Fr Kevin Kilgore

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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

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Gospel: Luke 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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Anna is one of the few female prophets mentioned in the bible. In a few short verses, Saint Luke paints a beautiful picture of her.

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She was a widow. 

Anyone who’s lost a loved one – particularly a spouse – has known the sorrow of Anna. But her sorrow doesn’t make her bitter. As Luke tells us, she never left the temple; it was the center of her life. 

She reminds us that grief can do one of two things: it can dry up our faith. Or it can make us kinder, softer, more sympathetic people, who trust in a God who doesn’t waste our tears.

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Second, Anna was eighty-four.

Age changes us. As our body weakens, we either become increasingly irritable, complaining about all of our aches and pains, or increasingly grateful for the time we’ve been given. As it’s written in the Psalms, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.”

Though the strength of her body was slowly being taken away, the strength of her faith increased by the day. She was a joyful, holy, elderly woman.

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How did she become to be the person she was?

She prayed. In spite of her age and sorrow, she praised the Lord, not only publicly in the Temple, but also in the privacy of her home.

As the saying goes, “They pray best together who first pray alone.”

Prayer lifts the spirit; it keeps us joyful; it fills us with God’s peace, even into the final years of our lives. 

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As we look to yet another year, may we become like Anna – not only older in years, but also stronger in spirit.

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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) Full of Grace TV, YouTube (3) Simply Organized