The Magi brought gold, incense and myrrh. Gold befits a king; incense is offered in sacrifice to God; the bodies of the dead are embalmed with myrrh. Therefore the Magi, [with their mystical gifts], also preach Him whom they worshipped, a king with the gold, God with the incense, a human being with the myrrh...
we too offer gold to the new-born King if we shine in His sight with the brightness of the wisdom from on high; we offer Him incense if we enkindle on the altar of our hearts the thoughts of our human minds by our holy pursuit of prayer, so as to give forth a sweet smell to God by our heavenly desire; we offer Him myrrh if we mortify the vices of our bodies by our self-denial.
+St. Gregory Dialogos, from Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 8
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