THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

Second Sunday after the Epiphany

15 January 2023

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends in Christ,

With the feast of the Epiphany, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus' presence here on earth. The Magi became aware of the Birth of the Savior, brought Him precious gifts, and saw Him with their own eyes. Before this, Angels revealed Him to the shepherds in the fields. At the presentation, Simeon and Anna in the Temple recognized Jesus as the Savior. Again, when Jesus was twelve years old, He remained behind in the Temple, revealing His wisdom and understanding. And finally, we see that St. John the Baptist has begun announcing His coming.

Today, we find Jesus as an adult at a wedding feast where He performs His first public miracle, and His followers believe in Him. The Gospels very briefly traverse the greater part of the Life of Jesus to focus on His ultimate goal of teaching, performing miracles so that we may believe, and finally, upon His Sacrifice on the Cross and Resurrection.

Here, at a wedding feast, we begin in earnest to see, hear, and learn of Jesus. The symbolism is very rich. Life begins at conception, and legitimate conception occurs within the bonds of holy matrimony. This is the orderly way of proceeding in procreation, and this is the place to start the public life of Jesus. Jesus is bringing Life to us in this world.

Our first lesson is to honor holy matrimony. This sacred union is pleasing to God. Man and woman unite for life in the presence of God to cooperate with Him to create children to one day fill Heaven with saints.

We are also reminded that all that God has made is good. This first miracle of Jesus easily refutes those who would decry alcohol as evil. Things are not evil. Men who misuse God's gifts are evil. Sin is in the abuse of what God has given us. When used in moderation, wine provides us with the occasion to offer thanksgiving, praise, and glory to God.

Likewise, the bodily union of husband and wife in the well-ordered act of procreation is not evil. It is a holy and blessed gift from God that allows us to glorify Him. The act is not evil, but often we sin because we engage in the pleasures of this act in a disordered way. The perversities of men in this matter are seemingly endless: adultery, fornication, abortion, sodomy, onanism, pedophilia, bestiality, homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.

Our society has seemingly inverted God's order and blessings. Today's demonic fashion suggests that right-ordered marriage is evil and every sexual perversity is good.

The lifelong message of Jesus is Sacrifice, and again we find this is essential to any good marriage. Husbands and wives must willingly sacrifice themselves for each other and sacrifice together for their children if their marriage is to be healthy and strong. From the material aspect, there is no real incentive to enter marriage — it is as tasteless as water. However, even water is refreshing and vivifying when used according to God's plan. Beyond this, God wishes that we experience moderate pleasure in marriage, so He changed water into wine. Wine in moderation gives joy to the heart. Marriage in moderation likewise provides joy to the heart.

While marriage brings pleasure, God wants us to seek something more. We are to strive for true happiness. However, true happiness is only obtained through sacrifice or self-denial. In willingly sacrificing fleeting physical pleasures, we often find true spiritual happiness.

Sacrifice is the offering of some good to God. It is a debt that we owe to Him. Jesus offered Himself in Sacrifice. He calls upon us to unite our sacrifices with His, making them holy, pleasing, and acceptable to God. Our sacrifices are truly worthy when we unite them with His. We enter a kind of marriage with Him. In our union of sacrifice, we become one in Him and with Him.

Too often, we think of making sacrifices or offerings to God with the mindset of Cain in the Old Testament. We tend to keep the best for ourselves and give the less desirable things to God and imagine that we have offered a worthy and pleasing sacrifice. The thing offered is less important than the spirit with which we offer it. When we make offerings or sacrifices begrudgingly or unwillingly, they are unacceptable, no matter how precious or valuable they may be in our own thoughts. God does not need our treasures or wealth; He desires our love. We are called upon to give Him our love. In marriage, we develop our love for God by bearing patiently and lovingly all the burdens and difficulties of our station in life.

When we genuinely love Jesus and enter this holy union of wills, we soon discover, with Saint Paul, that we can do all things in Him Who strengthens us. When our only desire is that God's Holy Will be done, we may find temporary disappointment in this world, but we will find eternal happiness in the next world.