Every day the Star descends on my poor stable

Epiphany of the Lord

2015

From riches … to rags!

Dear friends,
A few days ago, during a conversation, a friend uttered a (Romanian) saying that got me thinking: “We all look at the same star but not at the same soup.” We are all united when we look up to the sky; we are all divided when we look down to the earth. Life often induces us to look down, driven by our own basic needs. On the other hand, perhaps we are too disheartened and tired of looking up: our sky has turned gloomy, it no longer shines, and the stars have been switched off!

But, behold, in these days the sky has been torn open and a Star has come down upon the earth. A song punctuated by a thousand melodies resounded in the air gently inviting us to follow the Star. The sky has become friendly, enlightening the path ... Where has the Star gone to settle down? In the “stable” that we carry in our hearts, right there in our “crib”, that is in our ‘tray’, where our ‘ox’ and our ‘donkey’ go to feed. In Bethlehem (“house of bread”) there won’t be hunger any more. The Star, the Son of God, has become “flesh” to become our Bread!

“The Word was made flesh,” exclaimed the apostle John. The flesh of a child, who smiles, suffers and cries. Yes, the Mystery has to do with the “FLESH”, our flesh which is fragile. The flesh of our bodies, that the years and pains soon make wither, like an unknown flower of the field. And it is this flesh of ours that the Love wanted to espouse and array for glory!

“Epiphany carries away all festivities,” says the proverb. May the Star, though, remain in the ‘stable’ of our heart! Also because 2015 is the International Year of the Light. How could we, otherwise, shed light? We would be like dead stars or even “black holes” that swallow and destroy every ray of light that falls into their range! For this I would like to bless each of you with the words suggested by the liturgy of 1st January (Book of Numbers 6, 25): “May the Lord let his face shine (smile) on you!” Yes, may His blessing smile accompany you everywhere! And, then, also our face will light up. Being blessed ... we shall bless, always and everywhere! So we will be a permanent “epiphany” (manifestation) of the Lord.

As for me, I continue in Rome (since I left the mission in Africa, at the end of 2010, after I had been diagnosed with ALS). I am well and happy. I live happily with my very little sympathetic companion, the sclerosis, which has by now inexorably tied me to her: feet, arms, hands, torso, neck ... But it has not yet managed to get me to espouse her! As I’m still able to escape from her with my ‘Ferrari’, that is, with my electric wheelchair! ... I must admit that it has granted me quite a few privileges: from the courteous ones reserved to an “invalid”, to the friendly attention of the confreres and friends (and the many kisses of female friends, which every night without fail I return to my dear little Therese!). Not to mention the generosity of God, made Bread in the Eucharist. Every day the Star descends on my poor stable, flooding it with Light. It becomes incarnate in my sick body and through my own lips it says: “This is My body.” And when I say “This is the cup of my blood,” I feel myself to be also his Cup, to receive His blood and the blood of those bodies in which He continues to bleed, and the tears of those who come to confide in me their sufferings.
I entrust myself to your prayers so that I may always SMILE to LIFE.
Yours,
Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, mccj