4 January 1987
Paris, France

My dear Sisters,

On this evening as we begin to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, I invite you to go to Bethlehem and to interview the Wise Men from the East who have just now arrived in the town and have found Mary, the Mother of Him who is born to be the Savior of the world. The Wise Men are tired, and you are asked not to weary them further by too many questions. You will have time to put four questions to them and you begin now:

Question 1: Why did you come here?

Reply: We came only because we wanted to find the King of the Jews. Our journey was long, but we were helped greatly, and we must say mysteriously, by the strange star that guided us to Jerusalem. It disappeared for a while, but it reappeared and led us to Bethlehem where we happily found the Child with His Mother.

Question 2: Did you experience any special difficulties on your journey and during your stay here in Judea?

Reply: Yes, we experienced many difficulties. It would take too long to enumerate them. Perhaps the greatest difficulty we experienced was a cultural one. You see, we are not Israelites. Our culture, our language, our traditions are very different from those we have found here in Judea. The people we have met have in the main been very helpful. Still, we are very much aware of the fact that we are far from our own country and, although we are adults, each of us has had our moments of nostalgia as we recall and remember our own family and our own friends.

Question 3: Have your hopes been realized?

Reply: Yes, but not in the manner we had expected. We thought we would find the new-born King--His name is Jesus--in much more ornate and richer surroundings than we did. Still each of us has been rewarded with a deep sense of that peace which comes from doing what the God of our consciences has told us to do. Besides all that, it was an inexpressible joy for each of us to meet and talk with that gracious, humble lady who is the Mother of the King. Her name is Mary and she comes from a place called Nazareth.

Question 4: Will you tell us something about the gifts which we heard you brought to the young King?

Reply: The gifts we brought made us feel a little foolish at first. You see, we thought that the King would be living in a palace. We brought gifts that we considered suitable for one who would live his life in a palace. On arrival here we found the Infant King living in an ordinary, common house. However, His Mother graciously accepted the gifts from us and said that they would be useful now and in the future. We did not see how, but the depth of her sincerity convinced us, and now we are glad that we brought these gifts, and we have left them with the King and His Mother.

Although the Magi, my dear Sisters, are tired from their journey, they are interested enough to ask us if we would mind giving our answers to the questions we have just put to them. So they begin to interview us:

Question 1: Why did you come here, Sister?

Reply: In answer to a call from God. True, I had not a star in the sky to guide me here to Paris, but I am convinced that the same Divine Providence which led you to Bethlehem has brought me to Paris. I am equally convinced that it is here I will find that same Child with His Mother, whom you found in Bethlehem. The star of Divine Providence occasionally hides itself from me, as it did from you, and I am at times perplexed and confused. Still I keep trusting in God's loving Providence, and I know that all will be well in the end.

Question 2: Have you experienced any special difficulties on your journey to and during your stay in Paris?

Reply: Yes, my difficulties are, like yours, cultural ones. I live my life among Sisters who come from nations and cultures very different from mine. Like you, I am at times nostalgic for home and the poor whom I used to serve directly.

Question 3: Have your hopes been realized?

Reply: Yes. There comes a peace from knowing that, however difficult my present work at times may be, it is the task which God wants me to do today. It has been a special grace, too, to pray in that place where the Virgin Mary promised St. Catherine that she would find all the strength she needed to live her vocation as a Daughter of Charity.

Question 4: Will you tell us something about the gifts you have brought to the rue du Bac?

Reply: You embarrass me by asking about my gifts. I could not bring gifts such as yours to the new-born King and His Mother. My talents are few and my limitations are great. I am humbled daily by the knowledge of the imperfection of my motives in what I offer to God. Still, I do believe, even if I only see in a dark manner, that Christ, the Saviour, along with His Mother, are using my mind and my hands, my head and my heart, to bring comfort and strength to poor people whom I will come to know only at the end of life's journey. With St. Paul I keep saying: "This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved me and gave His life for me." (Gal 2:20).