This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Prayer After Communion for Epiphany, Mass During the Day.
Go before us with heavenly light, O Lord, always and everywhere, that we may perceive with clear sight and revere with true affection the mystery in which you have willed us to participate. Through Christ our Lord.
Did you notice the prayer says heaven light and not star? As I prayed into the prayer, I got a sense that heavenly light was actually a pretty good description because this star wasn’t any ordinary star, it truly was a heavenly light. The star that guided the Magi is the glory of God.
Which got me to wondering, what other examples do we have of the visible glory of God? The first thing that came to me was the Israelites.
While not as white as a star, when the Israelites left Egypt, the glory of God in the form of a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire led them to the Promised Land.
Quite possibly just as bright or maybe even brighter, the glory of God was seen as a heavenly light at the Transfiguration when Jesus' face shone like the sun and His clothes became dazzling white.
The first reading of this Mass also talks about a light and the glory of God, “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1) In Revelation 21:23, we read that the city, the new Jerusalem shines with the glory of God, and the Lamb is its lamp.
The glory of the Lord is shining on you, Church. The new Jerusalem is a symbol of the bride of Christ
Not only does the light shine on us, it shines in us. This light is going to enable us to see with clear sight and have true affection for the mystery in which He calls us to participate.
The mystery we find in the prayer is Christ’s command to “do this in memory of me” and when we do, that light, veiled in the bread and wine, permeates within us.
In John 12:46, Jesus declares that He is the light of the world and when we believe in Him we are no longer in darkness. His light symbolizes His presence, grace, and truth, brought to the world through the Church and each of us. His light in us brings light to the world.