Feast of the Epiphany (06/01/2026): 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. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Epiphany Reflection: The Feast of the Epiphany, The Espousals of the King!
1. Christ lives in His Church. He shines like the sun within her. Nay, even more; He identifies Himself with her; they are one, one organism, or as theologians say, they form “one mystical body.”

2. “Hodie caelesti sponso iuncla est Ecclesia—Today the Church is joined to her heavenly spouse, for today Christ cleanses her (the baptism of Christ in the Jordan) of her sins. This day a star led the Wise Men to the manger; this day water was turned into wine at the wedding feast.” Here we are given a picture of a wedding. “Lift up thy eyes round about and see; all these are gathered together; they are come to thee. Thou shalt see and abound and thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged.” Entrance to the Church is made through baptism. The Gentiles enter the Church through baptism in order that with her and through her they may be espoused to Christ, and share in His marriage feast. This feast Christ celebrates first of all with His Church in Holy Communion, and eventually He will celebrate it with her in the heavenly Cana.

It is only in the world to come that we shall experience the real epiphany, the full revelation of Christ in His glory. For this reason, the Church sings: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with garments of salvation; and with the robe of justice He hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels” (Isa. 61:10). This is the mystery of the Church, our mystery, the secret of our greatness. Through the Church we are joined in a living union with Christ. We belong to Christ. Together with the rest of the Church Militant, we form one living organism with Christ and the Church Triumphant—the whole Christ. On earth, union with Christ can be accomplished only through a union of wills, and of love. Our espousal to Christ unites us to Him as the members of a body are united to the head, as the branches are united to the vine, an inner union that is closer than any relationship between married people on earth. Christ and His Church, have but one life in common. What a tremendous favor on the part of God! How greatly we are honored! “Gaudens gaudebo—I will greatly rejoice in the Lord and my soul shall be joyful in my God!” I have been incorporated in the life and the person of Christ. I am one with Him, in and through Holy Mother Church.

“Lift up thy eyes round about and see.” Understand this truth: Christ lives and works in His Church. His holy spirit vitalizes the faithful and binds them to Him and His love. It is His spirit which is the vital principle in the Church, and which makes her the fruitful instrument of His redemptive work. The Church is not merely a mediator between Christ and the soul, not merely an intermediary between God and man. She is rather the form in which Christ the Mediator and Redeemer appears among men and accomplishes His work of redemption. She is an ever present Epiphany, or manifestation of the Lord. She cannot be separated from Christ and His spirit, any more than the soul of a man can be separated from his body. In spite of her worldly appearance, she is elevated to the sphere of the divine. In her, in her priesthood, in her doctrine, in her works, we recognize the work of Christ. His priesthood, His truth, His grace, His power, and His authority. “He that hearth you heareth me” (Luke 10:16).

3. “Behold, the Lord, the Ruler, is come; and the kingdom is in His hand, and power and dominion.” Christ the divine King has united Himself with His Church. “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). The vine sustains its branches; it bears them up, vitalizes them, pours forth is strength into them, supplies them with nourishment, and makes them fruitful. The branches share the life of the vine. In this lies the greatness of the Church, in this lies the proudest boast of the Christian. “Arise O Jerusalem, and be enlightened, for the light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee,” O Holy Mother Church, O Christian soul! How fortunate one is to be a member of the one true Church!

“Behold the Lord, the Ruler, is come.” Behold, He lives in each and every member of the Church, in your neighbour as well as yourself. In our neighbour we behold a manifestation of Christ. We must see Christ in our neighbor, honour Christ in our neighbour, love Christ in our neighbour. “As long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me” (Matt. 24:40).

Excerpted from The Light of the World, Volume One by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.