Chapter 12: Of the Epiphany of Jesus, and the devout oblation of the Holy Kings

I BLESS You, and give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, Prince of the kings of the earth, for Your glorious Manifestation of Yourself to the three Kings. For after that You had been born in Bethlehem of Judaea, You were not slow in revealing Your Majesty to men who came from afar; and having led them by a heavenly light to Your humble resting-place, You did manifest to them Your holy poverty.

O my God, mighty and wonderful, Who alone order all things here below, and work mightily in heaven above. You thought it no scorn to be seen in Your poverty and neglect by so many kings and nobles, if only You might be to us a pattern of humility. Having for our sakes chosen Your resting-place, and Your apparel, You did make no change in them, but did show Yourself in them, alike to shepherds and to kings.

I praise Your gracious mercy for these first-fruits of the Gentile world, and for Your call to these strangers, whom, by a secret inspiration of Your grace, You did draw from Eastern lands to behold the light of faith. Among the princes of Israel were found none who made ready, with such reverence and trust, to seek the place of Your Nativity: far more lively was the faith, far more fervent the devotion, of those strangers to the Covenant.

I glorify Your Holy Name for Your wondrous enlightenment of Gentiles; for so gloriously did You sent forth Your light into the hearts of those men of the East, who as yet were sitting in darkness, that without thinking of the length of their journey, they followed with a trust which knew no doubt, the leading of Your sign from heaven.

I reverently join the Holy Magi in adoring You; and following them step by step, I would devoutly offer to You their three precious gifts, each containing a deep mystery. For, falling at Your feet, they offered to You gold in token of Your kingly dignity, frankincense as doing homage to Your Divine Majesty, myrrh as confessing Your submission to the law of death.

Wherefore, O my Lord Jesus Christ, most gracious King of Kings, Ruler of Heaven and of earth, accept, I beseech You, at the hand of Your servant, the mystic offering, which I now humbly present to You, through the intercession of the Holy Kings.

I offer to You in the first place right faith, firm hope, and pure charity, in which I trust that I may continue to the end. I believe that You are the King of Heaven and of Earth: I adore You as very God, the Only-Begotten of the Father: I confess that, for my salvation, You did take of the Virgin Mary a mortal Body.

Accept further, I beseech You, also these other gifts, each having in itself a sweet-smelling savour. Lo, I give to You that which also I received from You, namely all my worldly goods, which I renounce for love of You. I would not in this life have anything of my own. I wish to be content with common food and simple raiment. This is in a moral sense my oblation of pure gold.

I would add also the gift of frankincense, by which I mean the incense of devout prayer; beseeching You, with sighs and tears, for the forgiveness of my sins; praising and thanking You for the good gifts You have bestowed upon me; and grieving for all who are in trouble or distress. This, surely, is the burning of fragrant incense, acceptable to You.

I offer to You also, in figure, myrrh, in memory of Your most bitter Passion, praying that I too may have grace to run in the way of perfection by the austerity of my self-mortification. For, as often as, for love of You, I call to mind the bitterness of Your Passion, I offer to You, in figure, the choicest myrrh: and whenever I overcome in myself evil desires, and renounce my own will, I bruise, as best I may, in the mortar of my heart, fragrant myrrh, that so from thence may come forth a sacrifice acceptable to You. Oh, how happy should I be, if I could offer to my Jesus a bundle of myrrh, by gathering together into one all the labour, all the sorrow, and all the bitterness of Your Passion! For it is by such a mingling of myrrh and frankincense that the faithful soul is moved to earnest efforts after amendment, to acts of penance, and to the mortification of corrupt desires.

I give thanks to You, O Lord Jesus Christ, for the high sanctity of this day, which You did adorn with three mighty wonders. For on this day You did lead three kings to the Manger in Bethlehem; on this day You were baptized of John in the river Jordan; on this day You did turn water into wine at the marriage at Cana in Galilee — by all which things You did plainly manifest Yourself to be both God and man.

I pray You, therefore, O my meek and gracious Lord, that You would never suffer me to be led astray by Herodian wiles, that is to say by worldly honours, and the allurements of the flesh; but that, through the merits of the Holy Kings, and the prayers of Your most chaste Mother, and under the protection of Your angelic host, You would lead me, together with the Blessed Kings, along the way that leads to the Heavenly Country, there to behold You in Your everlasting glory.