On discovering your star, your dream, your mission
January 4, 2026 – The Epiphany of the Lord
Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72, R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.;
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Gospel – Matthew 2: 1-12)
“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.” (from today’s Gospel, Matthew 2: 1-12)
In Joseph Campbell’s writings, the star stands as a universal symbol of hope, guidance, and transcendence. In various myths across cultures and eras, the star is a guiding light and embodies aspirations and dreams.
As one old poster that was hanging in the Sacred Heart Novitiate 40 plus years ago put it: “Dreams are like the stars. We may never reach them, but they are always there to guide us.”
Our guiding star
The start is one of the symbols of the Feast of the Three Kings or the Epiphany. There are three “roles” of the star in today’s Gospel. One, the star beckoned the three kings or magi to journey and search for the child. Two, the star guided them to and from the child. Three, the star “stopped over the place where the child was.”
In Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” there is a dream, a star that invites us to take the heroic journey, leaving home and what is familiar to journey into the unfamiliar. To take such a journey, one must be willing to take a risk, which in turn requires trust. We must trust the dream and the experiences that gave shape to our dream.
Often, our dream is influenced in great part by the people who have nurtured and formed us. The dream, the experiences, and the people that shaped it are all God’s grace. This is why I often tell people: Trust your dream because God planted it in your heart and soul. It is God’s dream for you. Once we choose to follow the dream, it will always guide us.
Trust in your dreams
I remember the beginnings of my own dream as a teacher: to help young people heal, discover Jesus in their life and thus discover their mission. It was shaped very much by my experience of brokenness. But God planted the dream, shaped by my own healing, driven by the desire to share the grace of healing I was blessed with.
This dream, like the star of the three kings, always became my guide. I have been in different assignments as a Jesuit priest and as a diocesan priest now, but always part of my discernment process was, is, and always be how the assignments align with my dream.
In all the choices I have made in following my dream—my star, my mission —it was always a consideration of how it would help the youth I desire to serve, always.
Trust your dream. No matter what the twists and turns are in your life and journey, always return to the dream, look up, and allow your star to guide you. It will always keep you on track.
Where our mission will lead us
Finally, the dream will always lead us to Jesus—the star “[will stop] over the place where the child was.” All dreams, all missions have Jesus at the center because ultimately all missions share in the mission of Jesus.
This is the sure sign—the certainty of faith, hope, and love—that our star, our dream, our mission leads us to Jesus.
After 45 going on 46 years of catching a glimpse of my star and deciding to follow it, after decades of journeying to follow my mission, all that matters now is making Jesus the center of my life and mission. This is why the Ignatian prayer and “mantra” rings deeply and lovingly in my heart and soul—“give me only your love and your grace, these make me rich, I ask for nothing more.”
In the words of St. Teresa of Avila, “[Jesus] alone suffices.”
Discover your star, your dream, your mission. Take the journey with deep faith in your star, your dream, and your mission. It will lead you to the home where your heart is, where you will encounter Jesus. And nothing else will matter because you will have everything that you will ever need there.
