A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 21, n. 5)
Octave of Christmas: December 25-31, 2022
(The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY & WEEKDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy from various perspectives. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: December 18-24, 2022 please go to ARCHIVES Series 21 and click on “Advent Week 4”.
Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: December 25-31, 2022.)
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December 25, 2022: THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS DAWN MASS)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Father’s Gift of Love”
BIBLE READINGS
Mass at Dawn: Is 62:11-12 // Ti 3:4-7 // Lk 2:15-20
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The Christmas season is a privileged opportunity to contemplate the awesome sign of God’s love for us: his own beloved Son Jesus Christ. The Son of God made flesh, born as a child, is the most powerful sign of the Father’s will to bring us salvation: UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN! UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN!
My former student Fr. Mike Garcia remarked: “When we give anything, we give part of ourselves. When we give ourselves, we give everything we have – past, present, and future.” Indeed, in becoming man just like any of us, Jesus became personally involved in our suffering, in our human lot and destiny. Satan cannot impeach God’s integrity. No one can doubt the quality of the Lord’s self-gift … of his unconditional love for us.
Because God has loved us, we too must become lovers – lovers of one another. Only if we love the visible neighbor can we love the invisible God. This gift of love is exemplified in the self-giving act of a five-year old boy on behalf of his little sister. After the blood transfusion, he asked the doctor with a trembling voice, “Say, doctor, when do I start to die?” He thought that by giving his life-blood to his kid sister, he would die.
The child Jesus lying in a manger, symbol of God’s nourishment for his people … the Lord Jesus who, on the night when he was given up, offered us the Eucharistic bread and the chalice of life … the Lord Jesus, gentle shepherd and king, who laid down his life for us on the cross – the altar of sacrifice … HE IS STILL PRESENT IN OUR MIDST! He is Emmanuel, God-with-us. In our Christmas celebration, he invites us to be a “gift of love” for others.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we endeavor to delve into the Christmas mystery of God’s self-giving? Do we endeavor to be a “gift of love” for others?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you are Love-incarnate,
the sacrament of the Father’s self-giving.
We celebrate your birth and your dwelling among us.
You are God’s “gift of love” to us,
the Emmanuel, God-with-us.
Help us to be a “gift of love” for others.
With the choirs of angels, we acclaim:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.” (Lk 2:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that in this Christmas season we may understand more deeply the depths of God’s self-giving to us. By your acts of goodness and compassion to the people around you, enable them to savor the joy of Christmas and the warmth of the “gift of love” for others.
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December 25, 2022: THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (CHRISTMAS DAY MASS)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Word Made Flesh”
BIBLE READINGS
Mass during the Day: Is 52:7-10 // Heb 1:1-6 // Jn 1:1-18
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The readings proclaimed at today’s Mass during the day give deeper insight into the Christmas mystery. In the Prologue (Jn 1:1-18) Saint John asserts: “And the Word became flesh.” The deepest concept of “word” is not a mere verbalization or articulation of thought. In the Jewish biblical tradition, God’s word or “dabar” is God himself communicating and giving himself in self-revelation. “Dabar” to the Israelites is something extremely personal. The communication of the “word” is actually the communication of the speaker himself. In the case of the “Word of God” what is communicated is the divine reality itself – the very person of God himself. It is God revealing himself as Creator, Liberator and Savior. The German theologian, Karl Rahner, remarks: “When we say it is Christmas we mean that in Christ God has spoken his definitive, final and beautiful word … a word that cannot be revoked. And the word means I love you.”
In the fullness of time, God spoke his most beautiful word in Jesus Christ. In today’s Second Reading we read (Heb 1:1-6): “In many and various ways, God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.” The meaning of God’s person as “LOVE” is definitely revealed when God spoke to us through his Son Jesus Christ. In the Word-made-flesh is God’s decisive Word, the Good News, the saving Word. Jesus, the Divine Word, recapitulates all previous words of salvation, bringing them to perfect fulfillment. Jesus, the Son of God, brings the good news of salvation to all and in him “all the ends of the earth will behold the saving power of God (cf. Is 52:10). Indeed, through the mystery of the incarnation, Jesus enables us to come to the heart of God. Born “in the flesh” of Mary, the Son of God is destined to die on the cross, be gloriously resurrected and to communicate to us the fullness of his life, light and love.
In the Christmas mystery of “the Word made flesh” is the concreteness of salvation. We too are called to be the embodiment of the incarnate Word. The following personal account gives insight into this (cf. Patty Kirk in Daily Guideposts 2014, p. 393).
Recently, a student in my Writing from Faith course voiced a revelation. “Until now”, she said, “I’ve always thought ‘Be concrete’ meant ‘Use more adjectives’. Now I see I need to make people see what I saw, hear what I heard, smell what I smelled. Using your senses helps people believe and care about what you’re saying.”
She was responding to a fellow student’s psalm about not being able to afford to go home for Christmas – to Costa Rica, where her family are missionaries. In the poem, the student-psalmist is alone in her room, staring at the computer while, just beyond the thin walls, her dorm-mates gather excitedly about their holiday plans. She recounts family traditions she’ll miss: getting ornaments out of dusty boxes, drinking hot cocoa with her siblings while Dad reads Christmas stories, sharing a festive dinner of arroz con pollo. Then like a good psalmist, she affirms her faith.
We all teared up. Afterward her classmates raised money for her flight and launched a ministry to do the same for every missionary kid on campus.
It was a big moment for me. Not only had a student’s writing spurred others to action, but they’d all finally acknowledged the persuasive power of sensory data, which I’d been trying to convince them of from day one.
Christmas is such a sensory celebration. Pine smells. Fruitcake and sugar cookies. Snow. The concreteness of Christmas crystallizes its gospel: that our invisible Creator sent us palpable evidence, in the form of a newborn, so that we might believe and have eternal life.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
What is our personal response to the “Word became flesh”? How does the reality of “God speaking to us” through his Son shapes our lives? Do we make an effort to let “the ends of the earth behold the salvation of our God”?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Alternative Opening Prayer, Christmas Day Mass)
God of love, Father of all,
the darkness that covered the earth
has given way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh.
Make us a people of this light.
Make us faithful to your Word,
that we may bring your life to the waiting world.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“And the Word became flesh.” (Jn 1:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Savor the sights, sounds, tastes, textures and forms of the Christmas celebration. Above all, by your works of charity, let the needy in today’s society experience the mercy and compassion of the Word-made-flesh.
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December 26, 2022: MONDAY – SAINT STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR
“JESUS SAVIOR: The Martyrs Give Witness to Him”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59 // Mt 10:17-22
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
At the birth of Jesus, the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds keeping the night watch over their flocks and the glory of the Lord shone around them. At the martyrdom of Stephen, the first Christian martyr and one of the first deacons appointed by the apostles, he saw the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. On the second day of the Christmas Octave, when we rejoice at the birth of the Christ Child, we also celebrate the “dies natalis” – the birthday into eternal life of Stephen, who gave a faithful witness to Jesus as the Messiah. His declaration that Jesus is the “Messiah” provoked the murderous onslaught upon him. Stephen’s martyrdom is his road to glory.
According to Saint Fulgentius (+533), the martyrdom of Saint Stephen is intimately connected with the Christmas mystery. He remarks: “Yesterday, my dear brethren, we celebrated the birth in time of our timeless king, today we celebrate the victorious sufferings of a soldier … Yesterday the angels sang joyfully: Glory to God in the highest. Today, Blessed Stephen is clothed by Christ with the garment of immortality. Yesterday the narrow crib contained the Infant Christ. Today the boundless heavens receive the triumphant Stephen.”
Today’s secularized world that is increasingly hostile to religious realities calls for the “Saint Stephen type” of courageous witnessing. The following remarks of Andy Rooney, circulated on the Internet, give us an idea on how we can be more proactive disciples in today’s world.
Andy Rooney and Prayer:
Andy Rooney says: I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory of evolution.
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered in any way because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game. But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue. Yes, and this is the United States of America and Canada, countries founded on Christian principles.
According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect – Somebody chanting Hare Krishna? If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer. If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha. And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome …
“But what about the atheists?” is another argument. What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of earplugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer! Or, just exercise their right to leave this country! Unfortunately, one or two will call their lawyer. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do.
I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations. Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.
God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me. The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want! It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, "You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"
God bless us one and all … especially those who denounce Him. God bless America and Canada, despite all our faults, we are still the greatest nations of all. God bless our servicemen who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God. Let's make 2012 and 2013 the years the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Are we ready to show the mettle that Saint Stephen manifested in his Christian witnessing? Are we ready to embrace the gift and the challenge of the Christmas-paschal mystery?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Opening Prayer for December 26, Feast of Saint Stephen)
Lord,
today we celebrate the entrance of St. Stephen
into eternal glory.
He died praying for those who killed him.
Help us to imitate his goodness
and to love our enemies.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Put “Christ” back into Christmas: choose Christmas cards with a religious motif; do not be shy to say “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Holy Day – Christ is born”, etc. Above all, bring the love of Christ to the poor and suffering.
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December 27, 2022: TUESDAY – SAINT JOHN, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Word of Life that John Heard and Proclaimed”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Jn 1:1-4 // Jn 20:1a, 2-8
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Saint Stephen gave witness to Jesus, the Messiah, by his martyrdom. The evangelist John, the only apostle among the twelve who was not martyred, gave witness to the Christ by his ministry of the Word. In today’s Gospel, John gives an Easter account of how he and Peter went to the tomb and found it empty. When the beloved disciple John saw the “empty tomb”, he believed. He believed that Jesus rose from the dead. John did not enter the cave of Bethlehem but an empty tomb. He did not see the swaddling clothes but the empty burial cloths. But on Easter day he came to believe in the meaning of the Crib and the Cross – in the power of Christmas and the passion of Christ.
Today’s First Reading is John’s beautiful testimony about the Word of Life that they have heard, that they have seen with their eyes, that they have looked upon and touched. John emphasizes the historical reality of the Word of Life, made incarnate in Jesus Christ. The Word of life became visible that we may be brought into intimate communion with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. The very act of giving witness to the Word of life by writing is for Saint John a cause for joy.
The Word of Life that Saint John heard and proclaimed continues to be experienced and shared by the Christian disciples in the here and now (cf. Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, Testimony of Hope, Boston: Pauline Books and Media, 2000, p. 64-65).
It is not enough to accept and to live the Word. It must also be shared. (…) Such a sharing of the Word allows us also to glimpse what is the typical Christian announcement: to communicate a life (the Life), and, therefore, to witness to an experience. This was well understood by the Johannine community: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands … we also proclaim to you so you too may have fellowship with us” (1 Jn 1:1-3).
Only in this way does the Reign of God advance, and true communion expands to the point of accepting all humanity in the unity of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
The Catholics in the prison of Phu Khanh had secretly brought in a copy of the New Testament. They divided the book into small pieces and distributed these pieces among the Catholics who began to learn the passages by heart. Since the cells had floors of sand, when they heard a guard’s footsteps, they would hide the Word of God by burying it in the floor.
In the darkness of the night, the prisoners would recite in turn the part of the New Testament each had already memorized. It was an impressive and moving experience to hear the Word of God proclaimed in the silence and darkness of the prison … to be in the presence of Jesus the “living Gospel” spoken by the prisoners with all the strength of soul; to hear the priestly prayer and the passion of Christ …
The non-Christians also listened with respect and admiration to what they called the “Sacred Word”. Many said they felt the Word of God to be “spirit and life”.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
Do we endeavor to share the Word of life that we have heard, seen and touched with the people in the here and now? Do we allow it to shape our life and to make our hearts rejoice?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Opening Prayer for December 27, Feast of Saint John)
God our Father,
you have revealed the mysteries of your Word
through Saint John the apostle.
By prayer and reflection,
may we come to understand the wisdom he taught.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“We have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life.” (1 Jn 1:3)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Make an effort to study and reflect on the Gospel of John and the Letters of Saint John. Let the Word of life comfort, nourish, and form you that you may in turn share it with others.
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December 28, 2022: WEDNESDAY – THE HOLY INNOCENTS, MARTYRS
“JESUS SAVIOR: The Holy Innocents Shared in His Paschal Destiny”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Jn 1:1-5-2:2 // Mt 2:13-18
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 2:13-18): “He ordered the massacre of all boys in Bethlehem.”
Three days after Christmas, we celebrate the martyrdom of the Holy Innocents, the infant boys ordered killed by King Herod who reigned in Palestine and Judah from 37 B.C. to 4 B.C. In the final years of his reign, he was extremely ruthless and brutal in defending his throne. The bishop, Saint Quodvultdesus, in a sermon remarked: “A tiny child is born, who is a great king. Wise men are led to him from afar. They come to adore one who lies in a manger and yet reigns in heaven and on earth. When they tell of one who is born a king, Herod is disturbed. To save his kingdom he resolves to kill him, though if he would have faith in the child, he himself would reign in peace in this life and forever in the life to come. Why are you afraid, Herod, when you hear of the birth of a king? He does not come to drive you out, but to conquer the devil. But because you do not understand this you are disturbed and in a rage, and to destroy one child you seek, you show your cruelty in the death of so many children.”
The Holy Innocents were witnesses for Christ though they were not aware of it. Their martyrdom evoked the passion and death of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Indeed, our world, marred by sin and death, desperately needs the saving Christ. The feast of the Holy Innocents reminds us that human life is sacred. Every human being has a right to life. Let us pray for the protection of all human life, including the unborn.
The following story, circulated through the Internet, challenges us to assert the right to life of millions of children who are annually killed under the cover of laws permitting abortion, an abominable crime.
A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: “Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even one year old and I’m pregnant again. I don’t want kids so close together.”
So the doctor said: “OK and what do you want me to do?” She said: “I want you to end my pregnancy, and I’m counting on your help with this.” The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: “I think I have a better solution for your problem. It’s less dangerous for you, too.” She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request. Then he continued: “You see, in order for you not to take care of two babies at the same time, let’s kill the one in your arms. This way, you could get some rest before the other one is born. If we are going to kill one of them, it doesn’t matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you choose the one in your arms.”
The lady was horrified and said: “No, Doctor! How terrible! It’s a crime to kill a child!” “I agree”, the doctor replied. “But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution”. The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that’s already been born and one that’s still in the womb. The crime is the same!
B. First Reading (1 Jn 1:5-2:2): “The Blood of his Son Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”
We continue to remember with grief the massacre of the innocents in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. The pain of the tragedy is raw. The sorrow of the bereaved evokes the grief of those whose children were slain by the jealous Herod the Great. Today’s Entrance Antiphon of the Mass tries to make sense of the killing: “These innocent children were slain for Christ. They follow the spotless Lamb, and proclaim for ever: Glory to you, Lord”. The massacre of the innocent children in Bethlehem anticipates the martyrdom of the wholly “Innocent One” Jesus Christ, who was offered for our sins and for those of the whole world.
The reading (I Jn 1:5-2:2) declares that the blood of the divine Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. The pouring out of his innocent blood is a means of expiation and redemption. To have fellowship with God and one another, we must allow ourselves to be cleansed by the blood of the truly Innocent One. Indeed, though the blood of Christ is meant to cleanse us from sin, this is contingent on our response to the divine initiative of salvation. The loving and merciful Father calls us today to acknowledge our sin and ask forgiveness from the “Holy Innocent” par excellence, Jesus Christ.
The following story entitled “The Visitor”, circulated on the Internet, gives us an idea of the expiatory character of Christ’s sacrifice.
One day, a man went to visit a church. He arrived early, parked his car, and got out. Another car pulled up near him, and the driver told him, “I always park there. You took my place!”
The visitor went inside for Sunday school, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated, “That’s my seat! You took my place!”
The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing. After Sunday school, the visitor went into the church sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said, “That’s where I always sit. You took my place!”
The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still said nothing. Later, as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood, and his appearance began to change. Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out, “What happened to you?” The visitor replied, “I took your place.”
“Christ himself carried our sins in His body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by His wounds that you have been healed.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Like Herod, are we guilty of violence and brutality against the weak and vulnerable? Are we guilty of irresponsible actions that seek to kill Life itself? How do we overcome our sinfulness and rectify our evil acts?
2. What do we do to make reparation and expiation for the sacrifice of the innocents? Do we allow ourselves to be washed clean by the redemptive blood of Christ?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Opening Prayer for December 28, Feast of the Holy Innocents)
Father,
the Holy Innocents offered you praise
by the death they suffered for Christ.
May our lives bear witness
to the faith we profess with our lips.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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Lord Jesus,
you are the Son of God and the source of life.
The Holy Innocents shared in your paschal destiny
and unknowingly gave witness that you are the Christ.
Their martyrdom was a prophetic sign
of your death on the cross for the world’s saving.
Forgive us for our acts of negligence and brutality
against the weak and vulnerable.
Help us to reach out to the victims of today’s Herod.
Give us the strength to promote the dignity of the human person.
Help us to protect the right to life of every human being.
Together with the Holy Innocents who are in the glory of heaven,
we acclaim:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will!
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“She would not be consoled, since they were no more.” (Mt 2:18) // “The blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Jn 1:7)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the weak and vulnerable, and for all the children of the world, especially the victims of violence and exploitation. By your acts of charity, alleviate the suffering of today’s “Holy Innocents” and enable them to experience the joy of Christmas.
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December 29, 2022: THURSDAY – THE FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Walk in the Light of Love”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Jn 2:3-11 // Lk 2:22-35
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Lk 2:22-35): “This is the light of revelation to the Gentiles.”
As Christmas liturgy unfolds, we continue to delve into the meaning of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God. We have seen that Christmas is marked with a sacrificial character (cf. feast of St. Stephen) and Easter glory (cf. feast of St. John) and that the incarnation of the Word is God’s compassionate response to our dire need of salvation from evil and sin (cf. feast of the Holy Innocents).
On the fifth day within the octave of Christmas, we contemplate the presentation of Jesus in the temple and his encounter with Simeon, a good and God-fearing man waiting for the consolation of Israel. Deeply receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, Simeon took the child in his arms and recognized in him the Lord’s promised Messiah. With praise and thanksgiving, Simeon avowed that the Lord God has kept his promise. Simeon felt ready to die and, with the Savior of all peoples in his arms, he exclaimed: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace, your word has been fulfilled.” Indeed, Simeon’s encounter with the child Jesus was a joyful celebration of God’s benevolence and faithfulness.
Mr. Ledesma, the father of Sr. Mary Noelle, pddm, and Piesy, who worked closely with me in the World Youth Day ’95 in Manila, was one of the kindest and most generous persons I have ever met in my life. Sr. Mary Noelle’s account of her dad’s passing to eternity makes me think of Simeon’s beautiful encounter with Jesus, the Savior of the world.
Thank you, Sr. Margaret. I must have missed communicating to you RE our dad’s passing last October 26. Well, thanks be to God! Daddy had a happy and holy death. We were with him during his suffering and last hours and last breath.
Death is such a mystery and a beautiful passage to eternity. I’ve experienced how dad encountered the presence of the Lord and we were all around him. We prayed for him and we also listened and talked to him. How I wish I could tell all dad’s beautiful words and exchange of conversations with Jesus. Some of his last words after he asked and kissed the Crucifix were: “Do I have a place there?” [PAUSE] “Let us now all rest.” Then he looked at mommy and his gaze transcended beyond mom’s face towards the light. He smiled and then expired. Mom closed his lips and eyes.
B. First Reading (1 Jn 2:3-11): “Those who love their brother remain in the light.”
Christmas is the festival of light. One beautiful Christmas episode is the old man Simeon’s encounter with Jesus, as the infant was being presented to the Lord by Joseph and Mary at the temple. Simeon took the child in his arms and identified him as the “light of revelation to the Gentiles”. Jesus continues to reveal to us in the here and now the light of divine love. He also calls us to walk in the light of love, which entails abiding by the demands of fraternal charity. Those who love their brother remain in the light, while those who claim to in the light while hate their brother are in darkness. Christian discipleship is not simply an intellectual knowledge for it demands a life consonant with God’s love and his moral imperative. Christ’s command to love is not new because it has been a part of baptismal instruction; but in a sense it is always “new” for Jesus has given us the abiding newness of his example, which we renew in ourselves.
The following story by Poverello House Founder Mike Garvin speaks of an “encounter” as well as provides us with some modern examples of walking in the light of love (cf. Poverello News, November 2009, p.1-20).
It’s a strange thing to know someone for ten years, but never actually meet him. That describes my friendship with a young man, up until last summer. One Christmas season ten years ago, I received a letter from a six-year old child whose name was Campbell. It was charming. The boy wrote as if he knew me, and told me all about the things in his life that interested him. Accompanying the letter was some money he had earned to help the homeless. I sent a letter to thank him. The next year, he sent another little missive with yet another donation. Again, the tone was familiar and conversational, as if we had been pals for decades. I shared these letters with the Poverello staff, who were as delighted as I was.
The letters came every year about the same time, with one exception. One Christmas rolled by a few years ago with no letter from Campbell. I was disappointed, and, to tell the truth, a little depressed. I figured he had grown tired of Poverello House, and had moved on to new things. However, much to my relief, the letter came in January. He apologized, and said his life had been so busy that he was a little late. And busy he was. Each year, he would describe the joys and anxieties of entering a new grade in school. I learned about his martial arts lessons, his school wrestling, and the academic subjects that excited or bored him the most. Each letter was a glimpse into the life of a thoughtful, engaging, and very involved youngster. Every letter also contained a school picture of him, so I could see him grow from a cute little boy into a handsome teenager.
In the decade that passed, Campbell talked about visiting Poverello, but never seemed to get the time. Then, one day in August, I got a surprising call: he and his grandfather were going to come down and see the Pov. After all this time, I thought I knew what to expect. I was a little shocked to meet the face in the pictures attached to a body that was as tall as me. At sixteen years old, Campbell was well over six feet tall. He towered over his grandpa. I gave them both a tour, which they seemed to enjoy. When we paused at the POW/MIA table in our dayroom, the grandfather got a little emotional. It turns out that he had spent many years in the military and had fought in World War II.
Sometimes, working at Poverello and living down here is a little like being in a bubble. Most of what I see is negative, and I don’t get away enough to see much else. I meet many young people on the streets, most of whom are going nowhere in life, and who are pretty well ruined before they turn twenty. It’s easy to lose hope.
Now and then, however, a vibrant, compassionate young person like Campbell crosses my path, and I start to think more positively. If there’s someone like Campbell, who, since the age of six, has thought about the poor and done what he could to help, then maybe, just maybe, there are a lot more like him. What a blessing it was to finally meet him face to face and to see the good work that God started in him. Maybe there’s hope for humanity, after all, if somehow we can help to produce a few more Campbells.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit and so recognize the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ in our life? Do we deeply yearn for the salvation that Jesus brings?
2. What is your response to the call to walk in the light of love? Are you receptive to welcome Jesus who continues to reveal the light of love in our daily lives?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you were presented by Joseph and Mary in the temple.
Prompted by the Holy Spirit,
Simeon took you in his arms
and recognized that you are the promised Messiah.
Grant that in our final encounter with you at the hour of death,
we may be able to resound Simeon’s words:
“Lord, now let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled.”
With the holy servants of God, we acclaim:
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will!
***
(Cf. Opening Prayer for December 29, Fifth Day in the Christmas Octave)
All-powerful and unseen God,
the coming of your light into our world
has made the darkness vanish.
Teach us to proclaim the birth of your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled.” (cf. Lk 2:29) //“Whoever loves his brother remains in the light.” (1 Jn 1:10)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
In your ministry to the elderly and the dying, let your acts of charity and sharing of the word of God bring them peace and consolation. // Make an effort to spread the Christmas joy to the people around you and continue to walk in the light of love, especially by your compassionate acts for the poor and the needy.
*** *** ***
December 30, 2022: FRIDAY – THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Makes Us Members of God’s Family”
BIBLE READINGS
Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 // Col 3:12-21 // Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23): “Take the child and his mother and flee into Egypt.”
The gripping drama of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt is replicated through the ages in the lives of many distressed, persecuted families who have the grace and strength to fight for their survival. Peter Lane Taylor’s story, “The Cave Dwellers” (Reader’s Digest, January 2005, p. 134-141) narrates the torturous experience of several Jewish families in Ukraine who literally went underground in order to escape the Nazis.
The night of October 12, 1942, Zaida Stermer, his wife, Esther, and their six children dug up possessions hidden behind their house, loaded wagons with food and fuel, and quietly fled into the darkness. Traveling with them were their relatives the Dodyks and other neighbors from the village of Korolowka. They were going to a cavern near Esther’s family home. There they lived for six months, until they were discovered by the Gestapo – and only narrowly escaped. For the next two months, they moved from place to place, hiding in the forests and in barns, searching for a permanent refuge. In desperation, the Stermer’s eldest son, Nissel, went to a Christian friend, Munko Lubudzin, a forester who lived in the woods near Korolowka, and asked for help. Munko told Nissel about Priest’s Grotto, a sinkhole a few miles outside of town – so called because it was located in the fields of a local priest. (…)
On May 5, 1943, the Stermers, the Dodyks, and various other relatives and friends, including Karl Kurtz – 38 in all – packed up supplies and fled to the Grotto. The oldest was a 75-year-old grandmother, and the youngest a toddler. In silence, they descended into the sinkhole one by one. It was the last time many of them would see the sky for nearly a year … And 60 years after their ordeal, I am sitting in the afternoon light in the Stermers’ living room in Montreal, as Shulim, 84, Shlomo, 74, Yetta, 78, and a niece tell me the story recounted here. Theirs was a constant battle. Many people would have simply given up. Only love of family, strict discipline and gritty determination kept them going. “When we get together now,” Shulim says, “I know the fight to survive was worth it. I am most sure when I see my grandchildren.”
The Holy Family – Joseph, Mary and the infant child Jesus – have experienced the vicissitudes of human existence just like any of us. The Gospel reading (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23) tells of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt and their return to the land of Israel after the death of Herod. In their flight to Egypt, the Holy Family, led by Joseph the protector, relives the history of Israel’s taking refuge in a less hostile place. In the Book of Genesis, we read the story of how Jacob leaves Canaan and, with his entire tribe, goes to live in Egypt where his beloved son, Joseph, is the governor. God appears to Jacob in a dream, assuring him: “Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. I myself will go down to Egypt with you. I myself will bring you back again” (Gen 46:3-4). Indeed, the flight of the Holy Family to take refuge in Egypt is similar to that of Jacob and his family as “refugees”. In the time of Jesus, Egypt is a common place of refuge for Jews. Only after the death of Herod in 4 B.C. is it safe for the Holy Family to return to Palestine.
The evangelist Matthew’s narration of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt ends with an Old Testament quotation: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1). According to the biblical scholar, Daniel Harrington: “The quotation from Hos 11:1 places this part of the Messiah’s itinerary within the framework of God’s will. It not only identifies Jesus as the Son of God, but it also suggests that he is the personification of the people of God. Just as God called Israel of old out of Egypt in order to create a special people for himself, so he calls Jesus out of Egypt into the land of Israel in order to create a new people. The principle of continuity between the old people and the new people is Jesus the Jew.” Jesus is thus the new Moses and the new Israel, coming out of Egypt. Born of Mary and with Joseph as guardian, the child Jesus was to deliver humankind from the exile of sin and death – by becoming sin on our behalf and dying so that we might live. The saving hand of God is at work in the rescue of the Holy Family from continual exile in a foreign land and in the liberating mission of the Messiah. In this beautiful season of Christmas, the child Jesus is being presented as the Messiah-liberator of the new People of God.
Matthew continues to narrate that when Herod had died, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, commanding him to take the child and his mother to the land of Israel. He did as he was told, but, afraid to settle in Judea on account of the cruel Archelaus, he departed for the region of Galilee. Joseph, together with his holy charges, Mary and the child Jesus, went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazorean” (Mt 2:23; cf. Is 11:1; Judg 13-16). Against the Is 11:1 backdrop, which speaks of the branch (nezer) sprouting from the root of Jesse, the child Jesus is being presented as the Messiah springing forth from the royal Davidic line. And with Judg 13-16 as the biblical horizon, Jesus is being presented as a new Samson, a consecrated person or nazir and a heroic savior figure.
Indeed, in their lives as exiles and persecuted ones, the Holy Family has experienced most intimately the difficulties, anxieties and vicissitudes of the other human families on earth. In all these, they placed themselves in a spirit of faith into the hands of Divine Providence and irrevocably commit themselves to God’s saving plan.
B. First Reading (Sir 3:2-6, 12-14): “Those who fear the Lord honor their parents.”
The Old Testament reading (Sir 3:2-6, 12-14) underlines that the blessings of family life can thrive and flourish where there is co-responsibility, honor, respect and compassionate love between parents and children. Fidelity to Yahweh involves caring for one another and the spirit of sacrifice. The book of Sirach, a charming work of an inspired and contemplative sage, shares timeless wisdom in the form of aphorisms – sayings, maxims and kernels of truth. This Sunday’s passage, with its keen observations about family relationships and the mutual duties of children and parents, is most appropriate for our celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family. It helps us to delve into the meaning and the challenges of family life. Against the backdrop of the Book of Sirach, we perceive a beautiful image of what a Christian family is called to be.
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “The Christian family’s life must be characterized by a love-giving peace, a love that each member can offer only because each member understands his or her proper relationship among the members. Parents exercise authority because they accept their authority from above. Children acknowledge the role of parents in their lives. Husbands and wives accept positions of co-responsibility and still acknowledge one another’s gifts and personhood. Children live together in an atmosphere that is conducive to growth and not to strife. Sirach points out the diverse roles of family members. . He comments on Exodus 20:12, which treats of the fourth commandment: Love your father and your mother. Such treatment of one’s parents will bring countless blessings upon the children, and no one is ever excused from showing honor to his or her parents.”
The following story illustrates the ideal of co-responsibility, mutual devotion and self-sacrificing love at work in the Roloff family and how this proved to be the best Christmas gift of all (cf. “Love Comes In All Sizes” by Amy Roloff in GUIDEPOSTS, December 2007, p. 66-69). Amy and Matt, who are dwarfs, are the parents of four children: the 17-year old twins, Jeremy and Zachary, 14-year old Molly and Jacob, ten years old. Only Zachary is a dwarf, like Amy and Matt. The highlight of their Christmas celebration is gathering in the family room and reading together the story of Jesus’ birth, about this great gift God gave us, how God loved the world so much he gave us his only begotten Son. Recognizing that the real heart of Christmas is sacrificial love, the parents tried to impart this holiday lesson to their children, in ways both big and small. Last December, Zach had to undergo surgery in one of his legs to correct a problem caused by achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. The whole family traveled from Oregon to Oakland, California where the surgery would take place, including Zach’s twin, Jeremy. Amy narrates:
Jeremy did what he could to help his twin, but I could tell he was getting a little antsy. Once we knew that Zach was out of the woods, Jeremy planned to fly up to Portland with Matt – and Zach – in time for snowboarding. His cell phone rang like crazy the whole time. “There’s new snow? Don’t worry. I’ll be back in Oregon soon. I am so there!” But then Matt announced a change of plans. “I’m going to stay in Oakland a little longer so I can drive Zach home.” It had become clear that there was no way Zach would be comfortable on a plane so soon after surgery. But I also knew there was no way Matt would want to do that trip without help from Jeremy. For one thing, he’s the only one of us who’s tall enough to load up the luggage rack. And he would be a big help with the driving. There was silence in the room. It’s not Matt’s style to tell his kids to do things – especially a teen.
I looked at Jeremy and could tell he was crestfallen. He was struggling, thinking of his buddies back at Mount Hood and his girlfriend, all those things that even a teen senses might only come by once in your life. For a moment I thought he was going to tell Matt that he had to have his freedom. Matt would manage. He’s used to managing. “That’s okay,” Jeremy finally said. “I’ll stay here in Oakland. I want to help you guys. It’s important to be here for Zach – and for you.” And that was it.
Matt and Jeremy drove Zach back, and Jeremy sacrificed his break without complaint. I received plenty of presents that Christmas, but the greatest gift was having my kids home, and especially seeing how my 17-year-old son had grown up. He’d discovered one of the best things about families: When you sacrifice something you love to help someone you love, you grow by leaps and bounds. That love is the glue that holds families together. It’s held ours together through good times and bad. This Christmas we’ll all be at the farm again. There’ll be the usual quiet celebration, the trimming of the tree (Jeremy reaching the top), the honey-baked ham and apple pie, and, we hope, at least a guest or two. But this mother will be quietly treasuring the gift of last year. As Jeremy put it, “Mom, when it comes to the people you love, sometimes you have to put off the other stuff.” In doing that, you discover the stuff that really matters.
C. Second Reading (Col 3:12-21): “Family life in the Lord.”
The Second Reading (Col 3:12-21) is a prescription for ideal relationship among Church members as well as an injunction to an orderly, harmonious family life. Taken from the section of Colossians which urges the members of the body of Christ, the Church, to live according to the values of the community, it encourages works of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and love in Christ’s name. In the faith community and in its individual members, the peace of Christ must reign. Moreover, they should be filled with praise and thanksgiving. In a Christian family, mutual affection, respect, responsibility and care must thus prevail.
Mary Ehle comments: “Showing affection and paying attention to the feelings and desires of its members is the responsibility of each in the family, who live their lives in Christ – wives, husbands and children. For Catholics, the household or family is the basic unit of the Church. Because of this, it is called the domestic Church. In this Church, the love between parents and among parents and children identifies the family as a household of faith that gives thanks to God.”
The liturgy of Christmas invites us to be thankful. In today’s passage from the Colossians, we see how this could be done: letting Christ’s word dwell in us, teaching with all wisdom according to apostolic understanding, admonishing one another, worshipping and singing to God with grateful hearts, doing everything in word and deed in the name of Christ Jesus. The biblical scholar Ivan Havener remarks: “Seen in this light, thanksgiving to God the Father through Christ becomes a whole way of life. Christian life is eucharist, that is, thanksgiving.”
The following is a Christmas family story to warm the heart (cf. Doris Bennett, “God’s Littlest Caroler” in Country, December/January 2010, p.24). It illustrates the grace-filled quality of a Christian home and how a “family life in the Lord” is filled with thanksgiving and joyful song.
Farms, ranches and orchards made the foothills of San Francisco’s South Bay a wonderful place to live, especially at Christmas. My three boys didn’t have snow or sleds, but they had hills to climb, fields for kite-flying and fresh country air.
In 1962, Christmas was special, as we’d just had a baby girl, Suzanne. Our youngest boy, Ricky, 5, spent hours just watching her. “Mom”, he’d say, “If she gets any more beauty-fuller, I’ll just die!” Every night, Ricky thanked God for sending Sue, saying she was “the best Christmas present in the whole wide world”. His heart overflowed with joy.
On Christmas Eve, we snuggled around the fireplace. I read The Night Before Christmas and we watched a holiday movie. I was answering Ricky’s question about caroling, explaining that people used to do this to spread the joy of Christmas, when his brothers started yelling: “It’s snowing! Everybody look! It’s snowing!” Our entire neighborhood was blanketed in white. The hills glowed in the moonlight. It was unbelievable. Snow, in sunny California! My boys jumped all over the yard, the excitement and wonder almost more than they could handle.
Suddenly, Ricky slammed through the front door, “Mommy, I just had a great idea!” he said. “I want to sing Christmas carols to God and our neighbors! Can I, Mommy? I have to sing carols to thank God for this great Christmas. He’ll hear me better outside, and I’ll stay just on our street!”
“But it’s dark and cold and I don’t want you wandering around alone”, I said. Billy, 11, and Louie, 8, had just come back inside. “Your brothers will go out and sing with you.”
“No way!” they yelled. “What if our friends see us?”
“No one will see you, because I want you to stay in our front yard”, I said. “God will hear you well enough from there. So hush up and bundle up.”
Ricky beamed with pride. Billy and Louie mumbled as they stomped out the door behind him, kicking imaginary rocks.
The three of them stood in the snow and the moonlight. Bundled up in coats, hats and gloves, they looked like figures in a Norman Rockwell painting – except that the two taller boys looked like they were facing a firing squad.
I was sure it’d be over after one lisping melody. Suddenly Ricky stepped forward, threw his little arms wide, tossed his head back, looked skyward and let ‘er rip. “Thy-a-lent night! Ho-oh-lee night!”
Sue jolted awake, screaming. Neighborhood dogs began yelping. Birds screeched and flew away. But never in my life have I heard a man or beast make purer sounds of love and joy. This little man made sure God heard every word he sang.
As Ricky belted out one Christmas carol after another, porch lights popped on up and down the block. One neighbor must have suspected mayhem, because a police car cruised slowly past our house. I expected Billy and Louie to trample each other fleeing the scene of the crime, but they didn’t. As a small crowd of smiling neighbors formed in front of our house, my heart swelled with pride. Billy and Louie were singing with their brother.
They faced the house, stocking caps down over their faces, coat collars pulled up high, hands cupped over their ears. They had no idea what was going on behind them – or that they were part of a wonderful Christmas none of us would ever forget.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How is the sacrificial element woven into the warp and woof of the Holy Family? Do you endeavor to imitate the examples of the Holy Family and strive to build a community of love, life and grace? How do you experience and show filial devotion? What do you do to promote family life and how do we imbue family life with Christian values? Why is it important to celebrate meaningfully the Christian feast of the Holy Family?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Merciful God,
it was your love and Christmas gift
that Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary,
should humble himself and thereby raise a fallen world,
so that all your children might share in your life.
Grant to all who are bound by family ties
the grace to cling to you,
the strength to obey you,
the willingness to serve you,
and the thankfulness to praise you.
May we welcome the ineffable mystery
of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.” (Mt 2:14)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Make an effort to contribute to the growth and nourishment of family life by your word and example. When needed, be ready to sacrifice something you love to be able to help someone you love.
*** *** ***
December 31, 2022: SATURDAY – THE SEVENTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the Word Made Flesh”
BIBLE READINGS
1 Jn 2:18-21 // Jn 1:1-18
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
A. Gospel Reading (Jn 1:1-18): “The Word became flesh.”
On the seventh day in the Octave of Christmas and on New Year’s Eve, we hear the deeply evocative Prologue of Saint John (Jn 1:1-18), which perceives the incarnation of the Word as God’s utmost revelation of love and glory. Christmas is a celebration of God speaking to us his most beautiful word – Jesus Christ! The Word made flesh is God’s “I love you” to us. The Word that the saving God spoke in the birth of Jesus manifests his deep compassion for us.
Saint Bernard asserts: “God’s Son came in the flesh so that mortal men could see and recognize God’s kindness … The incarnation teaches us how much God cares for us and what he thinks and feels about us. We should stop thinking of our own sufferings and remember what he has suffered. Let us think of all the Lord has done for us, and then we shall realize his goodness appeared through his humanity. The lesser he became through his human nature the greater was his goodness; the more he lowered himself for me, the dearer he is to me.”
The compassionate God continues to speak to us in the here and now through Scripture as the following testimony would show (cf. Brian Keilty, “It’s Not All About You” in The WORD Among Us (April 24 - May 31, 2011, p. 67-68).
We had just visited my wife’s oncologist, and the dreaded news he delivered initially left us quiet, reflective, and heart-broken. The doctor felt that Marybeth’s long and painful fight with cancer was, for all intents and purposes, over. The disease had progressed to the point where aggressive treatment was no longer advisable; the only remaining option was palliative care delivered through hospice. We had been married for nineteen years.
The bad news was not unique to us. Countless times that day, many thousands of other people throughout the world heard a similar message. But this diagnosis was ours. What made the trip home so extraordinary was that we talked not about the prognosis, not about our fears and anxieties, not about a future denied our young children, but about God and his speaking to us through Scripture.
Marybeth began the conversation (I remember the exact spot on the highway) by telling me of the joy, peace, and comfort she had received from God while reading Psalm 62 that very morning. She knew God was addressing her through its opening verses: “My soul rests in God alone from whom comes my salvation. God alone is my rock and salvation, my secure height; I shall never fall.”
Those words of comfort gave Marybeth peace and direction. It was God, not good health, who was to be the center of her life. His salvation was more important to her than her healing. During her final two months, those words also empowered her every day to guide and care for her children, as well as love and support her husband.
B. First Reading (1 Jn 2:18-21): “You have the anointing that comes from the Holy One and you have all knowledge.”
It is the last day of the civil year. As we bid the old year goodbye, the Church, through the proclamation of the Prologue of Saint John, gives us a glimpse of God’s deep involvement in humanity’s historical “time”. The Prologue, which is a synthesis of salvation history, traces the saving mission of the Word-made-flesh from the Father and the return of the incarnate Word back to the Father. The evangelist John also underlines the reason why the divine Word is sent to us: that those who believe in the Son may receive power to become children of God.
As we close the year, we also hear in today’s First Reading (1 Jn 2:18-21) the exhortation about the “last hour”: we must hold fast to the grace of truth and be faithful to God. The Messiah has come and will come again. The intervening period is the “last hour” in which true Christians can recognize truth for what it is, and falsehood for what it is, through “the anointing that comes from the Holy One”. Indeed, the Holy Spirit has been poured out upon us by Christ and we come to know the truth of God’s tremendous love for us. In spite of the deception of antichrists who have abandoned the Christian community, true believers are able to abide in the Father and the Son by the spiritual “anointing” they have received. True Christians are thus empowered by the Spirit to know and live the life of Jesus Christ, the font of saving love, and in conformity with the Father’s compassionate will.
The following story is a testimony of one who was tempted to succumb to evil but, guided by the Holy Spirit, made a fundamental choice for the power of good (cf. Kathy Collard Miller, “Desperate Hope” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories of Faith, ed. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Cos Cob: CSS, 2008, p. 51-54).
As the train rumbled past the East Coast countryside, taking my daughter and me to New York City for a mother/daughter vacation, my thoughts were as piercing as the screeching wheels of the train. Why did he do it? Why did Greg take his own life? He was a distant relative whom I rarely saw, yet the news that Greg had committed suicide made tears spring into my eyes and a deep sadness fill my heart. Relatives asked, “How could anyone be that hopeless and helpless?
But I knew. As I glanced over at my twenty-eight-year-old daughter napping next to me on the double seat, I realized with a force I hadn’t felt for a long time that if I’d taken my life, I would not have the fabulous mother-daughter relationship I now enjoyed with my daughter. (…)
One desperate day my rage was out of control. I ran into the bedroom and slammed the door behind me … Then suddenly I remembered where Larry stored his off-duty service revolver. The gun! That’s the answer! The gun! A tiny, sinister voice in my head whispered. “Take your life. It’s hopeless. Nothing has changed for months even though I’ve prayed over and over again; it’s only gotten worse. God doesn’t care. Otherwise He would instantaneously deliver me from my anger and heal our marriage. Larry hates me. I hate him and my life.
With trembling hands, I opened the locked drawer and almost gasped when the gleam from the shiny barrel of the gun glinted at me so invitingly. Darcy is better off without a mother like me. I’m ruining her for life. Seconds clicked off and then I reached for the cold revolver. But then a new thought popped into my mind. What will people think of Jesus if they hear that Kathy Miller took her life?
My hand stopped. The faces of the women in the neighborhood Bible study I led flitted before me. My family members who didn’t know Christ came to mind. I thought of the neighbors I witnessed to. Oh, Lord, I don’t care about my reputation, but I do care about yours!
I slammed the drawer shut and fell to my knees. The concern about Jesus’ reputation saved my life that day, and I knew it was prompted by the Holy Spirit.
I didn’t have any hope at that point, but in the following months God proved Himself faithful by revealing the underlying causes of my anger, giving me a patience to be a loving mom and then healing my relationship with Larry. (…)
Yes, I understood how Greg could have felt so little hope – in fact, no hope at all. How I wish I could have shared with him that there is always hope, and God is faithful if we will hold on to His promises.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we awed by the tremendous saving event of the incarnation of the Word? How do we respond to this awesome saving mystery?
2. Do we realize that we have received “the anointing that comes from the Holy One” and the revelation of God’s saving love and that these prompt us to abide in him and to walk in the light of truth?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Lord Jesus,
you are the most beautiful Word spoken by God the Father.
In your birth,
we hear the voice of the compassionate God speaking to our heart,
“I love you … I will save you!”
In you is the fullness of grace and truth.
In this forthcoming New Year,
help us to become courageous heralds of your saving Gospel
and to share with all your healing word of love and forgiveness.
With all peoples and creation and all the choirs of angels
we acclaim:
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will!
***
(Cf. Opening Prayer, Seventh Day of Christmas Octave)
Ever-living God,
in the birth of your Son
our religion has its origin and its perfect fulfillment.
Help us to share in the life of Christ
for he is the salvation of mankind,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (Jn 1:14) //“But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.” (1 Jn 2:20)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray that people may truly perceive the meaning and implication of the Word made flesh. Resolve to spend more time to read the Scripture and break the bread of the Word. By your words and deeds, enable the people around you to experience that the divine Word is truly incarnate. // Pray for those who are contemplating suicide and the victims of murder-suicide crimes. Do what you can to help them.
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Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US