constantine.  US HERE – UK HERE

In our book, St. Helena, discoverer of the True Cross, prays to the Holy Magi.

This is a prayer by and for people who are talented, intellectuals, artists, who because of their intellectual gifts find it difficult to arrive at the same faith of simple people.

The prayer has two messages.

First, simple folk need far less ratiocination (e.g., exegesis, syllogisms, disputations, etc.) than those who are more gifted in order to adore the Baby in the manger.  They come to the side of the Lord so much more quickly, willingly, with less hesitation.

Second, there is nevertheless hope for intellectuals, scientists, artist, who, in spite of the difficulties their intellects pose to the Faith, can arrive late at the manger and still by welcomed with open arms by the Holy Family.

This is my day, and these are my kind.

“Like me, you were late in coming. The shepherds were here long before, even the cattle. They had joined the chorus of angels before you were on your way.

How laboriously you came, taking sights and calculating, where the shepherds had run barefoot! How odd you looked on the road, attended by what outlandish liveries, laden with such preposterous gifts!

You finally came to the last stage of your pilgrimage and the great star stood still above you. What did you do? You stopped to call on King Herod. Deadly exchange of compliments in which began that unended war of mobs and magistrates against the innocent!

Yet you came and were not turned away. You too found room before the manger. Your gifts were not needed, but they were accepted and put carefully by, for they were brought with love. In that new order of charity that had just come to life, there was room for you, too. You were not lower in the eyes of the holy family than the ox or the ass.

You are my especial patrons, and patrons of all late-comers, of all who have a tedious journey to make to the truth, of all who are confused with knowledge and speculation, of all who through politeness make themselves partners in guilt, of all who stand in danger by reason of their talents.

Dear cousins, pray for me, and for my poor overloaded son. May he, too, before the end find kneeling space in the straw. Pray for the great, lest they perish utterly.

For His sake who did not reject your curious gifts, pray always for the learned, the oblique, the delicate. Let them not be quite forgotten at the Throne of God when the simple come into their kingdom.”

 

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Daily Rome Shot 1522

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: Failed

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Here’s The Triumph of St. Augustine by Claudio Coello.

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

Click!
There’s a back story, too.

 

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The Jubilee ends. A Consistory begins. The real start of the pontificate?

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Jubilee Year officially ends today.  That means that, in some ways, Leo’s pontificate really starts today.  He is no longer burdened with the pre-programmed audiences, etc., that the Jubilee entailed.  Emblematic of that is that a consistory, which he called, begins tomorrow.

At Il Giornale writer Nico Spuntoni has info about the consistory (formal meeting of cardinals with the Pope).  Here is an English version:

Working Groups and Lunch with the Pope: Here is the Program for the Consistory
Tomorrow the first extraordinary consistory of the pontificate of Leo XIV opens. We reveal all the appointments for the members of the Sacred College.

Leo XIV will not have time to rest after the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica this morning. [Thus the Jubilee Year is officially over.] Tomorrow, in fact, the Pope is expected at the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate. In these hours, cardinals from all over the world have arrived in the Vatican for what the Pope, in a letter we anticipated, defined as “a moment of communion and fraternity, of reflection and sharing” aimed at supporting and advising him “in the arduous responsibility of governing the universal Church.”

The Program
We revealed how Leo XIV proposed in his Christmas letter the re-reading of two documents of his predecessor, Evangelii gaudium and Praedicate evangelium, and indicated “Synod and synodality” and “liturgy” [!] as “topics of particular relevance.” But how will the consistory actually take place? Today IlGiornale is able to present the detailed calendar.   [I would have preferred Veritatis splendor.]

The registration of the cardinals will begin tomorrow at noon in the atrium of the Paul VI Hall. After a welcome coffee, the actual work in the new Synod Hall will begin at 3:30 pm with community prayer, followed by a greeting from the Cardinal Dean, the Italian Giovanni Battista Re. At that point, the Pope will give an introductory speech, which will be followed by the presentation of the work.

Three Sessions
The complete program arrived to the cardinals with little notice. In the three sessions of the consistory, “spread” over two days, working groups have been planned, from which group reports will then emerge. A working method already seen in the meeting of cardinals on the reform of the Curia at the end of summer 2022, but which is not the traditional method of consistories. Even at the time, the inability to speak publicly, as was done in consistories and pre-conclave congregations, did not please all the cardinals. The members of the college will discover, after the Pope’s introductory address, the guidelines for the formation of the working groups. In 2022, the criterion used was linguistic, but the results were not satisfactory for everyone. The working group format was not mentioned in the first convocation sent by the cardinal dean on November 7th.

Lunch with the Pope
Tomorrow, the first session will conclude at 6:45 PM with the Pope’s address and prayer. Work will resume on Thursday morning, after Mass at the Altar of the Chair, with the opening of the second session. In this “window,” after the group reports, at 12:00 PM there will be free interventions on the topic. The cardinals will then have lunch with the Pope before beginning the third and final session at 3:15 PM.

In the afternoon, after the group reports and free interventions, the Pope’s concluding address and the final Te Deum are expected at 6:45 PM. Time is short and there are many cardinals: will Leo XIV manage to hear everyone’s opinion? [Certainly not.]

Posted in Leo XIV, The Drill | Tagged
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Priests of the Diocese of Charlotte submit dubia to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

News today was found at The Pillar.

More than 30 priests (31 signatories, representing about one-quarter of the diocesan clergy, with two-thirds of them pastors) from the Diocese of Charlotte submitted formal dubia to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on January 5, 2026, seeking clarification on the liturgical authority of their diocesan bishop, Bishop Michael Martin.

The dubia were prompted by concerns over a 17 December pastoral letter from Bishop Martin that, effective January 2026, prohibits the use of altar rails, kneelers, and prie-dieus for receiving Holy Communion, requiring removal of movable kneeling fixtures.

In the questions submitted, the priests ask whether a diocesan bishop may:

  • Ban the erection and require removal of altar rails, given liturgical norms (e.g., GIRM 295 and 42) that call for the sanctuary to be distinctly marked.
  • Prohibit kneelers for those who wish to receive Communion while kneeling, noting that kneeling is permitted by the GIRM (and Redemptionis sacramentum).
  • Restrict vestments, communion by intinction, and other liturgical elements (such as prayers, gestures, chants, and ornaments) that are not prohibited in universal liturgical law but are referenced in a leaked draft of further diocesan liturgical regulations.

The submission of dubia reflects broader controversy and concern among both clergy and lay faithful in the diocese about Bishop Martin’s recent liturgical directives and his overall governance style, which some describe as overly prescriptive or “micromanaging.”

One might add tyrannical.

It is hard to say what will result from this.  It went to Legislative Texts instead of Divine Worship (which has its own canonical section).

Will it be slow walked?

In any event, this will probably result in a clarification of the vague language in Church documents about the bishop being the “the chief steward of the mysteries of God in the particular Church entrusted to his care, is the moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole of its liturgical life” (GIRM 22).

Also, this will reveal what Pope Leo thinks about the relationship of bishops and priests.

When 25% of a dioceses priests, and 75% of them being pastors (18.75%), rise up like this, there is clearly a serious problem with the bishop.

 

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Priests and Priesthood, The Drill |
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Send 2025 CHRISTMAS CARDS to Fr. Z! – With a cautionary note. – UPDATED

Posted on 6 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I always enjoy your Christmas cards.  The notes and letters which describe the year people have had are interesting and, often, moving.  Over the years I’ve recognized so many familiar names.  I read them all. And drawings by kids are great!  A couple years ago, I started a KID ART PAGE.  I wish I had done this earlier.

If you would like to send me Advent/Christmas greetings or cards, please send by snail mail.

Remember mail?

As I have done in years past, I’ll try to post all the places whence they were mailed from around the world.  Keep in mind that if you don’t include your address, at least your city, I can’t easily do that.

I have a US PO BOX address.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
733 Struck St.
PO BOX 44603
Madison, WI 53744-4603

That is the P.O. Box of the Tridentine Mass Society of Madison

Someone will regularly check the P.O. box for me and forward everything.  That will add a little time to how long it takes to reach me… but they do reach me.

NB: Some of you had an alternative PO BOX address. Do NOT use that.  That postal shop went out of business!

If you want to send something time sensitive, or perhaps expensive – like keys to a Bugatti – contact me. HERE   I can give you a faster address!

If you’ve been a regular benefactor and we’ve had contact, you might consider that option.

Please DO NOT send perishable food items. I am sure they would be wonderful but, please, just don’t, not with the mail the way it’s been.

If you put glitter in the card, I’ll recite the Maledictory Psalms.

If  I receive something threatening or illegal, I will immediately turn it in to law enforcement.  I’m sorry I have to write that under such a cheery topic, but this is the world we live in, especially in this dreadful craziness going on.

UPDATE 20 Dec 25:

I am starting to get envelopes forwarded of Christmas cards.

Therefore, I’m getting your annual letters and photos and updates.

So, from where?

Mt. Holy Springs, PA (Thank God for recovery from surgeries)
Indianapolis, IN
Niceville, FL (settling in)
Arbor Vitae, WI (great to hear from you, thanks for comments about Rome photos)
Sanford, FL (see you soon, I hope)
Atlanta, GA (Thanks sometimes when mom was taking in mail, things got lost, bless her)
Orlando, FL (Great letter! Including “elk slobber” – beautiful family)
Berkley, OH (another great looking bunch of kids… fruits of the old Mass? Maybe?)
Chula Vista, CA (thanks for the Masses for my intention)
Scottsdale, AZ (I miss the chickadees)
W. Salem WI (wow… a lot… what a fun letter and KID ART)
York, PA (I remember the chat with your Rev. son in Rome for the pilgrimage! – hi to him)

KID ART

From Genevieve – 9.   I am wondering what the thought balloon is about.  I think … see what I did there? … that I am again BLUE vestments during Avent.  I think… see what I did there? … that that is a BLUE maniple and I, definitively, as a snowman, have a PURPLE maniple.   Do you have another interpretation?

From Rita – 7

Rita seems to have a grasp of human anatomy.  I’m trying to get my imagination around the location of people on the road.  And, it seems that the “inn” is slated for expansion.  Maybe by next year?

This one wasn’t signed.  I hope the AC is on in church.

UPDATE 26 Dec 25:

I received a care package of cards!

Appleton, WI – Wow!  St. Agnes folks!
Lodi,WI – What a marriage photo!
Utica, NY
Louisville, KY – I like the depiction of Joseph
Brooklyn, WI – so nice, thanks.  And KID ART!
Rochester, MI – thx for feedback on the podcasts, I don’t get much
Albany, NY – such a faithful reader and donor, thank you
Bethesda, MD – lovely family
W. St. Paul, MN – Thanks for Masses at Holy Hill. my mentor Fr. Foster is buried there.
Boca Raton, FL
Wading River, NY – thanks for the prayers for my mom
Roselle Park, NJ – Nice card
Washougal, WA – thanks!
Lakeside, CA – 73!  I want to get ZedNet going again.
Andover, MN
Mesa, AZ
Pen Argyl, PA – Thanks for checking my pieces at 1 Peter 5
Menomonee Falls, WI – “Soldier on!”
Ivy, VA – lettersfromthesaint.com
West Warwick, RI – KID ART and Latin and… the Eye of Sauron?
Malone, NY – thanks!
Andover, MN “I’m 80 years old and … I’m concerned about the leadership in the Church.”
Southwark, England  – Thanks Father!

KID ART

We have some Latin.  Is that Barad Dur next to the Christmas tree?

 

Thanks Ben.  You are for sure a lot bigger than the last time I saw you!

*Sniff*

Leaving there hurt a lot.  Thanks, Bishop.

Remember that interesting Silver Dollar?

One of you SENT IT! Thank you. I don’t know who you are. Bless you.

UPDATE 2 January 2026:

Another batch of cards arrived today. Terrific.

No kid art this time. Oh well.

A couple of amusing pics to start off.

And…

And…

But then there’s this…

Ha ha. Very funny.

Cincinnati, OH (Smariticus Pantsicus)
Liberty Lake, WA – lovely family
Howard Beach, NY – thanks for no glitter
Bradenton, FL – many thanks
Colchest, VT – you are welcome
Atherton, CA – small world – “The Parish” is amazing
Greeley, CO – you are very kind
Thaxton, VA – A calm life is a blessing
Biloxi, MS – thanks for the holy cards
Deptford, NJ – I was in your area not long ago
Calabasas, CA – nice family
Holliston, MA – congrats in advance
Shelton, CT – long-time reader!
Plano, TX – time flies
Austin, TX – be strong!
Orrtanna, PA – thanks for the Masses
River Ridge, LA (SNOW?!?)
Dorchester, MA – Oorah!
Sarasota, FL – very kind
Irving, TX – I’ll remember at San C&G
Greenville, MI – thanks for the Masses
White Bear Lake, MN – Persevere!
Eagle, ID – what a year!
Centennial, CO – “yeah!”
Corvina, CA – Confession! Yay!
Sudbury, ON – lovely card
Lost Nation, IA – lovely family
Elkton, MD – thanks for the note about going to confession
Dillsburg, PA – Nice sweaters
Ave Maria, FL – PERSEVERE!
Ashford, Middlesex, England – I look forward to returning!
Wasilla, AK – thanks for mentioning the podcasts

UPDATE 6 Jan 26:

Mechanicsburg, PA – KID ART!
Montgomery, AL – Thank you! And the Ordo will help too.
Harris, MN – I’m glad I could say Mass for that wedding intention
Tiverton, RI – nice to hear from you
Anchorage, AK – thanks and condolences
Wichita, KS – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Budapest – Köszönöm! Szép álom. Lassan tanulok magyarul. Nehéz!

The kid art tells a story… the pictures were connected, but I had to do separate photos.


21 Jan 2025

I received another batch of cards!

Where are you?

Denver, CO – thanks for the prayers for my mother
Alliston, ON
KC, MO Semiquinquennial!
Battesford, Leices., England (a familiar place over the years)
Destrehan, LA
St. Paul, MN – Hi Father!
Vatican City – Hi Guard!
Escanaba, MI – Condolences again, old friend.
Albany, NY – thanks for the Masses
Letterkenny, Co. Donegal – D!!!!
Southwark, England – HIS HERMENEUTICALNESS!
Stockport, UK (Manchester United?  Life on Mars?)
Baldwin, MD – persevere!
Southwick, MA – you are welcome for the live stream Masses
Proctor, MT – you are welcome
Harrisburg, PA – thank you
Fort Collins, CO (nice family, in the shadow of WWV)

No kid art, alas.

It is such a pleasure after supper to start opening the cards and reading annual letters and seeing pictures.  Over the years, I’ve been remembering you.

There’s something great about snail mail.

29 Jan 2026 UPDATE

Rapid City, SD (nice B&W)
Rome
Flushing, NY (thanks for the patience)
Anchorage, AK (yes.. GO TO CONFESSION!)
Rome (dear E! How you have suffered a the hands of “mercy”)
Marion, IN (Thank you for your kind words.)
Lake Minchumina, AK (no priest there… *sigh*)
Vatican City (Swiss Guards)
Lincoln, NE (what a letter!)
Pardeeville, WI (updates… do subscribe!)

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ACTION ITEM! |
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Daily Rome Shot 1521

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today’s Wordle: 4

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance, utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

Cool…

And…

Black to move and mate in 4.

NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.

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Vigil of Epiphany – The 1937 Missale Romanum Mass readings. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In some places where the pre-1955 Missale Romanum is being used (recently reprinted by the monks of Norcia – unboxing video HERE), for Mass the formulary for the Vigil of Epiphany is used with violet vestments. Already by the 1962 Missale, it is the formulary for 5 January celebrated in white and the readings are Titus 2:11-15 and Luke 2:21 … again.

The formulary for the pre-55 Mass is quite different.  Let’s have a look at the readings and then make some comments.

Lesson from the letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians Gal 4:1-7

4 Brethren: [T]he heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; 2 but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3 So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir.

Continuation ? of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Matt 2:19-23.
[In illo tempore] 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archela?us reigned over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
___

What is our liturgical context?

The Vigil of Epiphany situates the Church in a moment of quiet expectancy.

We are still within the radiance of Christmas, yet already looking toward the manifestation of Christ to the nations.

The readings chosen in the older Missal form the mind to understand what sort of revelation Epiphany will bring and what kind of people we have already become through Christ’s coming. The readings given in the older Missal are deliberate in their restraint. They do not yet show us the Magi. Instead, they tell us what kind of world Christ enters and what kind of sons we become because He has come.

Saint Paul, writing to the Galatians, reflects on inheritance and maturity. An heir possesses everything by right, yet during childhood he lives under supervision, awaiting the appointed time. Paul applies this image to the whole history of salvation. Humanity, before Christ, lived under forms of governance that restrained and instructed. The Law, customs, and even fear itself served as guardians, preserving what was promised while delaying its full possession.

When the appointed moment arrived, God acted with precision. Paul describes this moment as the fullness of time. The Son enters history through a woman and under the Law, sharing fully in the human condition. Redemption unfolds from within that condition. Those subject to the Law are gathered into a new family, receiving adoption as sons. The Spirit of the Son takes residence in the heart and gives voice to a new form of prayer: “Abba, Father.” This cry expresses a genuine change of status and a new intimacy with God.

Saint Irenaeus describes this mystery:

“For this reason did the Word of God become man, and the Son of God become the Son of man: that man, having been taken into the Word, and receiving adoption, might become a son of God.”  (Adversus haereses III, 19, 1)

To be Christian is not simply to obey a new law, it is to live a new relationship. “No longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir.”

The Gospel presents this same mystery through the obedience of Saint Joseph, who is the true King of the Jews, and the hidden life of the Child, Joseph’s heir. With Herod’s death, the path opens for return. Guidance comes again through a dream, and Joseph acts decisively. Political realities still require caution, and the Holy Family settles in Nazareth. The evangelist sees in this settlement the fulfillment of prophetic expectation. God’s promises unfold through ordinary places and faithful decisions.   Paul in 2 Cor 8:9:

9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Nazareth teaches the Church how divine sonship takes shape in daily life. Adoption into God’s household does not remove the believer from ordinary circumstances. It transforms them from within. The Son grows in wisdom and stature within a family, under authority, in obscurity. This pattern forms the lives of those who belong to Him.

Bl. Ildefonso Schuster remarks:

Humility is the mother of order and justice, and portrays the full beauty of the divine perfection. In the Holy Family of Nazareth authority and personal dignity are seen in inverse order. Jesus is the last in the house and is obedient to all. Mary, indeed, commands her divine Son, but yields obedience to Joseph; and he, out of obedience to the eternal Father who so ordains it, serves both Jesus and Mary, giving them commands, thus setting an example of the manner in which all prelates and superiors should act in the Church of God. The virtue of St Joseph, although proportioned to his high office as foster-father of Jesus and spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, is very much less than that of those who are subject to him; yet almighty God maintains the order of rank which he has established, and communicates his will, not to Jesus, not to Mary, but to Joseph as being the head of the house.

As the Church still waits for Epiphany – REAL Epiphany – these Mass readings invite an our examination of our identity and conscience. The inheritance has already been granted. The Spirit already prays within us. The path of obedience remains the ordinary means by which this inheritance is lived. Vigilance, trust, and fidelity prepare the heart to recognize Christ when He is manifested.

The Son has come. The Spirit has been given. The household of God stands open. The Vigil teaches us to remain attentive and obedient, so that the glory revealed to the nations may also be revealed within us and through our words and deeds to others.

Saint Leo the Great draws the conclusion for the Christian life:

“Recognize, O Christian, your dignity, and having become a sharer in the divine nature, do not return to former baseness by unworthy conduct.” (Sermon 1, 3)

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Special Blessing of Epiphany Water on the Vigil of Epiphany (5 January)

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Wonderful customs come with the Feast of the Epiphany.  Real Epiphany is 6 January, by the way.  Happily, this year it doesn’t get transferred to a Sunday because it falls on a Sunday.

On Epiphany we find in the Roman Ritual a blessing for gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Please bring all your spare, unblessed myrrh to your priest… and your gold.  Bring lots of gold to your priest… or send it to me if your priest isn’t around.

By the way, we use pure frankincense in our thurible.  I just bought a bunch more which I will bless.  I also have a bag of real myrrh.

On Epiphany there is also the famous blessing for homes.  Father can bless chalk which can be used then to mark the lintel of the house with the year.

However, today, on the Vigil of Epiphany, there is a special blessing for Epiphany Water.  Here is a photo from a few years ago, of yours truly blessing Epiphany Water.  In subsequent years people brought 5 gallon containers and lots of boxes of salt!

The Rite is very cool.  It begins with the Litany of Saints, with a couple special petitions about the blessing of the water to follow. Satan and the demons are then driven from the place with a mighty prayer.

This is NOT a prayer for lay people to recite. Period. Understand? Just don’t.

Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels [In Latin, of course. The “+” is where the celebrant makes the Sign of the Cross.]

In the name of our Lord Jesus + Christ and by His power, we cast you out, every unclean spirit, every devilish power, every assault of the infernal adversary, every legion, every diabolical group and sect; begone and stay far from the Church of God, from all who are made in the image of God and redeemed by the precious blood of the divine + Lamb. Never again dare, you cunning serpent, to deceive the human race, to persecute the Church of God, nor to strike the chosen of God and to sift them as + wheat. For it is the Most High God who commands you, + He to whom you heretofore in your great pride considered yourself equal; He who desires that all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. God the Father + commands you. God the Son + commands you. God the Holy + Spirit commands you. The majesty of Christ, the eternal Word of God made flesh + commands you; He who for the salvation of our race, the race that was lost through your envy, humbled Himself and became obedient even unto death; He who built His Church upon a solid rock, and proclaimed that the gates of hell should never prevail against her, and that He would remain with her all days, even to the end of the world. The sacred mystery of the cross + commands you, as well as the power of all the mysteries of Christian faith. The exalted Virgin Mary, Mother of God + commands you, who in her lowliness crushed your proud head from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. The faith of the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the other apostles + commands you. The blood of the martyrs and the devout intercession of all holy men and women commands you.

Therefore, accursed dragon and every diabolical legion, we adjure you by the living + God, by the true + God, by the holy + God, by the God who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have life everlasting; cease your deception of the human race and your giving them to drink of the poison of everlasting damnation; desist from harming the Church and fettering her freedom. Begone Satan, you father and teacher of lies and enemy of mankind. Give place to Christ in whom you found none of your works; give place to the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church, which Christ Himself purchased with His blood. May you be brought low under God’s mighty hand. May you tremble and flee as we call upon the holy and awesome name of Jesus, before whom hell quakes, and to whom the virtues, powers, and dominations are subject; whom the cherubim and seraphim praise with unwearied voices, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts!

The salt and water are exorcised, blessed, blended.

Thus, all these elements are ripped from the domination of the Prince of this world and handed over wholly to the King, ready for use in our spiritual warfare.

At the end of the rite the Te Deum is sung.  Spiffy.

Epiphany and its Vigil, once more important than Christmas.  Very ancient and very cool feast.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Classic Posts, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Save The Liturgy - Save The World |
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PSA: I don’t charge my phone from any public USB port. 

Posted on 5 January 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

PSA

I don’t charge my phone from any public or transportation (e.g. airplane) USB port.  Why?  Many of them are bidirectional and your phone can be invaded and read.  Therefore, if I am out and about and I really need some power (rare) I use one of these.  It blocks transfer of data and allows only power.

click

That doesn’t solve the issue of whether or not the current is “clean” (steady and good for your phone – v. “dirty”).

An interesting tweet.  It is in Italian.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
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