Brothers and sisters

May the Lord give you peace…

Happy feast! With joy we celebrate today the solemnity of the Epiphany… In Italy there is a proverb, which rhymes (Epifania che tutte le feste le porta via), That means: with the Epiphany we conclude the time of the Christmas holidays…. I lived many years in Bethlehem… and it is a beautiful day in Bethlehem today… With a meaningful celebration where the Father Custus of the Holy Land comes out of the cave of the Nativity, from the manger with the image of Christ, child and king of the universe, who is the light of the world, the true light of the world.

Yes brothers and sisters, the Epiphany is the solemnity of the light… Jesus is the light of the world. And we have the beautiful image of the Magi Kings who follow the Star, as the Gospel of Saint Matthew tells us that we have heard.

The Magi went to look for a King, and then they found a God… who is the light of the world… but be careful brothers and sisters they find a child, a human child… humble and defenseless. this is the great mystery… Muslims, and other religions cannot understand them… a God who became a child, always remaining God.

And I would like to ask you to pay attention to the Magi kings who are seekers of the Truth. In seeking the Truth, they follow the star… Celebrating this solemnity we must ask ourselves a question: which star we follow in our lives? Which star I follow in my life? There are so many false stars…

We need stars that show us the Truth today… Pope Benedict was a great star… our saints, for me our Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa is truly a guide… Yes, stars to help us find the true face of God… the God who shines in humanity, in the brother and sister who are close to us, in our families…

Important and significant brothers and sisters, celebrate Christmas, celebrate the Epiphany, but with the question that makes us reflect: which star am I following really? Many follow themselves… they follow bad ideas, for example: racism, discrimination, gossip, jealousy, divisions and injustice… and they get lost. In a small village, near a road there was a poor man, a farmer working, cutting grass, hoeing… and near the road a man stops in a beautiful car.

That man was well dressed, jacket and belt, but he got lost. The GPS didn’t work and he had been driving around for hours, and couldn’t find the way. Finally he met that simple farmer. And immediately he asked: Sir, I beg your pardon, can you help me? Can you give me some information? Where is the road to Nicosia? And that simple man replied: I don’t know, sir. And he continued to ask: And how I need to do to get back to Limassol? And the poor farmer replied: I don’t know sir. And he continued to ask… and the poor farmer couldn’t answer any of the questions. Finally that man got angry and started to scold the poor farmer saying: You are stupid, you don’t know anything… And the farmer replied very calmly: My sear sir, I don’t know these questions that you are asking me… but it is not I who are lost. The one who is lost is You… Many times we know many things, but we do not know the path we must follow.

Yes brothers and sisters, we must follow the star of Truth, which leads us to Christ… so as not to get lost on the roads of life. And we must also be stars of Truth, in the Church, in our families, in our work… Especially in this Jubilee Year.

And I would like to conclude with this prayer:

God, who in the beginning said: “let there be light”
let my eyes rejoice for all beautiful things
let every person welcome and see Your light
let the light of Your Gospel travel throughout the earth
let us be in communion with one another
let all peoples walk in truth and justice.
Lord, You are our light:
without You we walk in darkness
without You we cannot even take a step,
without You we do not know where to go,
If You open our eyes, Lord, we will see Your light,
Lord, if You enlighten us, we will be able to illuminate,
we ask You to make us the light of the world,
a light that illuminates in the darkness
Amen.

06.01.2025