Pope Francis at Epiphany Mass: Let us adore Christ like the Magi

On the Solemnity of the Epiphany, Pope Francis encouraged people to spend time in the presence of Christ in adoration, like the Magi.

“Let us never forget this: the journey of faith finds renewed strength and fulfillment only when it is made in the presence of God,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6.

“For this reason, let us not forget adoration, the prayer of adoration, which is not so common among us: to adore, in silence … There, like the Magi, we will have the certitude that even in the darkest nights a star continues to shine,” the pope said in his homily.

The Solemnity of the Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi — also known as the Three Wise Men or Three Kings — who came with gifts to worship the Child Jesus shortly after his birth.

The solemnity is traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6, but Catholic dioceses in the United States mark the feast on the Sunday that falls between Jan. 2-8. U.S. Catholics celebrated the Epiphany this year on Jan. 2.

In his live-streamed homily, Pope Francis said that the feast of the Epiphany is a moment to ask: “Where are we on our journey of faith?”

“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?” he asked.

“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?”