Let There Light in the Soul, in the Heart

This weekend our Christmas celebration continues with the Feast of the Epiphany which has commonly been known as “Little Christmas.” In some Christian faith traditions the Feast of the Epiphany is a more solemn feast than Christmas.

The Feast of the Epiphany has several themes all of which revolve around the light of the star that guided the magi to Jesus. This feast points to the fact that God manifests himself to all people through the gift of his Son.

Every Year on December 8th, in Gubbio, the Italian city where St. Francis tamed the wolf, the tallest Christmas tree in the world is lit up. The Christmas tree is situated on the slopes of Mount Ingino and is made up of dots of light of different types: 250 green dots trace a silhouette more than 650 meters high, which contains more than 300 lights of various colors. It is topped with a star of 1,000 square meters made up of 100 white lights. At dusk on December 7th, Pope Francis illuminated the tree from the Vatican using a tablet.

Pope Francis greeted those in attendance in Gubbio: “In switching on the light of the Nativity scene, we wish for the light of Christ to be in us. A Christmas without light is not Christmas. Let there be light in the soul, in the heart; let there be forgiveness to others; let there be no hostilities, which are dark. Let there be the beautiful light of Jesus. This is my wish for all of you, when you turn on the light of the crib.”

May we too be filled with the light of Christ and illuminate our friends, family and community throughout 2015 with the love of Christ that we celebrate in the Christmas Season.

Msgr. Manganello