These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Children, it is the last hour.
(1 Jn 2:18-21)
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
(Jn 1:1-18)
You can’t say the Liturgy doesn’t have a sense of humor. Here on the last day of the year 2020, the Liturgy tells us it’s the “last hour.” But even more, on this last day of the year, the Liturgy gives us the “Last Gospel.” Most of us wouldn’t remember that the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel was read following the final blessing of low Mass. So we are told it is the “last hour” and we get the “Last Gospel” to close out 2020. The song today is Faltan 5 para las 12 (It's 5 Minutes to Midnight).
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.
(Lk 2:36-40)
The figure of the aged prophetess, Anna, reminds me of all the wonderful women of faith in my life, but especially I’m reminded of my grandmother, Nanny. Nanny always had a large pocketbook (as she called her purse). In her pocketbook she carried a miniature photo album: S.O.G.W.P.I.P. (Silly Old Grandma With Pictures In Purse). This little album was filled with small pictures of her progeny which she would pull out whenever people were talking about their grandchildren. It was long before cell phones and Facebook—but my grandmother was prepared to talk about her grandchildren to all who would listen and show pictures too!
Beloved:
This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:
whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.
(1 Jn 2:3-11)
The Letters of John remind us of what it means to live in Christian Community. To walk as He walked is a wonderful description of discipleship and how we should treat one another. We are not forging a new path, we are simply following in His footsteps. Today is the feast of Saint Thomas Becket who followed the footsteps of Christ and gave his life for the Lord. The Christmas Carol today is from Colombia, Antón.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing and loud lamentation;
Rachel weeping for her children,
and she would not be consoled,
since they were no more.
(Mt 2:13-18)
With the Feast of the Holy Innocents we can never forget that the “powers that be” are always at work to tear down and destroy. But God has the last word, and that word is a word of Grace and Resurrection. As the Fourth Gospel says:
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
(Jn 1:5)
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord.
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.
(Lk 2:22-40)
The wonderful thing about God’s family is that everyone gets to belong. And so this feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, reminds us that even if we are all alone in this world, there’s a great big family we belong to. The picture today is Merson's Rest on the Flight into Egypt. The Christmas Carol is from Colombia, Zagalillos (Shepherds Come).
