Sacred Calendar
The Roman year ordered for memory, penance, feasts, saints, and the daily pilgrimage of the faithful.
Calendar standard
Pre-1955 Roman usage
The calendar follows the universal Roman year under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X, with the Roman Martyrology preserved as a distinct daily witness.
The day is presented for prayer, recollection, study, and perseverance in the City.
Daily observance
Today in the City of God
The Church keeps this day in holy time. The Pilgrim's Companion gathers the feast, daily quote, Martyrology, meditation, prayer, and related chapters into one daily path through the City.
Choose a date
Daily observance
Epiphany of Our Lord
Thursday, January 6, 2028
Season: Christmastide
The day is set within the Roman year so its feast, Martyrology, daily quote, prayer, and reading path may be received together without blurring their proper sources.
Today's pilgrimage
Epiphany of Our Lord
Rank: Double of the First Class
Color: white
Quote for the day
The Magi
“We have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him.”
Matthew 2:2, Douay-Rheims
The pilgrim's devotional rhythm
Keeping the month and the weekday in prayer
This chosen devotional rhythm does not change the feast, rank, or obligations shown above. It gives the passing days a steady intention, helping the pilgrim honor God, intercede for souls, and carry one Catholic practice into the day. It is a household aid to devotion, not another law of the Roman Calendar.
January intention
The Most Holy Name of Jesus
Let the first month of the civil year be placed beneath the saving Name given to the Divine Child. The pilgrim begins again not in self-reliance, but in the Name before which every knee must bow.
Intention
For reverence toward the Holy Name, reparation for blasphemy and careless speech, and the conversion of those who do not yet confess Jesus Christ.
A faithful act
Invoke the Holy Name slowly in temptation, discouragement, or thanksgiving, and refuse every irreverent use of it.
Prayer
Jesus, be Thou my strength, my refuge, and the end of all that I undertake.
Thursday remembrance
The Most Blessed Sacrament
Thursday recalls the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood at the Last Supper. Adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and pray for priests, through whose consecrated ministry the Holy Sacrifice is offered.
Intention
For holy priests, worthy Communions, vocations, and reparation for neglect and sacrilege toward the Blessed Sacrament.
A faithful act
Make a visit or spiritual Communion and pray especially for priests by name.
Prayer
Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, increase our faith, receive our reparation, and sanctify Thy priests.
Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology - January 6
The Epiphany of Our Lord. — In the diocese of Rheims, the martyrdom of St. Macra, virgin, who, in the persecution of Diocletian, was cast into the fire by order of the governor Kictiovarus. As she remained uninjured, she had her breasts cut off, was imprisoned in a foul dungeon, rolled upon broken earthenware and burning coals, and finally she gave up her soul while engaged in prayer. — In Africa, the commemoration of many holy martyrs, who were burned at the stake in the persecution of Severus. — At Rennes, in France, St. Melanius, bishop and confessor, who, after a life remarkable for virtues innumerable, with his thoughts constantly fixed on heaven, gloriously departed from this world. — At Florence, St. Andrew Corsini, a Florentine Carmelite and bishop of Fiesoli. Being celebrated for miracles, he was ranked among the Saints by Urban VIII. His festival is kept on the 4th of February. — At Geris, in Egypt, St. Nilammon, anchoret, who, whilst he was carried to a bishopric against his will, gave up his soul to God in prayer.
Highlighted saint
The Epiphany of Our Lord
Christ manifested to the nations.
The Epiphany manifests Christ to the Gentiles, as the Magi come from the East to adore the newborn King.
The feast teaches that true wisdom ends in worship, and that all nations are called to kneel before Christ.
Virtue to practice
Adoring obedience to revealed light.
Error to resist
The cleverness that investigates Christ without kneeling before Him.
For the pilgrim in exile
Follow the star given today, even if the whole road is not visible. Light obeyed becomes worship.
Imitate today
- Follow the light God gives.
- Let study end in adoration.
- Offer Christ the best of what you possess.
Sources
- Matthew 2:1-12, Douay-Rheims.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, January 6.
From Matins
The Light shown to the Gentiles.
Matins - Second Nocturn - Epiphany of Our Lord
Pope St. Leo the Great and Pope St. Gregory the Great, Sermon for the Epiphany and Homily on St. Matthew
“On that day the Virgin brought Him forth, and on this the world knew Him.”
Doctrine taught
- The Breviary presents Epiphany as the manifestation of Christ: the Child born of the Virgin is made known beyond Israel to the nations.
- Pope St. Leo teaches that Christ revealed Himself by degrees, while even Herod's cruelty was overruled by divine providence to spread the news of the Saviour's birth.
- Pope St. Gregory teaches that the wise men were led by a star, so that the Gentiles, not yet trained by prophecy, might be drawn by a sign to adore the King.
For the pilgrim in exile
Follow the light God gives and bring Him royal gifts: faith, obedience, and adoration. Epiphany rebukes both Herod's fear of Christ and the indifference that will not journey to Him.
Sources
- The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. I, Winter, Second and Third Nocturns for the Epiphany of Our Lord, lessons iv-viii, printed pp. 334-337.
- Bute 1908 is used here as an accessible pre-Pius X Breviary witness and is cited distinctly from the 1936-1937 Benziger / Burns Oates edition.
Breviary Witness
The nations come to adore the King.
Matins - Epiphany of Our Lord
Breviary witness
- The Breviary office of Epiphany contemplates Christ manifested to the Gentiles, adored by the Magi, and recognized as King.
- True wisdom travels, kneels, and gives; it does not merely observe the mystery.
For the pilgrim in exile
Follow the light God gives until it becomes worship. The Magi teach study that ends on its knees.
Sources
- Roman Breviary, Matins lessons for January 6, Epiphany of Our Lord.
- Matthew 2:1-12, Douay-Rheims.
Gospel of the day
We have seen his star in the east.
Epiphany of Our Lord - Matthew 2:1-12
“We have seen his star in the east, and are come to adore him.”
What Our Lord teaches
- Christ is manifested to the nations, and true wisdom ends in adoration.
- The Magi leave their own country, resist the cruelty of Herod, and give royal gifts to the Child King.
Virtue to practice
Follow the light God gives and let study end in worship.
Error to resist
The cleverness that investigates Christ without kneeling before Him.
For the pilgrim in exile
When God gives light, follow it with peace. You do not need to see the whole road at once; the star is enough for the next faithful step.
Sources
- Matthew 2:1-12, Douay-Rheims.
- Traditional Roman Gospel for the Epiphany.
Meditation
The Coming of the King
The mystery of the coming of Christ teaches the pilgrim to wait without surrender, to recognize divine humility, and to adore the King where He truly appears. Sacred time trains hope, but hope must remain disciplined by doctrine and worship.
Related paths
Walk the day through the City.
Today's chapters
Read with the feast.
Prayer
The day should become prayer.
O Lord, pardon my faults, raise my heart from discouragement, and teach me to begin again under Thy mercy.
Thought for the pilgrim
The pilgrim is formed by returning to God again and again.
Practice
The day should become obedience.
Make a brief examination of conscience before sleep and end the day with an act of contrition.
Source notes
Universal Roman Calendar under the rubrics of Pope St. Pius X
Fasting and abstinence according to the laws observed in 1952
Daily quotations and pilgrimage excerpts ordinarily come from eligible Catholic sources issued no later than December 31, 1954: Scripture, Fathers, Doctors, saints, Roman Pontiffs, traditional catechisms, approved devotional works, and received liturgical texts. Legitimate additions promulgated under Pope Pius XII may be retained when identified precisely; this does not adopt the reformed Holy Week or later rubrical changes.
The Roman Martyrology, Baltimore, 1916, published by John Murphy Company; the local 1916 text is displayed and traceable to its source lines.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Liturgical Calendar, pp. xvii–xxviii.
- St. Andrew Daily Missal, Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, O.S.B., 1953 edition; proper Mass or devotion named in this entry.
- Philippians 2:9-11, Douay-Rheims.
- 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, Douay-Rheims.