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We’ve always had our heroes and role models. Whether it was Charles Lindenberg, or General George Patton, or John F. Kennedy, or Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, or Pope John Paul II, or Tiger Woods, every generation has had its heroes and those that we look up to and imitate with our lives. Sometimes today though, the heroes that we follow and look up to today are pretty flimsy. Athletes, movie stars, racecar drivers, or musicians, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Phil, today many times the people we follow and pay attention to are more personalities, then they are heroes. And yet look at how much attention they get! There was a report in the news last week that over two-dozen people were arrested in 2006 for stalking Brittany Spears! Two dozen! And Brittany Spears isn’t that good of a singer or an actress. One guys was caught stealing her garbage. Who do you think that that guy is following with his life? Why would anybody do that? Is it any wonder that we have so many lost people today? Sometimes it is entirely about who we are following.

Today we come to Mass on this Feast of the Epiphany, and once again we hear the story of the Three Kings. And we’ve all heard this story so many times. It comes up every year after Christmas. It’s one of those Gospels that many of us could almost recite from memory, we’ve heard it so often! But the message is so important. The Three Kings sought God in their lives. And to find God, they had to get on their camels and go. They couldn’t sit at home. They couldn’t do everything just like they had been doing it before. They couldn’t just say their prayers and go through the motions of following a God that they knew was calling them to more. They had to make some changes. They had to pack up their camels and head out. They had to leave their families and friends behind. They had to have Faith and trust that God was not leading them astray. And they had to follow a star! A star! It was God’s gift to them to help them find their way. They didn’t have GPS. They didn’t follow economic predictions or stock market analysis. They didn’t ask Oprah what book to read to show them the way. They didn’t say “Let me recharge my I-pod and then I’ll be ready to go”. They followed a star; a heavenly light led them to exactly what they were most looking for: Jesus!

By coming here today, to Mass, you too are saying that you want to have God in your life. We’d all like to see and experience what those Three Kings did when they walked into that stable. So then, WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING? OR WHAT WAY ARE YOU FOLLOWING? It really is important. What if the Three Kings had followed a bird, or a cloud, or the wind? They might never have found Jesus. And this is where discernment comes in. We have to discern God’s call and God’s way every day in our lives. God has a plan for us. He’s got a way for us to get to His Son Jesus, just as surely as He had a plan for the Three Kings. But we can’t follow that plan or that way, if we’re not listening, if we’re not paying attention.

As followers of Jesus, especially today, we must have listening hearts. Do you have listening heart? Are you paying attention to the signs that are going on around you? Ever wonder if there was really a Fourth Wise Man, but he just kept saying, “Hey, there’s that bright star again! Funny, isn’t it?” You gotta pay attention! God is at work all around us. He is leading us places too. But we can’t follow Him if we’re not listening, not paying attention. We should be discerning every day.

And then when we know God’s will, we have to have the courage to do God’s will. We have to follow Him where He leads and how He leads. And that can’t happen if we are so busy following somebody else, especially when we follow those who lead us far away from Heaven. If most of us were the Three Kings, we’d keep getting distracted. We’d follow the star for a day or two, and then we’d follow something else. We’d never make it to Bethlehem! We’ve got to stay focused. We’ve got to stay on track. Consistency and perseverance were extremely important in getting the Three Kings to Jesus. Those same things are also important for us on our journey. Ever try following Jesus on and off? It doesn’t work very well.

Let us follow God in this New Year. Like the Three Kings, He’s taking care of us too. He’s got great things in store for us at the end of our journeys also. All we have to do is follow Him. He should be the inspiration and hero for all of us!

May God bless us on this Feast Day, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit… AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti… Pray for us !!!