Gold, frankincense and myrrh

Ave Maria! Today at Mass, we sing the same responsorial psalm as yesterday: "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you." The verses that follow both yesterday and today are from Psalm 72, which is a prayer for a new king. This prayer asks that he will rule in justice plus it extols the royal power of the Messiah. The concluding verses of this psalm praise the Lord God: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name for ever; may his glory fill the whole earth! Amen and amen!"

The heading for this psalm in the Liturgy of the Hours is "The Messiah's royal power" (cf. Week II, Thursday, Evening Prayer). Immediately after the heading is this verse from Matthew's gospel about the Wise Men's visit to the Christ Child (2:11): "Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh." These gifts, of course, signify the mystery of Christ incarnate -- gold for the kingship of Jesus, frankincense for his divinity, and myrrh for his humanity, especially in his Passion and death. The footnote for this verse from The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible notes that, according to St. Gregory the Great, "the treasures signify the gifts we present to Christ in our daily lives. Gold is Christ's wisdom, which shines in us, frankincense is the prayer and adoration we give him (cf. Rev 8:3-4), and myrrh is our daily self-sacrifices (cf. Rom 12:1)."

Reflecting upon all this along with our psalm response yesterday and today -- "Lord, every nation on earth will adore you!" -- I ask myself: does "all that is in me adore Him"? have I truly laid my life before Him? am I myself "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God"? do I worship Him in spirit and truth with all my being? do I love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength?

Of myself, I can do nothing, I am nothing. But united with Him who does wondrous things, I can indeed open my treasures and give Him my gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Blessed be His glorious name for ever! Amen and amen!

"Lord Jesus, I unite myself to Your perpetual, unceasing, universal Sacrifice. I offer myself to You every day of my life and every moment of every day, according to Your most holy and adorable Will. Since You have been the Victim of my salvation, I wish to be the victim of Your love. Accept my desire, take my offering, and graciously hear my prayer. Let me live for love of You; let me die for love of You; let my last heartbeat be an act of perfect love." ~The Act of Oblation of Saint Therese Couderc, founder of the Sisters of the Cenacle