Epiphany
Giving Epiphany a Little Respect

Epiphany is the Rodney Dangerfield of Christian holidays. It gets no respect; most of us are done celebrating Christmas by New Year’s Day. However, beginning with the Annunciation, so much of the liturgical calendar is pointing directly at Epiphany. Let’s take a look at how we get there in 10 easy steps.
Adoration of the Magi
Happy Epiphany! This is the cover of the English-language January 2012 edition of Magnificat. It features “Adoration of the Magi,” an illumination from the Hours of Henry VIII, Tours, France, circa 1500. © The Pierpont Morgan Library / Art Resource / Scala, Florence I found the commentary by Pierre-Marie Dumont quite enlightening: “In the fourth century, Byzantine … [Read more…]
The Purpose of A Journey is its Destination

It’s the journey, not the destination. Our society loves to churn out bumper sticker philosophies, doesn’t it? Someone coins a phrase, someone screens a t-shirt; and bing, bang, boom a life philosophy is born. I’ll admit that at first blush, that phrase has a certain existential charm, an overall “groovy” feel to it. In my 20’s, … [Read more…]