The Virgin Mary in the Epiphany of the Lord

“Arise, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1)

I. The Light from Afar: The Oracle of Isaiah 60

Chapter 60 of the Book of Isaiah belongs to the most eschatological section of what is known as Third Isaiah: it is a vision of restored Jerusalem, the city shining with divine glory while the rest of the world remains in darkness. “Arise, shine, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but upon you shines the Lord, and his glory appears over you” (Isaiah 60:1-2). The contrast between the light radiating from the chosen city and the darkness covering the world is the way the prophet uses to express the universality of salvation that begins with Israel but is intended for all nations.

The oracle continues with a vision of nations converging towards Jerusalem, bringing their riches: “Nations shall walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3). The image of kings bringing gold and incense (Isaiah 60:6) is one that Matthew will take up in his Epiphany narrative. The Isaiahic prophecy, originally directed towards the community returning from exile, acquires at Epiphany its fullest fulfillment: the Magi from the East are representatives of nations who, guided by the light of a star, make their way to the source of true light. And at the center of this universal convergence stands Mary with her Son.

II. The Star’s Path and the Logic of Search

The narrative of the visit of the Magi in Matthew’s second chapter is a text that liturgical and spiritual tradition has always contemplated with particular devotion, as it contains in miniature the dynamics of every authentic religious search. The Magi are wise men from the East, perhaps astrologers or natural philosophers, who observe celestial signs and interpret them as indications of cosmic events of great significance. Upon seeing the star, they recognize that a king has been born and set out to find him. Their quest does not spring from a supernatural revelation: it starts with human reason attuned to the signs of creation and open to transcendence.

But reason alone is not enough: upon reaching Jerusalem, the Magi are unsure where to look. They need Scripture to discover Bethlehem. Human wisdom that begins with observation of nature requires the word of revelation to find its destination. This dialogue between reason and faith, between contemplation of the universe and listening to Scripture, is inscribed in the very journey of the Magi as a model spiritual itinerary that the Church has always recognized. Mary and her Son await them at the end of this path: natural philosophy of the Magi and prophecy of Micah converge on the same stable in Bethlehem.

## III. “When they saw the star, they were filled with great joy”The Matthew’s account of the Magi focuses on internal movements. When Herod hears the Magi’s question, “He was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him” (Mt 2:3): the arrival of the Messiah disrupts those in power who fear losing their hold. When the Magi see the star again after consulting the Scriptures, “they were filled with great joy” (Mt 2:10): the reunion with the sign that guided them brings a joy emphasized by an expressive accumulation. And when they arrive at the house where the boy is with his mother Mary, “they prostrated themselves and worshiped him” (Mt 2:11). The Magi’s prostration is the highest act of veneration known in Eastern culture: it is the reverence of human intelligence recognizing the presence of the Absolute.Mary is present in this scene as the one who presents the Son to the world. Matthew explicitly mentions “the boy with Mary his mother” (Mt 2:11): the Mother is not a setting, but a constitutive presence. It is the Magi who worship, it is the Son who is worshiped, but it is Mary who unites them: she who received the Son of God in her fiat at the Annunciation and now presents him to the adoration of the nations. The Epiphany is, in this sense, the first act of Mary’s maternal priesthood: presenting to the Father, through the Son, the adoration of the nations he created.## IV. Mary, the sign of light that attracts the nationsThe sixth Mass of the Collect focuses on Mary in her universal dimension: the one present at the moment salvation is revealed to the nations. The Epiphany is not just a past event; it is the permanent form through which Christ continues to draw sincerely seeking truth to himself. And Mary, in this process of universal attraction, remains the Mother who presents the Son, the door through which the nations find their Savior.Mariology of the Epiphany is mariology of maternal mediation. Not in the sense that Mary interposes herself between the Son and the nations, but rather that she is the human context within which the Son reveals himself. The Magi did not find Jesus without Mary; they found him with her, and it is she who presents him. All missionary activity of the Church prolongs this act of presentation: leading the nations to the Son through the maternal mediation inaugurated by Mary in Bethlehem. The Isaiah’s oracle is perpetually fulfilled: the light that the Magi followed did not fade away with Jesus’ death and resurrection. It continues to shine wherever Mary is honored, and where, through her, the nations draw near to their Son.