As we come to the feast of Epiphany today and our Christmas Season winds down, it’s worth thinking about the journey of the Magi and how our faith is a journey too. We don’t follow a star, but we are trying to find our way to heaven through the journey that is life. How then do we get there?

One is the necessity of patience. One account of the Magi’s journey estimated it at 2 years. While we don’t know the exact length, it’s pretty obvious the Magi couldn’t take a flight or a train. When we try to live out our faith, that can be tough. There can be spiritual dryness, where we don’t feel God’s presence. Then there’s the waiting we have to do too as we pursue our vocation, and of course the ups and downs of living it out. There’s patience too that is needed with other people as we hope for them to get more active in the faith, such as with loved ones who fall away from the faith by not giving up on them. And patience with ourselves is needed too as we deal with the daily battle against sin. When we are patient though we realize that we – and others – don’t go from sinner to saint in a day but that it’s a journey – patience though has to be a part of it.

We also need to guide one another, especially our families as we reflected upon last week for Holy Family Sunday. Within the family, couples do so much for one another through praying together, forgiving one another, communicating and being aware of one another’s needs, giving one another the gift of time. And with kids, taking them to Mass and explaining the faith to them is so important too as parents are the primary teachers of the faith to them. It’s also so important to be aware of extended family, especially those who may be lonely or isolated and reach out to them.

We also must be aware that we too will be persecuted for the faith as we strive to evangelize the world. There are aspects of our faith that are very counter-cultural or politically incorrect. As Catholics, we need to be aware of that and help others understand deeper truths. It’s important we don’t fear having discussions and arguments with others and engage those who aren’t active in the Church so we can help catechize and evangelize.

We also must remember that our work and actions testify to our faith. Much of what we do may seem minor, but if you think about it the many little things we do for others out of love, from the meals we make to the chores we do to help our families to shoveling the walkway for that elderly neighbor are all parts of how we live out our faith too.

Lastly, as life goes on, continually give Jesus the gift of yourself. Jesus accepts us as we are; and we give to him our acts of love and charity. But we also give to Him our sins and struggles. The infant Jesus stayed with Mary and Joseph after the Magi left, but the risen Christ the King journeys with us always after we leave Mass.

A popular saying is “wise men still seek Him” and that’s very true. The Christmas Story is one of God seeking us out – so let Him into your lives. The journey after we say “yes” to Christ isn’t an easy one. We’ll still have struggles along the way. But we must remember Jesus is with us always. So seek the King of Kings who seeks you.

God bless!

Fr. Paul

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January 4, 2026