I listened to the TV mass today. It was celebrated by Fr. Jerry Orbos, one priest whose homilies always bestow spiritual nourishment.
Fr. Orbos’ homily this Sunday focused, naturally, on the Feast of Epiphany – the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. It was not the visit per se that we are celebrating but the epiphany of the Magi that the infant Jesus is the Son of God.
Epiphany, by definition, is the sudden realization or comprehension of the(larger) meaning or essence of something. Historically, it was used to convey realization through the intervention of the divine. In today’s usage, epiphany simply means an “aha” moment.
Epiphany moments are universal but they maybe so dramatic that they may lead to a 360 deg change in how we view things and life, in general. They may also be (sometimes surprising) results of a long, agonizing process . Sometimes, too, for us to achieve our epiphany, we need to seclude ourselves from what is real and tangible and escape to a world that imposes personal reflections . Away from the noise and the clutter, we transcend the physical realm of perceptions and attain comprehension and complete realization.
I guess, my epiphany came in 1997 when I had an inner struggle on whether to marry the person I was with then. We had been together for 7 years and of course, we were incessantly prodded by family and friends to take the plunge. The only thing is that I felt I was not ready for a life-long commitment of “till death do us part.” Another reason was that, another person came into the scene. An old friend who probably now defines most of the what ifs in my life. In short, I was torn between the person I was with who saw the best and worst in me through all those 7 years and this new (well, not entirely) person who, in the past, has also “lost” me to somebody else.I’ve probably never prayed harder for discernment than during those times. It’s a lifetime we’re talking about here.
Then, one night, while browsing through some old notes, I came across an old HS project – a reflection notebook. There, written in bold script is a young wish …” I would like to marry a man like my father”…
As they say, the rest is history.
So, what was your greatest epiphany?
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Passing thoughts…
Fr. Orbos said that like every year of our life, 2012 is another journey. For us to succeed in this journey, we only need three things: a PRAYER in our pocket, a SMILE in our face and LOVE in our heart.
