The Epiphany A time for family, prayer and thanksgiving

Pop Culture and secularism today has made many people think that Christmas is over Dec. 26 when the exhausted family throws the tree out and gets ready for next bash at New Year’s Eve. For many Catholics, Christmas is not over until several important feasts in the life of Christ are observed; all done with dignity, love and a deeper understanding of the events of the Christmas season.

When Lucila Salinas came to the United States with her family in 1929 she brought with her a deep faith and the vibrant culture of her Mexican homeland. Arriving at the London Community in a rural area of Corpus Christi, she and her family reunited with their father, Leónidas and brother, Leónidas, Jr., who had come earlier from their home in Potrero, Nuevo León, México, to look for work on the farms of South Texas. Her mother Estefanía and younger sisters Sofía, Carolina and Maria soon settled in to life in the small community. 

As devout Catholics the family continued to practice their faith in their new home.  

In 1936, Lucila Salinas met León Hernández who worked on a neighboring farm. They married in Sacred Heart Church in Corpus Christi and began a family, which grew to include children Martha, Jesus, Maricela, Orfelinda, Myrna, Blanca and much loved nephew, Johnny, who was raised with the family.

Lucila Hernandez was well equipped to carry on the Catholic faith traditions she had learned from her mother as a child in Mexico. Her grown daughters today recall with great love the lessons they learned from her.  

Lucila Hernandez taught her children the way she was taught, from the heart and by powerful example of one who sees the will of God in all things and shared His love with those around her—family and friends. There were no special classes, teaching aids, television programs or Internet to depend on. 

It was all from the heart. Christmas was celebrated as a series of feasts, rather than only the day of the nativity of Christ.

The feast of the Epiphany was a special time for the family and celebrated much the same way as it was in México, as the Día de los Reyes (the Feast of the Kings). The word Epiphany means “manifestation.” The Church commemorates the manifestation of Christ to the Magi, the three kings, who represent the gentiles on the twelfth day following the Nativity, “the twelfth day of Christmas.”

While Epiphany falls on Jan. 6, in the United States the celebration of Epiphany in 2012 has been transferred to Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.

In Mexico the custom has always been to observe Christmas Day as a solemn religious occasion, reserving Día de los Reyes for celebration and exchanging gifts. In the Hernandez and other Hispanic homes of the area, plans included a number of religious activities for children and adults, which were reminiscent of the visit of the Kings to the Infant God. 

These activities served to teach important lessons to the participants. The Church has always understood the value of drama as a method of spiritual training. These ceremonies may go back to the sixteenth century, introduced by the Franciscans as a system of teaching Catholic doctrine.

For the Epiphany, the Christmas tree was in place but the focus was on the Nativity scene with a very special Niño (baby Jesus) clad in only a diaper or swaddling clothes.   The baby, much larger than the other figures, needed to be dressed in royal clothes befitting his position. 

“When I was older, it became my job to dress the Niño,” Blanca Konitzer, the youngest of the Hernandez daughters, said. “I had very fine fabrics from my Aunt Emma who sewed for weddings.  She saved material for me. I used a lot of peau de soi (a soft silk fabric of satin weave with a delustered finish).” 

Led by their parents, the family knelt in front of the Nativity scene to recite the rosary singing religious and Christmas songs between the decades. The litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the last prayer. Lucila Hernandez then gave thanks to God for allowing the family to gather to pray. 

“I tear up just thinking about it,” Konitzer said.  “It was all about giving thanks to God for life. She (her Mother) used to say, ‘Dios mío, gracias por la vida maravillosa.’ (My God, thank you for this magnificent life)”

The group selected two children to act as padrinos (Godparents) for the Niño.  The royally clad infant was placed in a large scarf held by the children.

The children and adults came forward to reverence the child Jesus by kissing or touching it similarly to what the Magi might have done when they came to adore the Christ child and present their gifts.

Lucila Hernandez instructed the children by telling them, “Your gift to the Niño is that you are going to be good all year.” Later, she gave the children a small gift, which helped them understand the gift-giving tradition of the three kings.

Light refreshments of pan de polvo and Mexican hot chocolate followed the ceremony.

“All in the community were welcome to attend,” daughter Orfelinda “Orfie” Hernandez said.  “We had everyone, Hispanic, non-Hispanic, Catholics, non-Catholics, every one just came prayed and enjoyed a good time. Many with no religious background learned about the real meaning of Christmas there.”

There were more people than the house could hold, so people watched through the windows from the yard. 

Things have changed somewhat since the 1940s when Lucila Hernandez held the ceremony in her home. While she did not use it, a part of the celebration is the rosca de Reyes, a festive sweet bread in the shape of a King’s crown, and decorated with fruit. It has become an important part of the tradition and can be found in most Mexican bakeries. 

A tiny replica of the Niño is baked inside the cake; in the early days a bean served the same purpose. The first portion is always the “poor man’s share” and the “share of God and the Virgin” and is marked out by the youngest child of the family to be given away. The guests were then served. The person whose slice contains the tiny Niño becomes the host for the next religious observance, the Feast of Candelaria on Feb. 2.

This feast occurs 40 days after Christmas and celebrates three occasions in the life of Christ: the presentation of the child Jesus; Jesus’ first entry into the temple; and the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary 40 days after the birth of Christ. Known as Candlemas in English speaking countries, it marks the end of the Christmas feasts in the liturgical calendar.

Recalling Christ as Light of the World, a procession is held at the church during which people light the candles they carry and all the candles to be used in the home throughout the year are blessed before the Mass. After the Mass the group has a tamale meal at the home of the person who received the Niño from the rosca.

For the Hernandez family, the feast was commemorated with a gathering of family and friends, recitation of the Rosary and prayers of thanksgiving for the New Year followed by a small merienda.

Lucila Hernandez lacked many of the things considered important today. She did not drive a car, nor did she speak English. Yet, her thankful heart and love of God imprinted lessons on her children that they have carried forth in their lives.

Her daughters are all active Catholics doing their part in transmitting the faith to the next generation. Konitzer, a former catechist at Corpus Christi Cathedral, now teaches in a local Catholic school. Orfie Hernandez serves as Director of Religious Education at Corpus Christi Cathedral. Myrna Hernandez Rodriguez and her brother Jesus “J.R.” Hernandez are very active at St. Peter the Apostle in Calallen.

Martha Ruiz directs Guadalupana activities at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Schertz, Texas. Maricela Pérez and Johnny Rodriguez are active in their parishes in San Antonio. 

The diocese of Corpus Christi has been wonderfully enriched by the faith carried by Lucila Hernandez into her new home in Texas. It brings to mind the Gospel of St. John, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and have appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.  These things I command you, that you may love one another.”