Epiphany Reflection - Father Roland Berngeh

These men who set out towards the unknown were, in any event, men with a restless heart. Men driven by a restless quest for God and the salvation of the world. They were filled with expectation, not satisfied with their secure income and their respectable place in society. They were looking for something greater.

They were no doubt learned men, quite knowledgeable about the heavens and probably possessed of a fine philosophical formation. But they desired more than simply knowledge about things. They wanted above all else to know what is essential. They wanted to know how we succeed in being human. And therefore, they wanted to know if God exists, and where and how he exists. Whether he is concerned about us and how we can encounter him.

Nor did they want just to know. They wanted to understand the truth about us, about God and the world. Their outward pilgrimage was an expression of their inward journey, the inner pilgrimage of their hearts. They were men who sought God and were ultimately on the way towards him. They were seekers after God.

The wise men followed the star, and thus came to Jesus, to the great Light which enlightens everyone coming into the world. As pilgrims of faith, the wise men themselves became stars shining in the firmament of history, and they show us the way.

The saints are God’s true constellations, which light up the nights of this world, serving as our guides. St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, told his faithful that they must shine like stars in the world. Dear friends this holds true for us too. By the way we talk, think, and act, let us shine like stars for those with whom we live and share our lives.

Father Roland Berngeh is pastor of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Calais.