January 6, 2021

My reflection is about the Twelfth Day of Christmas:
This is from Companion to the Calendar:
“January 6 is the ancient day of Epiphany. Among Roman Catholics in the United States and Canada, Epiphany is now kept on the first Sunday after January 1. In Europe and Latin America and in many of the Christian churches of North America, Epiphany is celebrated on January 6.
Many Christians have special traditions for Twelfth Night. In some countries, children receive gifts on this day to remind them of the gifts given to Jesus by the Magi. In Puerto Rico on the eve of January 6 (which they call ‘Three Kings Day’), children fill their shoes with hay for the camels and horses (and in some places, even elephants) of the Magi. The next day the hay is gone and the children find the shoes filled with candy and toys.
In Italy a fairy godmother named Befana leaves people surprises. (Her name comes from the word Epiphany.) A cranky fellow named Rodolfo joins her, threatening to punish people who need to mend their ways. Befana had wanted to join the Magi in their search for the newborn Christ, but she lost courage at the last minute. So now she goes house to house in search of Christ. She sees Christ in everyone she meets and she teaches us to do the same.”
Let us be like Befana and see Christ in everyone we meet. Today is a day of superlatives. Epiphany is the grandest, merriest, brightest and best day of Christmastime. It is a special day for me, since this was the day that I got JB 10 years ago. As someone once said DOG is God spelled backwards. Amen