What Holy Audacity

Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.

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A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew (Matthew 2: 1-12)

After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. “Where is the infant king of the Jews?” they asked. “We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, and inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. “At Bethlehem in Judea,” they told him, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, You are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, For out of you will come a leader Who will shepherd my people Israel.”

Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. “Go and find out all about the child,” he said, “and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.” Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, and returned to their own country by a different way.

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Our Founder Reflects (from the Meditation for the Feast of the Epiphany – Mediation 96)

When the Magi entered Jerusalem and Herod’s palace, they asked, Where has the new born King of the Jews been born? What a question to ask in the palace of the prince himself! . . .

What holy audacity in our Magi, to enter the capital and make their way even to Herod’s throne! They feared nothing because [of] the faith which inspired them . . . .

The Magi left the city of Jerusalem and proceeded to the poor village of Bethlehem to find there the King whom they were seeking. They were led there by a star, which moved ahead of them until it reached the place where the Child was and stopped there. Then the Magi entered the stable and found a little Child wrapped in poor swaddling clothes in the company of his mother, Mary.

1 At this sight, how could the Magi not fear to have been deceived; are these the marks of a king? . . . Where is his palace, his throne, his court? The stable . . . is his palace, the crib serves as his throne, and his court is the company of the Most Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph. This stable does not appear to them deserving of disdain; these poor swaddling clothes are not shocking in their eyes . . . .

They prostrate themselves before him, says the Gospel. They honor him as their King and adore him as their God. Behold the faith that profoundly filled their spirit and caused them to respond in this way.

Recognize Jesus beneath the poor rags of the children you have to instruct. Adore him in them . . . . May faith lead you to do this with affection and zeal, because these children are the members of Jesus Christ.

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Intercessions

Let us take a few moments to bring our prayers before the Lord and before each other. For whom and for what shall we pray?

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For Quiet Reflection

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines audacity as “fearless daring.”

The Magi were certainly audacious when they entered Herod’s palace and asked King Herod where they could find the new King of the Jews.

De La Salle and those early Brothers were certainly audacious when they created a new way of providing education for children of the working class and the poor.

What examples of audacity can you identify in your school – particularly in the school’s efforts to make education accessible to the working class and the poor?

Saint John Baptist de La Salle, pray for us! Live, Jesus, in our hearts forever!

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