Catholic Courier

Although the Passover feast was a Jewish tradition, some Greek travelers had come to worship during the celebration as well. They also had a specific request they hoped would be granted. They found Philip, who was one of the apostles chosen by Jesus, and they said to him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”

The people of Jerusalem were prepar¬ing for the celebration of the Passover feast, which was not very far off. Jesus thought this would be a good time to vis¬it Jerusalem, so he went there with his apostles. But Jesus was not very happy about what he found when he arrived.

The Lord looked down on his creation with sadness and regret. Wickedness had taken over the hearts and minds of many people, but Noah continued to be a righteous man. God told him, “I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth.”

Moses and Aaron were with the Lord when he said to them, “If someone has on the skin (anything) which appears to develop into a scaly infection, the person shall be brought to Aaron, the priest, or to one of the priests among his sons. ... The individual shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’ ... Being unclean, that individual shall dwell apart, taking up residence outside the camp.”

After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, during the reign of King Herod, Magi from the East arrived. “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” they asked. “We have seen his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”