Month: December 2019

From Creation to Birth

Christ is born! Glorify Him!
“It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.”
-St. Teresa of Calcutta-

What a joy it is to reflect on these readings during the Octave of Christmas!

As I read today’s readings–especially the first reading from 1 John–I thought to myself, “Geez! Being a Christian is a huge responsibility!” John tells us, “I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and every lie is alien to the truth.” As Christians, it is our responsibility to know the truth and to reject all that is contrary to that truth. I think this is something that is particularly hard in our day and age when everything we see on social media, on the news, and in advertising tells us that they have our best interests in mind. Social media wants us to look our best, feel our best, and have the best…the same with advertising. News reporters use emotional appeals to reel us in, so we follow their advice regarding politics and society. John’s warning about people who are not part of the truth serves as a call to action for us. We must promote what is True and what is Good in order that other people may not be swayed by lies.

We hear this Gospel during the Octave of Christmas because Christmas is about the birth of Christ, and John’s prologue tells us that Christ did not come into existence on the day of His birth. Rather, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Christ has always been: “He was in the beginning with God.” I love this prologue because we learn so much about who God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, is and what He does. “In the beginning was the Word…All things came to be through him, and without him, nothing came to be.” In hearing these two lines, we know that God the Son was an active part of Creation. The rest of the prologue is a synthesis of Christ’s life with us. We are told that He came into the world that He created but was met with rejection. Despite that rejection, Christ chose to die for our sins in order that we might receive Truth and Grace. Those who accept the sacrifice of Christ are children of God and can enter into eternal life with Him in Heaven.

As Christians, it is our responsibility to drown out lies with truth and to show others the beauty and grace that is possible because of Christ’s sacrifice. In the same way that John made known the truth of who God the Son is, we too must spread the Good News of Salvation to the ends of the world.

In this season of Christmas, may we recognize the sacrifice Christ made in becoming man and dying on the Cross for the sake of all men.

Contact the author

Dakota currently lives in Denver, CO and teaches English Language Development and Spanish to high schoolers. She is married to the love of her life, Ralph. In her spare time, she reads, goes to breweries, and watches baseball. Dakota’s favorite saints are St. John Paul II (how could it not be?) and St. José Luis Sánchez del Río. She is passionate about her faith and considers herself blessed at any opportunity to share that faith with others. Check out more of her writing at https://dakotaleonard16.blogspot.com.

The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

Reading 1 1 Jn 2:18-21

Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many antichrists have appeared.
Thus we know this is the last hour.
They went out from us, but they were not really of our number;
if they had been, they would have remained with us.
Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.
But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One,
and you all have knowledge.
I write to you not because you do not know the truth
but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:1-2, 11-12, 13

R. (11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name;
announce his salvation, day after day.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
The LORD comes,
he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Alleluia Jn 1:14a, 12a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Jn 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.

And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son,
full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side,
has revealed him.

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Sylvester I, please go here.

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

A Family of Faithfulness

On the Sixth Day within the Octave of Christmas, we are still – liturgically – celebrating Christmas Day! We sing the Gloria at each Mass during these eight days, and the prayers for the Nativity from the Liturgy of the Hours are repeated each morning as if it were still Christmas Day. In the Church, we celebrate the major feast days for weeks, not hours, so continue to spread the Christmas cheer, all the way to Epiphany!

In today’s Gospel, we glimpse the “hidden life” of the Holy Family in Nazareth. After the presentation of Jesus in the Temple, where the prayerful, faithful, 84-year-old temple-dwelling widow, Anna, recognized the Messiah in the arms of Mary and Joseph and gave thanks to God, the family returned to Nazareth. By all outward appearances, this was a family like every other family, and the child was a child like every other child, who “grew and became strong.” Like most children do. Right?

We are given a hint that there is a bit more than this at the end of the reading: the child was “filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” What did this look like within this particular family? There are things we can know and things we can only wonder about.

We know that they were faithful to the prescriptions of the Jewish law. We know that they prayed at the specified hours, that they prayed the Psalms, that they fasted, and observed the feasts prescribed by the law. We know that they had to work, to eat, to serve, and celebrate with their neighbors. And as faithful Jews, we know that they recited (several times a day) the Shema, acknowledging God as one, Whom they love with all their heart, soul, and mind. This is how they lived: in loving obedience to the one God of all, in constant obedience to the Father.

We don’t know many details about these years, but our hearts can lead us to ask some questions about them. What was it like to be the parents of the God-Man, to teach the law to the One Who gave it to His people? Did their neighbors discern anything special about this little family, in their demeanor or their generosity? Did their dinner conversations ever reach to the future, to the Mission of the Christ? We are free to wonder, and even to ask Jesus, His Mother, and St. Joseph to help us understand this mystery. And we certainly can – and should – ask them for the grace to live each moment with the same love and obedience to the Father.

May that be part of our New Year’s resolutions: to strive to walk with the Holy Family, and let them lead us to understand that we are loved intensely and infinitely by God. I pray that you and all those you love are being showered with many Christmas graces, and are blessed with a peace-filled New Year!

Contact the author

Kathryn Mulderink, MA, is married to Robert, Station Manager for Holy Family Radio. Together they have seven children (including newly ordained Father Rob and seminarian Luke ;-), and two grandchildren. She is a Secular Discalced Carmelite and has published five books and many articles. Over the last 25 years, she has worked as a teacher, headmistress, catechist, Pastoral Associate, and DRE. Currently, she serves the Church as a writer and voice talent for Catholic Radio, by publishing and speaking, and by collaborating with the diocesan Office of Catechesis, various parishes, and other ministries to lead others to encounter Christ and engage their faith. Her website is https://www.kathryntherese.com/.

The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

Reading 1 1 Jn 2:12-17

I am writing to you, children,
because your sins have been forgiven for his name’s sake.

I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,
because you have conquered the Evil One.

I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,
because you are strong and the word of God remains in you,
and you have conquered the Evil One.

Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:7-8a, 8b-9, 10

R.(11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Bring gifts, and enter his courts;
worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
Today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 2:36-40

There was a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

– – –
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.