(From January 14 to Septuagesima Sunday). This period, which begins the day after the Octave of Epiphany, is an extension of Christmastide. Jesus asserts His Divinity--not by the appearance of angels or the Star of the Magi, but speaking Himself as God. He subjects our hearts to His teachings, explaining His Divine doctrine with parables and manifesting the truth of His words and works by many miracles.
At the time of our Lord, Palestine contained four provinces: Peraea, Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. It was in the province of Galilee that the miracles and preaching of Jesus took place.
At Cana, He changed the water into wine--His first miracle--at the request of His mother. At Nazareth, He preached His doctrine--and "all wondered at these things that proceeded from the mouth of God," says the Communion of the fourth, fifth, and sixth Sundays after Epiphany with the words of Luke. In Galilee, a word from our Lord cleansed the leper. From the shore of the Lake of Genesareth, He miraculously stilled the storm. All these miracles He performed to show His Apostles that He was God.
The Christmas cycle has a fixed character, and the Feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany fall always on December 25 and January 6. (The Roman Missal, 1962)
The painting by Duccio di Buoninsegna (ca. 1255-1319) is The Sending of the Twelve.
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