Vatican City, Jan 6, 2013 / 12:53 pm
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said that the Magi's visit to the Christ Child commemorated at the Feast of the Epiphany shows that Jesus Christ is "the light of the world that guides the path of all peoples."
"The faith of Mary becomes the first fruits and the model of the faith of the Church, the People of the New Covenant," the Pope told the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square Jan. 6. "But this people, from the beginning, is universal; and we see this today in the figure of the Magi, who come to Bethlehem following the light of a star and the indications of the Sacred Scriptures."
He said that Christmas shows the faith of the Virgin Mary, of Joseph and of the shepherds, while Epiphany shows "the faith of the Magi" who came from the East to adore the King of the Jews.
Pope Benedict explained that the Virgin Mary represents the "branch" of Israel and the remnant "foretold by the prophets, from which the Messiah will spring forth."