CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis Friday, the Feast of the Epiphany, said that the Magi are not just men who sought out and worshiped the Christ-child a long time ago \u2013 they exemplify everyone who has a restless heart, everyone searching for God.<\/p>\nThe hearts of the Magi \u201cwere open to the horizon and they could see what the heavens were showing them, for they were guided by an inner restlessness,\u201d he said Jan. 6. \u201cThey were open to something new.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Magi thus personify all those who believe, those who long for God, who yearn for their home, their heavenly homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his homily in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica, Pope Francis explained how this \u201choly longing\u201d for God is present in the hearts of believers because we know that the Gospel is not just something of the past, but that it is also here and now.<\/p>\n
And this longing for God is what helps to keep us alert in the face of trials, and to keep the faith, even amongst \u201cprophets of doom\u201d and those people and things who try to \u201cimpoverish\u201d our lives, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat longing keeps hope alive in the community of believers, which from week to week continues to plead: \u2018Come, Lord Jesus.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
This longing can be seen throughout the New Testament, Francis pointed out. It can be seen in the elderly Simeon, who went every day to the Temple, certain that he would hold the Savior before his life ended. The same longing can be seen in the Prodigal Son, leading him to abandon his self-destructive lifestyle and return to his father.<\/p>\n
The shepherd who leaves the 99 to search for the one lost sheep has this longing. Mary Magdalen experienced this longing too, when she went to the tomb on that first Easter morning looking for Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cLonging for God draws us out of our iron-clad isolation, which makes us think that nothing can change. Longing for God shatters our dreary routines and impels us to make the changes we want and need,\u201d the Pope stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cLonging for God has its roots in the past yet does not remain there: it reaches out to the future,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
When we feel this longing, faith leads us to seek God, just like the Magi did, he explained, even \u201cin the most distant corners of history.\u201d Believers throughout history have been led to \u201cgo to the peripheries, to the frontiers, to places not yet evangelized\u201d because of this faith, he said.<\/p>\n
But they don\u2019t do this through a sense of superiority, Francis noted. They go as beggars, who \u201ccannot ignore the eyes of those who for whom the Good News is still uncharted territory.\u201d<\/p>\n
King Herod though, instead of having faith, was full of fear, full of the culture that preaches control and winning at any cost. And this is what led him to kill innocent children, he explained.<\/p>\n
The Pope said that the Magi, on the other hand, wanted to worship, but they thought they would find the King in a palace: \u201cThey had to discover that what they sought was not in a palace, but elsewhere, both existentially and geographically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Continuing, Pope Francis said we have to realize that \u201cGod wanted to be born where we least expected, or perhaps desired, in a place where we so often refuse him. To realize that in God\u2019s eyes there is always room for those who are wounded, weary, mistreated and abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat his strength and his power are called mercy. For some of us, how far Jerusalem is from Bethlehem!\u201d Francis emphasized.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Magi experienced longing; they were tired of the usual fare. They were all too familiar with, and weary of, the Herods of their own day,\u201d the Pope said. \u201cBut there, in Bethlehem, was a promise of newness, of gratuitousness. There something new was taking place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Magi were able to worship, because they had the courage to set out. And as they fell to their knees before the small, poor and vulnerable Infant, the unexpected and unknown Child of Bethlehem, they discovered the glory of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following Mass, Pope Francis led around 35,000 pilgrims in the Angelus in St. Peter\u2019s Square, speaking about how Jesus is our light: \u201ca light that does not dazzle, but accompanies and gives a unique joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our life there are several stars,\u201d he warned. And it\u2019s up to us to choose which to follow. There are many \u201cflashing lights\u201d in our lives, like success and money, which come and go, which may be good, but are not enough, because they do not give lasting peace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Magi, instead, invite you to follow a stable and friendly light, which shall not pass, because it is not of this world,\u201d he explained. It comes from \u201cheaven and shines in the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, follow the \u201cbright star of Jesus!\u201d he said. Have courage, because the \u201clight of Jesus can overcome the darkest darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n
This Epiphany, look to the example of the Magi, he emphasized. Go out of yourself and seek: \u201cthe Christian life is a continuous journey.\u201d<\/p>\n
And finding the Child, the Magi worshipped him, entered into \u201ca personal communion of love with Jesus,\u201d giving him their most precious gifts.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t give Jesus only your \u201cspare time\u201d or \u201csome thought occasionally,\u201d the Pope concluded. \u201cLike the Magi, let us set out, clothing ourselves in light, following the star of Jesus, adoring the Lord with our whole selves.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Jan 6, 2017 \/ 04:47 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Friday, the Feast of the Epiphany, said that the Magi are not just men who sought out and worshiped the Christ-child a long time ago – they exemplify everyone who has a restless …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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