Epiphany is not merely the last of the “twelve days of Christmas”; it is itself the twin feast of Christmas, the “little Christmas”. On this day the Church contemplates once more with renewed fervor and tenderness the mystery of the Incarnation of the Lord. If, on Christmas Day, the Church emphasizes the threefold birth of the Word of God, in the Epiphany of the Lord she puts the accent on His manifestation (epiphaneia) to the world.
It is only fitting that this great feast witnesses a liturgical richness that should make it one of the highest points of the year for Catholics. Until 1955 it also had its own Octave, which was of great antiquity.
During the Mass, after the Gospel, the archdeacon, a dignitary, or another priest, dressed in a cope, goes to the customary place where he proclaims the moveable feasts for the current year. The Classical Roman Rite’s text for 2010 reads as follows:
Noveritis, fratres carissimi, quod annuente Dei misericordia, sicut de Nativitate Domini nostri Jesu Christi gavisi sumus, ita et de Resurrectione ejusdem Salvatoris nostri gaudium vobis annuntiamus. Die tricesima prima Januarii erit Dominica in Septuagesima. Septima decima Februarii dies Cinerum, et initium jejunii sacratissimae Quadragesimae. Quarta Aprilis sanctum Pascha Domini nostri Jesu Christi cum gaudio celebrabimus. Tertia decima Maii erit Ascensio Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Vigesima tertia ejusdem Festum Pentecostes. Tertia Junii Festum sacratissimi Corporis Christi. Duodetricesima Novembris Dominica prima Adventus Domini nostril Jesu Christi, cui est honor et gloria, in saecula saeculorum, Amen.
Although the custom of making this proclamation largely fell into disuse in the Modern Roman Rite, it is now being rediscovered, as this NLM article shows.
It is also customary during Epiphany to bless gold, frankincense and myrrh. The pre-Conciliar Roman Ritual has the following formula:
The Blessing of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
In Latin:
Oremus. Suscipe, sancta Pater, a me indigno famulo tuo haec munera, quae in honorem nominis tui sancti, et in titulum omnipotentiae tuae maiestatis, humiliter tibi offero: sicut sacrificium Abel iustus, et sicut eadem munera a tribus Magis tibi quondam offerentibus suscepisti.
Exerciso te, creatura auri, thuris et myrrhae, per Pa+trem omnipotentem, per Iesum + Christum filium eius unigenitum, et per Spiritum Sanctum + Paraclitum: ut a te discedat omnis fraus, dolus, et nequitia diaboli, et sis remedium salutare humano generi contra insidias immici: et quicumque divino freti auxilio te in suis loculis, domibus, aut circa se habuerint, per virtutem et merita Domini et Salvatoris nostri, ac intercessionem eius sanctissimmae Genetricis et Virginis Mariae, ac eorum, qui hodie similibus muneribus Christum Dominum venerati sunt, omniumque Sanctorum, ab omnibus periculis animae et corporis liberentur, et bonis omnibus perfrui mereantur. R. Amen.
Deus invisibilis et interminabilis, pietatem tuam per sanctum et tremendum Filii tui nomen, suppliciter deprecamur: ut in hanc creaturam auri, thus, myrrhae bene+dictionem ac operationem tuae virtutis infundas: ut, qui ea penes se habuerint, ab omni aegreditudinis et laesionis incursu tuti sint; et omnes morbos corporis et animae effugiant, nullum dominetur eis penculum et, laeti, ac incolumes tibi in Ecclesia tua deserviant: Qui in Trinitate perfecta vivis et regnas Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum.
Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Pa+tris, et Filii,+ et Spiritus + Sancti, descendat super hanc creaturam auri, thuris et myrrhae, et maneat semper. R. Amen.
In English:
Let us pray. Accept, O holy Father, from me, thine unworthy servant, these gifts which I offer in humility to the honour of thy holy name and to thy peerless majesty; as thou didst accept the sacrifice of the just Abel and the same gifts from the hands of the Magi.
Creatures of gold, incense, and myrrh, I exorcise you by the Father + almighty, by Jesus + Christ, His Only-Begotten Son, and by the Hol y+ Spirit, the Paraclete, that freed from all deceit, evil, and cunning of the devil, you may be a saving remedy to men against the snares of the enemy. May trustful souls who use you in their homes or about their persons be delivered from danger to soul and body, rejoicing in the possession of every good; through our Lord and Saviour's power and merits, through the intercession of Mary, most holy Virgin Mother of God, of all Saints and of them who on this day venerated Christ, the Lord with similar gifts. R. Amen.
O God, thou the invisible and unending One, in the holy and awesome name of thy Son graciously bestow blessing + and power upon these creatures, gold, incense, and myrrh. Protect them who will have them in their possession from illness, injury, and danger to body and soul, so they can joyously and securely serve thee with zeal in thy Church. Who in perfect Trinity livest and reignest, God, for ever and ever. R Amen.
There is also the custom of the annual blessing of houses, with each room being sprinkled with blessed water and incensed. Traditionally this was done by the pastor, but in the aftermath of the Council, this blessing (in reduced form) was, in many countries, handed over to the fathers of families (or even to any family member).
The Roman Ritual has the text of the Epiphany blessing of houses by priests (look for blessing # 8 in this webpage. See also this link.)
A more modern version that can be done by laymen / fathers of families can be found here.
At the end of the house blessing, the following is inscribed upon the doors:
20+C+M+B+10
(This is not the only form that the inscription could take, and sometimes the inscription is placed on the inside of the door, and sometimes on the outside or above it.)
CMB means “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” but through the centuries it has also been taken to refer to the Magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthassar. This latter understanding is reflected in the Roman Ritual’s formula for the blessing of the chalk that is used to make this inscription, which formula reads as follows:
The Blessing of Chalk
In Latin:
Bene+dic, Domine Deus, creaturam istam cretae: ut sit salutaris humano generi; et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sanctissimi, ut, quicumque ex ea sumpserint, vel ea in domus suae portis scripserint nomina sanctorum tuorum Gasparis, Melchioris et Baltassar, per eorum intercessionem et merita, corporis sanitatem, et animae tutelam, percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen
In English:
Bless, +. O Lord God, this creature chalk to render it helpful to men. Grant that they who use it in faith and with it inscribe upon the entrance of their homes the names of thy saints, Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthassar may through their merits and intercession enjoy health of body and protection of soul. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen
