When a gift is given, the full and proper response of gratitude is not always automatic or quick. Depending on the quality and type of gift, it can take some time to truly appreciate the magnitude of the generosity and love that were involved in the offering. St. Thomas Aquinas even reflects on this truth when he writes about gratitude in his Summa Theologiae (this section is in II.II.106.4). To truly give thanks, one often needs to take some time after the gift is given in order to reflect and recognize just how meaningful the gift was. This time taken allows the gratitude to be full.
This weekend, we celebrate the appearance (epiphany) of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, to the magi, or the men commonly known as “the three kings.” They offer him gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. These gifts are kingly and meaningful, and it was only after a great deal of reflection that the Christian community saw the true significance of the gifts. Practically, they may have been a huge support to Mary and Joseph as they escaped to Egypt.
More symbolically, however, these gifts are seen as prophetic signs revealing who Jesus truly is. He appeared as an ordinary baby boy, and yet he was the Messiah and the God of Israel, the second Person of the Trinity. The Gold, therefore, signified his kingship and royalty. The Frankincense symbolizes his Divinity and his Priesthood. Finally, the Myrrh signified his future death. The darkness of that “hour” at the end of his earthly life overshadows even his beginning as an infant.
Our understanding of a gift matures upon deeper reflection.
This weekend at Cathedral, we celebrate our Epiphany party. It is an annual chance for parishioners to come together, enjoy fellowship, and celebrate the gift of Christmas. At this point we’ve had some time to relax after the festivities, and we can look back over the past year and give thanks together.
I look back over this past year with a good deal of happiness. In particular, I am grateful for my assignment here at the Cathedral. In the context of the Epiphany party and this reflection on gratitude, I want to express my own deep thanksgiving to God and to all of you at this parish for the gift of my time here.
I arrived here right before July 1, 2024, after my ordination as a priest. It’s kind of hard for me to believe but it has been a year and a half now that I’ve been both a priest and a priest at the Cathedral. I’d say that’s a good amount of time for my sense of the gift of this place and God’s goodness to me here to begin to mature and deepen. I certainly am not finished, and after I leave here someday, I’ll be able to look back and truly (or at least as much as I can in this life) realize just how great a gift God gave me in sending me here.
Truly, I can say I love the people, the priestly fraternity, the prayer, the Masses, the hospital visits, time in the office, time at SHG, weddings, funerals, and so many other gifts that God has blessed me with that I don’t have room to list here. This first assignment has been a true gift from God and is exactly where God knew I needed to be. I pray I have served you well in this time and that God continues to grow and shape me through my time here to serve well all those he will send me to in the future. I could say much more, but I hope that as you enjoy the party this weekend, or if you celebrate the Epiphany elsewhere, you look at your life with the Cathedral family with gratitude. It is a gift from God. May he bless you today and every day!