Bishop Moran's letter for Epiphany.

[To be read at each Mass of the Epiphany 3rd/4th January 2015]

A letter from Bishop Peter Moran, President of the Justice & Peace Commission

Were the wise men’s gifts appropriate?
In a royal palace they would have been: precious metal, sweet ointment, rare perfume.
But what that child and his mother needed was cash for basics, medical care, and support from someone powerful.
Jesus was born poor, vulnerable and powerless.
In the Gospel and through the Church he calls us to see him in every poor, vulnerable and powerless person today.

• Helping the poor by giving is a straightforward challenge, and a duty.
In this season of giving, give locally or internationally to any of a hundred charities.
Give according to your means – little or much.
• Justice for the powerless calls for a different commitment, but is also a duty.
We should remember that we ourselves are not powerless.
We can pray – prayer works!
We can raise awareness among friends and workmates.
We can join, or even set up, a local Justice & Peace group.
We can change attitudes – our own and other people’s.
We can write, use social media, contact politicians, and join demonstrations.
• Working for justice promotes peace.
In today’s war-torn world, and at this season of the year, we all want that.
Advice and resources are readily available by googling ‘Justice and Peace Scotland’
Thank you for listening.
Today’s special collection supports both national and local justice and peace activities.
Please think of it as your gift to the Child of Bethlehem, still needy nowadays.
+ Peter A. Moran
Bishop-President, J & P Commission, Scotland


[PDF downloadable here]
-------------------------------
Additional comments by Stephen Watt:

Online donations to SCIAF can be made here.
Online donations to Aid to the Church in Need can be made here. 

Further reading:

Aquinas' Catena Aurea (a selection of excerpts from previous Gospel commentaries) deals with the gifts of the Wise Men in Lectio 5 of Ch1 of the Commentary on St Matthew here.

Aquinas discusses the proper use of money in (among other places)  Summa Theologiae IIaIIae q.117 a.1-5 here.

[Image sourced from Wikicommons here.]