Author: admin

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Gospel: John 1: 19-28

This is the testimony of John. 
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,
“I am not the Christ.” 
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?” 
And he said, “I am not.” 
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.” 
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? 
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
as Isaiah the prophet said.” 
Some Pharisees were also sent. 
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” 
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Who are you?”

This was the central question every Jew and scholar of the Law wanted to know about John the Baptist. Are you the Messiah, the one who is to come? 

No. 

Thankfully, John didn’t suffer from an identity crisis. He knew exactly who he was – and who he was not.

He was God’s forerunner, the one called to point him out when he came. But knowledge of this divine mission didn’t inflate John’s ego; quite the opposite. He warned he wasn’t even worthy to carry the Lord’s sandals.

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Like John, we should all be able to answer that question: “Who are you?” Not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God. We are four things, in particular.

We are loved.

So loved that God not only created us in his image and likeness, but he also offered himself for us on a cross so that we might not perish, but might have eternal life.

We are irreplaceable. 

God has left his mark on each of us, literally. Every human being has a unique fingerprint, purpose, and combination of gifts and talents. There never has been, nor will there ever be, another you. 

We are part of God’s family, the Church. 

Therefore, we are never alone; rather, we are all part of a greater whole.

We are a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Through his Spirit, God lives within us, teaching, guiding, filling us with love and grace, slowly making us holy.

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So, “Who are you?”

Not the Christ, but a child loved infinitely by God, who was created to prepare his way. How might we do that today?

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Image credits: (1) LinkedIn (2) Saint Gabriel Catholic Church (3) Adobe Stock

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Gospel: Luke 2: 16-21

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,  
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,  
they made known the message  
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed  
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,  
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,  
glorifying and praising God  
for all they had heard and seen,  
just as it had been told to them.  

When eight days were completed for his circumcision,  
he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel  
before he was conceived in the womb.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Our celebration of Christ’s birth at Christmas continues as we celebrate Mary, the Mother of God. Imagine her holding Jesus in her arms – a weak, warm, wrinkled infant, the fruit of God’s love affair with humanity. 

If this doesn’t baffle the mind and arouse the heart, then I wonder if we’ve ever truly understood. God is so in love with us that, in Jesus, he became one of us – a vulnerable, defenseless child. 

This was no rash decision; it was the fruit of a long, storied history whereby God sought our love, but time and time again we turned away from him.

Taking on flesh was a last resort, a feet-first, all or nothing gamble for our love, which cost God everything, and us, nothing.

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As the Lord was being cuddled in Mary’s arms, he finally felt what he longed for since the Garden of Eden – the full devotion of at least one of his creatures. 

Gazing upon Jesus, Mary burned with love and adoration. Luke says she, “kept all these things in her heart.” Literally, she tried stitching together the meaning of it all.

The archangel Gabriel announcing she will bear a son, Joseph’s change of heart, his welcome of her and Jesus into his home, being a first-time mother, and now the shepherds kneeling in adoration that first Christmas night.

We see the fruit of Mary’s devotion playing out over the next thirty-three years as she follows Jesus faithfully to the foot of the Cross and beyond.

She loved Jesus with her entire being, even when she didn’t understand him.

Shouldn’t we?

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This is all God asks of us – to love him as Mary did, with all of our mind, heart, body, and soul. It’s, perhaps, the only New Year’s Resolution we need to make; put God first and, somehow, everything else falls into place. 

May love for Christ grow ever deeper in us.

In me.

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Image credits: (1) Andreas Johann Jacob Müeller, The Christ Child (2) Catholic Diocese of Little Rock (3) Spiritual Insights for Everyday Life

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Gospel: John 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The first thing I do when I start a puzzle is spread out all of the pieces across a large table.  One piece turns into a cluster – and then several clusters – and finally a picture starts to emerge. 

Once the puzzle is completed, it’s helpful to look back, remembering how it all began.

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This is how John begins his Gospel, building upon the Book of Genesis, describing the beginning of the world. It began as a dark formless waste, with mighty winds sweeping across the waters.

Slowly, God ordered the chaos. Day by day, piece by piece, God assembled the world into a suitable home for humanity. Thousands and thousands of years passed until finally, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

We celebrated this mysterious truth less than a week ago, for these are things that only God can do: turn the darkness into light; chaos into order; take on flesh and dwell among us; and turn death into life.

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We still need that divine, creative power to work in our world, and in our own lives, today. 

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Looking back over the year, 2025 looks like a thousand puzzle pieces strewn across a table, some pieces resemble darkened chips, while others radiate light. 

On the evening news, we’re constantly reminded of wars raging, spontaneous protests erupting around the world, and the unfortunate truth that politics remains a divisive force, even separating families and friends.

Meanwhile, Catholics mourned the loss of Pope Francis, and celebrated the election of Leo, who recently returned to Rome from his first international pilgrimage, praying for peace in the Middle East.

Catholics also celebrated a Jubilee Year of Hope, with our own small parish serving as a Jubilee site. Thousands of pilgrims came through our doors, seeking God’s hand in hope.

For only God can take the many puzzle pieces of our lives and order them into a meaningful story of grace, hope, human resilience, and love. 

Perhaps that’s the best way to end this year and begin another one, praying with open hearts, “Come, Lord Jesus.”

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Image credits: (1) BBC (2) Jennifer Thayer Knight (3) Catholic Online