The Gifts of the Magi

Gold
Gold was the usual offering presented to kings by their subjects, or those wanting to pay respects. It seems that the metal we know as gold has always held extremely high value - as long ago as 2,500 BC, gold was especially prized as a medium of exchange. Gold is enduring, and can withstand all natural acids and even fire. The value of gold as a gift for royalty carries obvious significance. Gold is precious and worthy across all cultures and times. It says to the Christ child, You are the King.


Frankincense
Frankincense is produced by cutting the bark of the Boswellia tree and collecting the hardened sap that results. This gum hardens for three months, and is gathered at the end of the summer, and sold in the form of "tears", or clumps of hardened resin. Frankincense is highly fragrant when burned, and was, therefore, used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God. ("Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the LORD for the generations to come. - Exodus 30:7,8) ("He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain." Leviticus 16:12). Frankincense has also been used for perfume and its medicinal and soothing properties. Ancient physicians used frankincense for almost every malady, believing it to have a calming, restorative, gently clarifying, and meditative uses. Frankincense oil was thought to have stimulating, toning, and warming properties. In our Catholic rituals we follow the practice of ancient peoples who burned frankincense, believing it to carry their prayers to heaven. Its use as incense illustrates the divinity of Jesus and his role as our Priest.

Myrrh
Myrrh was also a highly valued article of the Arabian trade. This aromatic gum is produced from a thorn-bush that grows in North Africa, Red Sea, Arabia and Ethiopia, and was obtained in the same manner as frankincense. This thorny tree, called "Cammiphora Myrrha", is similar to the acacia. It grows from eight to ten feet high, and is thorny. When it oozes from the wounded shrub, myrrh is a pale yellow color at first, but as it hardens, it changes to dark red or even black color.This is perhaps the most mysterious of the Gifts. Myrrh is considered a wound healer because of its strong antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Calling it mo yao, the Chinese used it for centuries to treat wounds, bruises and bleeding and to relieve painful swelling. But its most notable use in ancient times was that of an embalming material, used in Egyptian mummies.
However, if frankincense represents sweetness, myrrh represents bitterness. Myrrh is an Arabic word for bitter, the name itself was given to it on account of its bitter taste. It was used chiefly in embalming the dead, because it had the property of preserving them from decay. (John 19:39) It was much used in Egypt and in Judea. It was at an early period an article of commerce, (Genesis 37:25) and was an ingredient of the holy ointment (Exodus 30:23). It was also used as an agreeable perfume (Esther 2:12; Psalms 45:8; Proverbs 7:17). For many of the ancients, myrrh was considered to be a favorite perfume, said to keep its fragrance for several hundred years when kept in an alabaster pot. Myrrh also had medicinal qualities, sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Savior, when about to be crucified, as a stupefying potion, (Mark 15:23; Matthew 27:34).
Myrrh then is brought as a gift to acknowledge the human suffering that Jesus partook of when He came into our world. As an embalming ointment it signified that He was born to Die for the world. In fact, Myrrh was one of the burial spices of Jesus (John 19:39).