The Christmas season, which concludes this weekend, is filled with so many stories and various elements that make up the totality of our faith. Sometimes we don’t recognize them right away, but then we step back and they jump out at us.

Consider the Annunciation, the story of the Angel Gabriel delivering God’s invitation to Mary to become the mother of Christ. We could see that dialogue as just the formality of invitation and acceptance.

But reflecting more deeply, we find how life-altering Mary’s yes was, for her and for the world. We too are asked to give our “yes of faith” in the same act of complete self-giving to God and to His Church. While we may fall short, like Mary we were made to give ourselves fully to God, without any reservation or compromise with the powers of this world.

Consider as well the visit of the shepherds to the stable. Poor and simple, they are hardly the noble or worthy sorts that might be invited to visit a king. Yet in them our faith calls us to see ourselves, with all of our flaws and deficiencies. Just as the angels brought news to the shepherds, Jesus invites us to come to adore him in a spirit of simplicity and even poverty.

Last weekend, we continued the story of Christ’s birth by the celebration of the Epiphany featuring the story of the Three Kings. Pope Benedict has dedicated some reflections to the three kings in his newly issued book “Jesus of Nazareth, The Infancy Narratives.” He makes two points about them that can be very helpful to us.

First, he notes that they were indeed “wise men” as they are often called. Whatever the nature of the mysterious star, the men recognized in it the fulfillment of prophecies about the coming and birth of the king of the Jews. So they likely were well schooled in knowledge of astronomy and religion. This reminds us true wisdom and knowledge will lead us to Christ.

In addition, because they recognized the star as a harbinger of the new king, Pope Benedict sees them as people restless and uneasy with this world. They were looking with hope and expectation to a world made better by the presence of God Himself.

Here’s the great lesson for us. They left behind their own comfort and place in order to seek Jesus. They sacrificed to make the arduous journey so humanly uncertain that they even ended up asking Herod for directions. But in faith God led them on until they found the child. We are told that when they found him they offered to him first the adoration of their souls and then the gifts of their worldly goods, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Epiphany is a reminder of the timeless truth of the universe that is the basis for the story of Christmas. God has reached out to the fallen world and to each of us. He came among us to teach us the truth that will set us free and then to die for our sins. All this so that as he shared a stable with us, we might share heaven with Him.

Like the three kings, by God’s plan, all the world is called to faith and salvation in Christ who alone can save us. In the wise men, we learn to treasure the gift of our Catholic faith. And we learn to pray for all of those who do not yet know Christ or who have not yet come to the fullness of the Truth.

The story of the Epiphany tells us why we must spread the faith among our friends and family, and why the Church is always engaged in missionary efforts, regardless of the seasons. As the three kings knew, Jesus in the manger is the savior of the world!