Sext
The Office of Sext, for 12 p.m. noon., is the fifth of the eight “Hours of the Virgin” (or Offices). Sext is for The Adoration of the Magi. The Three Wise Men (Magi) have followed the star to come and worship the newborn Jesus. Traditionally they are represented as kings named Gaspar, Melchoir, and Balthazar. They came from the east, the south, and the west. One was old, one was young, and one was in the prime of his life. They brought offerings of symbolic gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The episode involving the Adoration of the Magi is celebrated in the Christian Year on January 6 as Epiphany, or the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. (Thorpe, 1976)