Message from Fr. D. Ryan Saunders

St. David Catholic Parish

Dear Saint David Family,

As we begin a new calendar year, I extend to you and your families my heartfelt prayers for a blessed, peaceful, and hope-filled New Year. The turning of the year invites us to look both backward with gratitude and forward with trust, asking the Lord to guide our steps in the days ahead. It is fitting, then, that at the very start of this new year the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord a feast centered on journey, light, and new direction.

On this, the Epiphany of the Lord, the Church invites us to gaze once more upon the Child of Bethlehem, revealed not only to Israel, but to all nations. In the Gospel from Matthew (2:1–12), we hear of the Magi foreigners, seekers from distant lands who follow the light of a star in search of truth, hope, and salvation. Their journey is long, uncertain, and costly, yet it leads them to an encounter that changes everything. The Epiphany celebrates this great mystery: that Jesus Christ is revealed as Savior of the whole world. God’s light is not reserved for a few, nor confined by borders, language, or culture. The Magi remind us that God often speaks to those on the margins, to those who are willing to set out into the unknown, trusting that the light they follow will not mislead them.

This Gospel speaks powerfully to our lives today. Like the Magi, we are all on a journey seeking meaning, stability, and peace amid a world that can feel confusing and divided. We navigate fears, uncertainties, and competing voices, much like the Magi had to navigate the hostility of Herod and the indifference of others who heard the news of the Messiah but did not move. Yet the Magi teach us that faith is not passive. It requires movement, courage, and the willingness to be changed by the encounter with Christ. The feast of the Epiphany also invites us to reflect on the reality of migration and immigration in our own time. The Magi themselves were travelers, crossing borders and cultures in search of life-giving truth. Soon after their visit, we know that the Holy Family will become refugees, fleeing violence and danger in order to protect the life of the Child Jesus. From the very beginning, the story of our salvation is intertwined with the experience of migration.

Today, many of our brothers and sisters some within our own parish family know what it means to leave home out of necessity, not choice. They carry hopes, fears, and gifts much like the gold, frankincense, and myrrh brought by the Magi.

The Epiphany challenges us to ask:

• Do we recognize Christ in the stranger, the newcomer, the one seeking safety and dignity?

• Do we allow the light of Christ to guide our hearts beyond fear toward compassion and justice?

When the Magi encounter Jesus, they are overwhelmed with joy, and they return home “by another way.” A true encounter with Christ always changes our direction. May this feast move us to see more clearly, to love more generously, and to walk more faithfully as disciples who reflect Christ’s light in a world longing for hope.

As we celebrate the Epiphany, may we ask for the grace to follow the star wherever it leads especially when it leads us toward greater solidarity, mercy, and love. May our parish of Saint David be a place where Christ is made visible to all, and where every person knows they are welcomed as a child of God.

With prayerful blessings for you and your families, I remain
In Christ,

Fr. D. Ryan Saunders