The Journey

(Found here)

“At the end of the Gospel read on the feast of the Epiphany, the Faithful learn that the Magi ‘being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another way’ (Matt. 2:12). As they came from the East, this implies that their return journey would have been very difficult, having to stay off of the main roads and from places of lodging – at least for the first part of their journey – because any route following the high roads would have taken them back through Jerusalem, the capital of Herod, whom they were trying to avoid as Herod was a threat to them, and more importantly, to the Christ Child. Even after they passed the city of Jerusalem, such a caravan would not go unnoticed upon the common highways and word, very probably, would have made it back to Herod. Mountains and caves would be their resting places as they sought to protect, not the treasures they gave, but the treasure they received, the love and company of the Christ Child.

In a similar way, once the Faithful have found the Christ Child, we must not return by the same way we came. Herod, in this sense, represents our enemies of the world, the flesh, and devil which were renounced when we embraced the Christian Faith. If a person follows the path which leads back into their power, they will kill the life, not of the Christ Child Himself, but of the life of Christ within one’s soul. We must take care to avoid these Herods which would extinguish our participation in the divine life, even if this means we must, like the Magi, take difficult paths, for taking the easy paths can lead us into the clutches of our enemies.

… Let the Faithful, then, follow these lessons learned from the Magi. Having found this precious treasure of the Christ Child, Who takes up in a special manner His abode in the soul along with the Father and Holy Ghost when one is in a state of Sanctifying Grace, let us protect this treasure from the Herods which threaten it – the world, the flesh, and the devil. May we take that hard journey of mortification and the Cross to avoid our enemies, and, while being cautious about falling into sin, be primarily concerned with growing in virtue and in grace. Then, at length, we will arrive at our heavenly homeland where our treasure will be forever safe.”
~William Rock