JAN. 4 & 11
EPIPHANY SCRIPTURE Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you: your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow. From Isaiah 60 PSALM 72:11 Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. Matthew 2 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
BAPTISM OF THE LORD SCRIPTURE Adore the LORD in holy attire. The Lord will bless his people with peace. The voice of the LORD is over the waters, the LORD, over vast waters. The voice of the LORD is mighty;the voice of the LORD is majestic. The Lord will bless his people with peace. From Psalm 29 Matthew 3 Gospel > After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying,“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
HOMILY Happy New Year! How fast are you going in life? Where are you going in life? For Whom are you living? Three questions for you there in some New Year’s looking at your self!
In how fast are you going: 2,026 is not the speed but the year we are in. Remember to slow down and notice Jesus in your life. Enjoy what is going on presently with Him in you.
In where you are going: I like the Epiphany story of the Magi because it is a journey story and Jesus is the destination, the King for their hearts and for the world. Our life should have that similar story.
For Whom are you are living: We have been baptized into Christ that we might abide in Him always. If we live in Him, then God can see the Son in us and be well pleased, as the Gospel line goes. As Micah pointed out, we love our God in love of neighbor as we “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God daily.” (Micah 6:8) So, is that our plan for this year?
If we were to see a compiled record of our lives, as looked at closely by somebody else—what would be noted? What would be found out about us deeply, as in how fast we are rushing, and to where was our life pointed to, and to Whom were we living?
This deep look happened to one of our fellow Catholics in the Archdiocese, back in 2005 as I remember his nomination by President Bush for the Supreme Court, which brought on a scrutiny of his life like never imagined, with slanderous tones, ridicule and mockery. John Roberts decided that he was meant for the Court, so he consented to the severe investigations upon him.
The political critics and opponents of him did an in depth study, that many said was viscous and biased in its carrying out, rather than of the usual past vetting of a Supreme Court nominee. These critics wanted to find great fault with him. The dossier came up with these points to attack him: It was decided his vulnerability was of his Catholic faith practice. It accused him of being too religious a man and too Catholic for the job. The dossier says: John Roberts goes to Mass regularly. He visits the Eucharist exposition sometimes, and visits the parish or area priests for counsel or confession or spiritual direction. He spends an unusual amount of time with his wife and family, and somehow has time, even as an important Washington judge and lawyer, to help coach his kid’s sports teams. In his own professional dealings, Roberts seems to go out of his way for women in the legal profession to advance—citing the influence of his social justice part of his Catholicism.
They critiqued Roberts some more as being too religious in a governmental service. New York Senator Schumer had said he was troubled of such Supreme Court candidates holding such “deeply personal beliefs.” California Senator Diane Feinstein grilled Roberts in a tone of anti-Catholic bigotry over if he could absolutely keep separate his religion from his politics. These were the ‘indictments’ he got over his ‘secret life’ as a practicing Catholic in the DC area. He got a negative NARAL number, the abortion proponent in America. Roberts said that the violence of the act and the hidden and dark aspect of abortion was not in accord with the Law and the Light of God understanding of it that he got from La Lumiere Catholic High School and of Harvard University and Law School or as seen even in the matched teachings of major religions of the world, which note of a Highest Law of God over us, to always keep in mind in governance, like in America’s way of being under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Roberts said in 2005 that he was being nominated for being a solid man of the law. ‘I serve the Law.’ He said: ‘I also serve people, as in their right to life, and that the do no harm aspect of medicine to care for the child in America was egregiously ignored in abortions. They chided his stand, citing ‘Are we to save all the unwanted babies, then?’ Roberts said: ‘We all can do our just part. My wife and I adopted two children into our home.’
If you were brought under such investigation, then would your faith stand as the guiding principle of your life? That’s the point here.
In modern times in America’s Story, one’s following such a guiding Light from God is a mocked way to go. On Epiphany Sunday, we Catholics celebrate following the Light of God and responding in faith to God’s manifestations and kind revelations.
In the Epiphany Story, we have Magi who unashamedly are seeking out internationally the Prince of Peace. Their lives have a destiny to find Him. They do, in that place in Bethlehem where The Christ Child was. They worship the Christ Child, and then lay out gifts to Him. Is that our MO? That we go to be with the Lord in His revealed place, and worship the Lord, and that we offer gifts in support of His coming to be with us on earth?
On Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we have the reminder today of our common identity as being people incorporated into Him and His Kingdom. We are christened to live for Him and to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)
So here we are in this nation and in the Year of Our Lord 2 0 2 6. As the Psalm forecasted, we are of those people of every nation to adore Him, in Whom God has sent to us, the Savior.
By the way, in finish, John Roberts keeps practicing his career as Supreme Court Judge. More importantly, he keeps practicing his Catholic Faith with his family. Like many of you, he is registered in an Archdiocese parish and is seen practicing his faith there and living it out in his life. His marriage to Jane continues. His two children, Jack and Josie, are continued blessings to them.
Roberts reminded people that 2026 is a 150th Anniversary Year of the Nation and of the Declaration of Independence. Chief Justice John Roberts closed the Supreme Court’s 2025 year-end report with a quote from former President Calvin Coolidge, recalling his 1926 address marking the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.“As we approach the semiquincentennial of our Nation’s birth, it is worth recalling the words of President Calvin Coolidge spoken a century ago on the occasion of America’s sesquicentennial: ‘Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken.’”