The Three Wise Men are not just a fairy tale

Unable to attend the Extraordinary Form today, I have missed the Epiphany for the third time running, but only the third time in my life.

There are, however, those in England who will still be keeping it on the same day as the Pope. In the Church of England. Quite a senior member of which once asked me in all seriousness whether or not we were still keeping Christmas Day on 25th December rather than moving it to the nearest Sunday.

We had rather hoped for a reversal when Archbishop Nichols was installed on the real Ascension Day. So, where is it? Meanwhile, liberals like ecumenism. Let them do the ecumenical thing by doing the Ultramontane thing, restoring the Epiphany and Ascension Day, and with them Corpus Christi, to their proper days, as kept both by our separated brethren and by our Holy Father.

Prove to me that you are an actual human being–that the words I read here on the computer screen weren’t typed out by my computer.  ;-)

“We Catholics have a reverence for tradition as one of the pillars supporting our faith. So we don’t think the Three Wise Men are just a happy fairy tale to provide colourful parts in children’s Nativity plays; they are a beautiful part of this tradition and it annoys me when people say “Where’s the proof?”## There is a difference between these, OTOH:1. That the *Magoi* of Matthew 2 were three in number2. That there were 3 nails used in the Crucifixion (4 according to some)3. That St.Michael the Archangel appeared at Monte Gargano in 4904. Jesus was born in a cave &, OTO:1. The tradition of the Church is a means by which the 27 writings that comprise the canon of the NT have been preserved in the Church as sacred & inspired2. the Perpetual Virginity of the BVM3. the lawfulness of Baptism by sprinkling Some Traditions are part and parcel of the Faith; some traditions are popular interpretations of the Biblical text (the number of the Magi & their identoification as kings, which rests on a Christological interpretation of Psalm 72); Santa Befana, a personification of Epiphanytide, is a traditional character in Italy. The many stories about Saints in France fighting dragons were traditions; the notion that St. Peter sent St Denis, & the deacons Rusticus & Eleutherius, to preach the Gospel in France is another; and is suspicious on several grounds. There are traditions that St. Joseph of Arimathea, St. Philip (the Deacon, IIRC), St. Paul, & Jesus Himself all came to England; as well as the one about St. Lucius, King of Britain c.156. These merge with the idea such as that that Sheaf Shielding was born in the Ark during the Flood, or that a Greek prince Gathelos & Scota his wife, daughter of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, are the ancestors of the Scottish people. That stories are traditions does not mean they all have the same function, nor that they are true if taken as relations of events in the external world.  Those Christian traditions, some of which cannot possibly be true as they stand, & Tradition, are not quite the same kind of thing; one is much more theologically important than the other. Church Tradition is like a corporate memory, and provides a context for the Church’s corporate Act of Faith as well as for the individual’s believing – traditions do not, though they may often echo what the faithful have in fact believed about matters relating to the Faith. The season of Epiphany, & its Italian personification are related to the Faith in different ways.   If we do not examine popular traditions critically, there is a danger of canonising folk religion as though it were part of the Gospel; and if that happens, it is easy for the Gospel to be replaced by folk religion – & that can lead to Christo-paganism. If the blood of St. Januarius of Naples is no such thing, we should not dignify it by believing that it is. If faith in Christ accommodates falsehoods and truths with indifference to the difference between them, why preach it ? 

A Mexican Catholic who celebrates The Day of the Dead in the glory of its paganistic origins is a dissenting Catholic, and perhaps synonymous with Christo-paganism. However, the Day of the Dead in Mexico is celebrated in light of the Catholic All Saints and All Souls day, and if one were to pray for the souls in purgatory in a fashion that incorporates some cultural elements, that is fine. But true, there are some that take it too far, and miss the forest for the trees.

Picking and discarding what you want from authoritative teaching is practically the norm outside Catholic faith and morals. In fact Thales of Miletus, one of the first philosophers of the Western world, would observe many societies with differing traditions who seemingly pick and choose whatever they want to fit their own needs. We can be glad that the School of Athens taught otherwise then. Jesus taught the same too, and the Catholic Church preserved and built upon such teachings (philosophy and revelation, known as “faith and reason”) even ’til the late Middle Ages.

Interesting that you note that anyone who doesn’t follow the rules of society would die out. For the first 300 years of its life, Christianity was totally against social norms, which is why they were continuously and ruthlessly persecuted. Somehow, it survived the massacre. It would also survive the tribal invasions from the West for several hundred years, and go on to help facilitate kingdoms for many more.

If societies last because their ethos lends to survival, you’ll be pretty glad Christianity is here. The cultural invasions of the 21st century look very much like the end of Rome. We’ll be here to pick up the pieces, as Christ instructs us to in faith and love.

Luke’s gospel isn’t the Daily Mail. Instead of trying to fathom out whether the Three wise men were kings magi or what have you, as substantive as the D Day landings, think about what Luke is telling us, and what literary device he is using. Midrash. Therein lies his truth.