And the star… went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the Child was (Mt 2:9). The Magi reached Bethlehem because they had obediently allowed themselves to be guided by the star.

Indeed, when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy (Mt 2:10). When we are conscious of being led by God, our hearts experience authentic and deep joy as well as a powerful desire to meet him and a persevering strength to follow him obediently.

And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother (Mt 2:11). There is nothing extraordinary about this at first sight. Yet that Child was different from any other. He is the only Son of God, yet he emptied himself of his glory (cf Phil 2:7) and came to earth to die on the cross.

Who could have invented a greater sign of love? We are left in awe before the mystery of a God who lowered himself to take on our human condition to the point of giving his life for us on the Cross (cf Phil 2:6-8).

How can we give thanks to God for such magnanimous goodness?

They fell down and worshipped him (Mt 2:11) While the Magi acknowledged and worshipped the baby that Mary cradled in her arms as the One awaited by the nations and foretold by prophets, today we can also worship him in the Eucharist, and acknowledge him as our Creator, our only Lord and Savior.

Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh (Mt 2:11). The gifts that the Magi offered the Messiah symbolized true worship. With gold they emphasized his Royal Godhead; with incense they acknowledged him as the priest of the New Covenant; and by offering him myrrh, they celebrated the prophet who would shed his own blood to reconcile humanity with the Father.

My dear people, you too, offer to the Lord the gold of your lives, namely, your freedom to follow him out of love. Let the incense of your fervent prayer rise up to him, in praise of his glory. Offer him your myrrh, that is your affection of total gratitude to him, true Man, who loved us to the point of dying as a criminal on Golgotha.

Be worshippers of the only true God, giving him pride of place in your lives.

Do not yield to false illusion and passing fads which so frequently leave behind a tragic spiritual vacuum! Reject the seduction of wealth, consumerism, and the subtle violence sometimes used by the mass media.

Worshipping the true God is an authentic act of resistance to all forms of idolatry. Worship Christ: He is the rock on which to build your future and a world of greater justice and solidarity.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace: the source of forgiveness and reconciliation, who can make brothers and sisters of all the members of the human family.

Listening to Christ and worshipping him leads us to make courageous choices, to make what are sometimes heroic decisions. Jesus is demanding because he wishes our genuine happiness.

All baptized Christians are called to that high standard of ordinary Christian living which is expressed in holiness. (cf Novo Millennio Ineunte, 31).

There are so many of our contemporaries who do not yet know the love of God or who are seeking to fill their hearts with trifling substitutes. It is therefore urgently necessary for us to be witnesses to love contemplated in Christ.

The Church needs genuine witnesses for the New Evangelization: men and women whose lives have been transformed by meeting with Jesus, men and women who are capable of communicating their experience to others. The Church needs saints.

All are called to holiness, and holy people alone can renew humanity.