“That’s it; Christmas is over,” say the residents of Bethlehem at the end of the town’s Epiphany festivities. Christmas and Easter are the only solemnities to have an octave, a week-long prolongation of the holiday. Nevertheless, in the Holy Land it is Epiphany, 15 days after the 25th of December, that Christmas ends. It is also true that in Bethlehem the Epiphany celebrations are no less solemn than those of Christmas itself.
On the evening preceding the feast day, there is the Solemn Entry of the Custos, the two processions to the Grotto for First Vespers and the Office of Readings, and the Midnight Mass in the Grotto for the local faithful. Then, there are two major celebrations on the day itself. First, the Mass. The Custos is the principal concelebrant; it is celebrated largely in Arabic and sung by the Custody Choir. The faithful attend in large, joyful numbers. Father Amjad Sabbara ofm, the parish priest, preaches the homily. “Epiphany is the feast of the revelation, of the manifestation of the fact that this baby born in Bethlehem has changed the face of the world. Epiphany is the meeting between culture, the culture of the magi who followed a star, and the Bible, which had announced this birth in this place. Christ gives fullness of meaning to culture and to the Bible, as he gives fullness of meaning to each of us in our lives. And we in turn should give a true response to the gift of himself that Christ has given us. Jesus has illuminated our lives with his life; in our behavior, we should become people who illuminate the lives of others.”
But after the Mass, the service the faithful are waiting for is Second Vespers, when the friars make another procession to the Grotto of the Nativity, where they symbolically give gifts to the Baby Jesus: gold, represented by a golden rose donated by Pope Paul VI, incense and myrrh. These gestures are not, in fact, of ancient origin. The procession itself is inscribed in the status quo: on this day, at about this time, the Franciscans must hold a procession. So have they been doing for centuries. But what they sing, what gestures they make in the Grotto, are open to choice. For the last two years, the Custody friars who are responsible for the liturgy have been trying to bring about a greater correspondence between the demands of the status quo and the Vatican II conciliar liturgy, and because the procession must last for a given period of time, they try to give it as much significance as possible in connection with the feast day.
So it is with the gifts of the magi. One by one, the Custos places the golden rose, a golden olive branch, myrrh and incense on the silver star that marks the place where Christ was born and then in the crèche, where the seated Jesus Infant-King is enthroned (having been placed there during the night). Only friars take part in the procession, which is the only regret of the local Christians. “We don’t know what happens in the Grotto. We wait, say a rosary, a second rosary… It’s a shame that there is no liturgical animation up in the church while we wait for the procession to return. There could be songs to help the prayer of those who cannot enter the Grotto.”
But animation there is aplenty as the procession returns. The Custos having taken the Infant-King into his arms in the Grotto, he carries him during the procession in Saint Jerome’s Cloister, preceded by the Wise Kings and the Custody Choir. Some of the faithful take up the rear of the procession, while others wait in the Church for it to regain the nave. In the crowd, the faithful hold out their hands to Brother Noel, who is carrying the myrrh, and he sprinkles a bit of the precious perfume. Brother Stéphane, who is carrying the incense in an open box, sees the hands reaching out and helping themselves. This is real incense and there must be enough left for the ceremony, so Brother Stéphane finds himself obliged to distribute some of it, rather than be “robbed” of it all, little by little. Popular devotion continues as the Infant-King is exposed for the adoration of the faithful, who come forward to kiss him.
For Christians of the Latin Rite, the holiday is over. For the Orthodox Christians, it will continue throughout the night.
MAB
On the evening preceding the feast day, there is the Solemn Entry of the Custos, the two processions to the Grotto for First Vespers and the Office of Readings, and the Midnight Mass in the Grotto for the local faithful. Then, there are two major celebrations on the day itself. First, the Mass. The Custos is the principal concelebrant; it is celebrated largely in Arabic and sung by the Custody Choir. The faithful attend in large, joyful numbers. Father Amjad Sabbara ofm, the parish priest, preaches the homily. “Epiphany is the feast of the revelation, of the manifestation of the fact that this baby born in Bethlehem has changed the face of the world. Epiphany is the meeting between culture, the culture of the magi who followed a star, and the Bible, which had announced this birth in this place. Christ gives fullness of meaning to culture and to the Bible, as he gives fullness of meaning to each of us in our lives. And we in turn should give a true response to the gift of himself that Christ has given us. Jesus has illuminated our lives with his life; in our behavior, we should become people who illuminate the lives of others.”
But after the Mass, the service the faithful are waiting for is Second Vespers, when the friars make another procession to the Grotto of the Nativity, where they symbolically give gifts to the Baby Jesus: gold, represented by a golden rose donated by Pope Paul VI, incense and myrrh. These gestures are not, in fact, of ancient origin. The procession itself is inscribed in the status quo: on this day, at about this time, the Franciscans must hold a procession. So have they been doing for centuries. But what they sing, what gestures they make in the Grotto, are open to choice. For the last two years, the Custody friars who are responsible for the liturgy have been trying to bring about a greater correspondence between the demands of the status quo and the Vatican II conciliar liturgy, and because the procession must last for a given period of time, they try to give it as much significance as possible in connection with the feast day.
So it is with the gifts of the magi. One by one, the Custos places the golden rose, a golden olive branch, myrrh and incense on the silver star that marks the place where Christ was born and then in the crèche, where the seated Jesus Infant-King is enthroned (having been placed there during the night). Only friars take part in the procession, which is the only regret of the local Christians. “We don’t know what happens in the Grotto. We wait, say a rosary, a second rosary… It’s a shame that there is no liturgical animation up in the church while we wait for the procession to return. There could be songs to help the prayer of those who cannot enter the Grotto.”
But animation there is aplenty as the procession returns. The Custos having taken the Infant-King into his arms in the Grotto, he carries him during the procession in Saint Jerome’s Cloister, preceded by the Wise Kings and the Custody Choir. Some of the faithful take up the rear of the procession, while others wait in the Church for it to regain the nave. In the crowd, the faithful hold out their hands to Brother Noel, who is carrying the myrrh, and he sprinkles a bit of the precious perfume. Brother Stéphane, who is carrying the incense in an open box, sees the hands reaching out and helping themselves. This is real incense and there must be enough left for the ceremony, so Brother Stéphane finds himself obliged to distribute some of it, rather than be “robbed” of it all, little by little. Popular devotion continues as the Infant-King is exposed for the adoration of the faithful, who come forward to kiss him.
For Christians of the Latin Rite, the holiday is over. For the Orthodox Christians, it will continue throughout the night.
MAB