Wise guys: their gifts were perfect

Commonweal, Dec 18, 1992 by John Shea

We live in a time in which our preoccupation with the materiality of all lives threatens to shrivel our sense of spirit. No wonder the Magi know that matter is the secret communication of spirit.

Erica Mapp

The Bouquet

Van Gogh, 1887, Paris Aster: a star that shines out of the dark; Asteriskos: a little star to mark The word * as it is written on the page To draw attention to a passage; Something is missing here; it is to come. Asterismos: a starring, three in one; Configurations of three stars appear That we might pay special attention there. Chrys is the gold and flower anthemum, * * * Intensely read, the red Geranium And the pink stork's bill, Pelargonium, Bring to my mind the open-mouthed stork, He who announces Spring (as from a beak). The light, the word, the bird ... the urge to speak.

THE REVEREND JOHN SHEA is professor of systematic theology at Mundelein Seminary. This article is excerpted, with permission, from his most recent book, Starlight: Beholding the Christmas Miracle All Year Long (Crossroad, $17.95, 192 pp.).