Jesus received gifts from the Magi, but the Magi received the far greater gift of seeing God face to face. St. Matthew tells us that the Magi were “overjoyed” at seeing the star, not only because of its shining brilliance, but because its beauty led them to the Savior. When they found Jesus and his Mother, they forgot all about the star! They prostrated themselves and did homage to the King of Kings, who makes the stars (have you ever seen those blazing images from the Hubble telescope of a “stellar nursery?” or today’s big wonder over 3I/ATLAS the interstellar object? the Lord is continually giving birth to new stars!). But we poor humans commonly mistake the stars—sport stars, movie stars, political stars—for the Creator and Lord of the stars. Our mind may wander from the altar at Liturgy, but it is glued to the TV screen when our favorite basketball star is poised to throw his three-pointer. 
   Simply unveiling his divine face—by shining his “new” light upon us, Christ remakes us. The magi saw this light radiating from the baby’s face and it transformed them. Think of how a child’s smile can disarm us. Now think what it must’ve been for the Magi, the shepherds, St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary, to look into the face of Jesus. If only Herod would have looked into that baby’s face! 
   The prolife movement most effectively changes hearts when it simply shows the face of the child to those who promote abortion. 
   Simply by shining on us, Christ’s light restores our 
humanity. No darkness can overcome our true humanity, born in the image of God. The revelation of that unconquerable light is essential to our faith, such that the words in the Gospel of John: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot 
overcome it.” -John 1:5 
   Who knows what new forms of darkness this year might bring? Yet we begin this year with an unshakeable faith in the Light that cannot be overcome, the light streaming from Christ’s sacred face, the light reflected in the face of his Holy Mother, and all who join him in his saving mission. 
   We must believe, as we enter this new year of Grace, that Christ’s light will not be overcome.