On January 6, Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord in St. Peter’s Basilica (video, booklet).

“Like the Magi, let us lift up our eyes, listen to the desire lodged in our hearts, and follow the star that God makes shine above us,” the Pontiff preached,. “As restless seekers, let us remain open to God’s surprises. Brothers and sisters, let us dream, let us seek and let us adore.”

“Have we been stuck all too long, nestled inside a conventional, external and formal religiosity that no longer warms our hearts and changes our lives?” the Pope added. “Do our words and our liturgies ignite in people’s hearts a desire to move towards God, or are they a ‘dead language’ that speaks only of itself and to itself? It is sad when a community of believers loses its desire and is content with ‘maintenance’ rather than allowing itself to be startled by Jesus and by the explosive and unsettling joy of the Gospel.”