Attend Mass
Epiphany is a holy day of obligation on the Universal Church Calendar. In the new calendar in the United States, this feast has been permanently translated to the first Sunday after January 1. To attend the Epiphany liturgy on Epiphany Day, find Traditional Latin Mass near you (click here to explore).
Give a gift to commemorate the magi
Many families save a small gift to give on the morning of the feast of the Epiphany to remember the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus in the manger.
Bless the house
Bless your house with Epiphany water and incense.
After the blessing, use the Epiphany chalk to write this inscription above the door: 20 + C + M + B + (year) to indicate the blessing on the house.
The inscription contains the number of the century after Christ’s death (20), the first initials of each of the wise men (Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar), and the year all joined by four crosses.
Here is the prayer that can be recited either by the head of the household or a priest before he sprinkles each room with holy water. One of the male children could follow with incense.
(Upon entering the house…)
Priest/Father:
Peace be to this house.
All:
And to all who dwell herein.
Priest/Father:
From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.
(During the Magnificat, the first room is sprinkled with holy water and incensed.)
All:
My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For He hath regarded the humility of His handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is His Name. And His Mercy is from generation unto generations upon them that fear Him. He hath shewed might in His arm, He hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He hath sent empty away. He hath received Israel, His servant, being mindful of His mercy. As He spoke to our Fathers, Abraham and His seed forever.
(After this is completed…)
All:
From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of His burial.
Priest/Father:
Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead and lead us not into temptation,
All:
But deliver us from evil.
Priest/Father:
All they from Saba shall come
All:
Bringing gold and frankincense.
Priest/Father:
O Lord, hear my prayer.
All:
And let my cry come unto Thee.
Priest/Father:
Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest Thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we who know Thee by faith may also attain the vision of Thy glorious majesty. Through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
Priest/Father:
Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee—Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.
All:
And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and kings in the splendor of thy rising, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.
Priest/Father:
Let us pray. Bless, O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness and mercy, the fulfillment of Thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord.
All:
Amen.
Read first hymn for the epiphany by st.epharaem
1. The heavens He has renewed, for that fools worshipped all the luminaries: He has renewed the earth, for that in Adam it was wasted. That which He fashioned has become new by His spittle: and the All-Sufficing has restored bodies with souls.
Response: To Thee be praise from Thy flock in the day of Thy Epiphany!
2. Gather yourselves again ye sheep and without labour receive cleansing! for one needs not as Elisha to bathe seven times in the river, nor again to be wearied as the priests are wearied with sprinklings.
3. Seven times Elisha purified himself in a mystery of the seven spirits; and the hyssop and blood are a mighty symbol. There is no room for division; He is not divided from the Lord of all Who is Son of the Lord of all.
4. Moses sweetened in Marah the waters that were bitter, because the People complained and murmured: Thus he gave a sign of baptism, wherein the Lord of life makes sweet them that were bitter.
5. The cloud overshadowed and kept off the burning heat from the camp; it showed a symbol of the Holy Spirit, which overshadows you in baptism tempering the flaming fire that it harm not your bodies.
6. Through the sea the People then passed, and showed a symbol of the baptism wherein ye were washed. The People passed through that and believed not: the Gentiles were baptized in this and believed and received the Holy Ghost.
7. The Word sent the Voice to proclaim before His Coming, to prepare for Him the way by which He came, and to betroth the Bride till He should come, that she might be ready when He should come and take her from the water.
8. The voice of prophecy stirred the son of the barren woman, and he went forth wandering in the desert and crying, “Lo! the Son of the Kingdom comes! prepare ye the way that He may enter and abide in your dwellings!”
9. John cried, “Who comes after me, He is before me: I am the Voice but not the Word; I am the torch but not the Light; the Star that rises before the Sun of Righteousness.”
10. In the wilderness this John had cried and had said, “Repent ye sinners of your evils, and offer the fruits of repentance; for lo! He comes that winnows the wheat from the tares.”
11. The Lightgiver has prevailed and marked a mystery, by the degrees he ascended: Lo! there are twelve days since he ascended, and today this is the thirteenth: a perfect mystery of Him, the Son, and His twelve!
12. Darkness was overcome to make it manifest that Satan was overcome and the Light prevailed that he should proclaim that the Firstborn triumphs: darkness was overcome with the Dark Spirit, and our Light prevailed with the Lightgiver.
13. In the Height and the Depth the Son had two heralds. The star of light proclaimed Him from above; John likewise preached Him from beneath: two heralds, the earthly and the heavenly.
14. The star of light, contrary to nature, shone forth of a sudden less than the sun yet greater than the sun. Less was it than he in manifest light; and greater than he in secret might because of its mystery.
15. The star of light shed its rays among them that were in darkness, and guided them as though they were blind; so that they came and met the great Light: they gave offerings and received life and adored and departed.
16. The herald from above showed His Nature to be from the Most High; likewise he that was from beneath showed His Body to be from humankind, mighty marvel! that His Godhead and His Manhood by them were proclaimed!
17. Thus whoso reckons Him as of earth, the star of light will convince him that He is of Heaven: and whoso reckons Him as of spirit, this John will convince him that He is also bodily.
18. John drew near with his parents and worshipped the Sun, and brightness rested on His Face. He was not moved as when in the womb. Mighty marvel! that here he worships and there he leaped!
19. The whole creation became for Him as one mouth and cried out concerning Him. The Magi cry out in their gifts; the barren cry out with their children; the star of light, lo! it cries out in the air, “Behold the Son of the King!”
20. The heavens are opened, the waters break forth, the dove is in glory! The voice of the Father is stronger than thunder, as it utters the word, “This is My Beloved”; the Watchers brought the tidings, the children acclaimed Him in their Hosannas.
Pray the novena to the magi
This Novena is especially prayed beginning on 28 December (the Feast of the Holy Innocents) and ending on 5 January (the Vigil of the Epiphany).
28 December:
O holy Magi! You were living in continual expectation of the rising of the Star of Jacob, which would announce the birth of the true Sun of justice; obtain for us an increase of faith and charity, and the grace to live in continual hope of beholding one day the light of heavenly glory and eternal joy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
29 December:
O holy Magi! who at the first appearance of the wondrous star left your native country to go and seek the newborn King of the Jews; obtain for us the grace of corresponding with alacrity to every divine inspiration. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
30 December:
O holy Magi! who regarded neither the severity of the season, nor the inconveniences of the journey that you might find the newborn Messiah; obtain for us the grace not to allow ourselves to be discouraged by any of the difficulties which may meet us on the way of salvation. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
31 December:
O holy Magi, who, when deserted by the star in the city of Jerusalem, sought humbly, and without human respect, from the rulers of the Church, the place where you might discover the object of your journey; obtain for us grace to have recourse, in faith and humility, in all our doubts and perplexities to the counsel of our superiors, who hold the place of God on earth. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
1 January:
O holy Magi, who were gladdened by the reappearance of the star which led you to Bethlehem; obtain for us from God the grace, that, remaining always faithful to Him in afflictions, we may be consoled in time by His grace, and in eternity by His glory. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
2 January:
O holy Magi, who, entering full of faith into the stable of Bethlehem, prostrated yourselves on the earth, to adore the newborn King of the Jews, though he was surrounded only by signs of poverty and weakness; obtain from the Lord for us a lively faith in the real presence of Jesus in the blessed Sacrament, the true spirit of poverty, and a Christ-like charity for the poor and suffering. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
3 January:
O holy Magi, who offered to Jesus Christ gold, incense, and myrrh, thereby recognizing Him to be at once King, God, and Man; obtain from the Lord for us the grace never to present ourselves before Him with empty hands; but that we may continually offer to Him the gold of charity, the incense of prayer, and the myrrh of penance and mortification. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
4 January:
O holy Magi, who, when warned by an angel not to return to Herd, traveled back to your country be another road; obtain for us from the Lord, the grace that, after having found Him in true repentance, we may avoid all danger of losing Him again. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.
5 January:
O holy Magi, who were first among the Gentiles called to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and who persevered in the faith till your deaths, obtain for us of the Lord the grace of living always in conformity to our baptismal vows, ever leading to a life of faith; that like you we may attain to the beatific vision of that God Who now is the object of our faith. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.