Christmastide

26 - 31 DECEMBER 2022 – HOLY MASS REFLECTION 26 DECEMBER 2022: ACTS 6. 8-10; 7. 54-59; MATTHEW 10. 17-22, FEAST OF ST STEPHEN Thrust: Love lives and dies for the beloved! Indicative: True love transforms the whole person and life. One who loves the Lord lives for him and dies for the sake of the same love 1. In the Christmas Octave, immediately after the holy Christmas, on 26th we celebrate the feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death. His confession of faith in the Lord was misconstrued as blasphemy. Consequently, he was killed according to Jewish law. 2. Does it not look odd that soon after the greatest birth of the Saviour, there is a death? It is perfectly right because for us believers, death for God is life to heaven. Death for the sake of faith and love is a birth in heaven. That is why we usually celebrate the death days of the saints as the feast days. 3. Stephen’s martyrdom is the logical consequence of his faith. It is the greatest sign of witness to his passionate love and unswerving loyalty to the Lord. His death bears testimony to the intensity of his commitment. His death shows how much he loved the Lord, and how he lived for him. 4. His death was not just a one-time happening. His death synthesises one whole life of witness. As we are told, he was already one of the seven deacons who shared the burden of the apostles in serving the community. He was “filled with faith and the Holy Spirit”. He was “full of grace and power”. He “was doing great wonders and signs among the people”. He was filled with the Wisdom of the Spirit that no one could “withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking”. 5. He was filled with the fortitude of the Spirit that nothing could frighten or intimidate his loyalty to the Lord. Even in the face of death, about to be stoned, he would gaze into heaven and see the glory of God”. He confided totally in the words of his Master, who said, “When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you”. 6. He was fully imbued with the Spirit of his Master and he imitates him even in death. He forgives his enemies during his dying moments, just like his Master and Lord. His love for the Lord fills him with wisdom and courage to face suffering and death as an honour and grace. Imperative: Passionate love for God is seen in a witnessing life. It is a life that lives wisely, courageously, and mercifully. 27 DECEMBER 2022: 1 JOHN 1. 1-4; JOHN 20. 2-8, FEAST OF ST JOHN Thrust: Long live Love! Indicative: The birth of Jesus is God’s visible testimony of His love for us in sensitivity and solidarity. Our fitting response is to receive and live this love 1. The Christmas mood still hovers over us during this Christmas Octave. The celebration of John’s feast once again strongly reminds us of Christmas as Love-feast. God loves us so much and so He gives His only Son as His most precious and incomparable gift to us. 2. Our birth is already a gift from God. The life that we enjoy is a share, an extension of His very life. But God is not satisfied with that. He wants to show it much more directly and intensely. That is why He incarnates His only Son. He takes our flesh. He is born as one of us. Thus, the birth of Christ is the “fullness of life”, a “heightening of our birth”. 3. His birth is the greatest testimony of his sensitivity toward our sinful life and his solidarity with us. When our life gets tainted by sin and loses the fullness of life, he becomes like us. Thereby he wants to remove those stains. He wants to restore us to our original beauty and dignity. 4. St John, the Apostle of love whose feast we celebrate today indicates how we must receive this “birthing love” of God amidst us and how we must respond to it. If you want to experience and relish this incarnate love of God, then incarnate the same love in and through us. 5. This implies a double duty and challenge: first of all, to experience personally his love and then share the same with others. How did John experience Jesus’ love personally? He stayed and lived with him in intimacy and inseparable communion. 6. This sense of intimacy is so deeply manifest in his intimate and personal expressions. He could say confidently and convincingly: “The life was made manifest, and we have heard it, we have seen with our eyes, and we have looked upon and touched with our hands”. 7. This personal experience of the Life of God leads to a duty to “testify to it and proclaim to others”. This implies it is a twofold mission: in word and life. The whole purpose is to promote and foster the same “fellowship with the Father and the Son” through the Spirit. 8. That is what St John did. He bore witness to that love that he himself experienced, by word, both proclaimed and written, and by his life example. He lived a life of love. Imperative: We can experience the abundant love of God only when we try to live in an intimate relationship with him and bear testimony to it in word and deed (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021) Focus: True Love is so contagious that it touches and transforms all and whole. If only everyone tries to be a little more affected by this positive contagion, people will become more sane and healthy 1. The celebration of Christmas is a celebration of love. During this Christmas octave, we continue to be under its powerful spell. Joy is dancing around vibrating in the whole atmosphere. This love continues to surround us as we celebrate the feast of John, the beloved disciple. This is a dominant and significant qualification that is given to him. He is “the apostle of love”. And he is one who draws our focus on God as Love. 2. It is a love that is rooted in a very deep personal intimacy with the Lord. This is very evident in John’s words in his first letter in the first reading: “We have seen with our eyes, we have heard, we have looked upon and touched with our hands. Consequently, there is also a mission that is to proclaim to others the same Lord and word of life, and testify to it. 3. There is also a clear purpose: so that others too may have fellowship with us because we ourselves have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And that our joy may be complete. 4. Thus, the picture is complete: there is an intensely passionate love for the Lord. This manifests in inseparable intimacy. This personal communion leads to a committed mission of bearing witness to him in word, both proclaimed and written, and life example. 5. In fact, this should be so for every believer and follower of the Lord. Love the Lord and be loved by him. This feeling, experience, and relationship of loving the Lord and being loved by him, foster the most profound warmth, confidence, vibrancy, joy, and commitment, leading to a life of love and witness. This is what is seen in St John. Direction: We need not do extraordinary things for God. Just love Him and love passionately and it will do the rest. 28 DECEMBER 2022: 1 JOHN 1.5 – 2.2; MATTHEW 2. 13-18, HOLY INNOCENTS Thrust: Love bears witness! Indicative: God loves us unconditionally and so He subjects himself to the limitations and vicissitudes of the human condition. Thereby our life should be an act of unconditional love for him 1. We remember today the death of the holy Innocents. King Herod kills all male children of two years or under. It was the height of his cruelty out of desperation and power-mongering. He perceived a potential threat to his throne in the newborn Messiah. He wanted to decimate the would-be king already at birth itself. 2. In fact, this shows the devastating inhumanity and wickedness of Herod. It is totally beyond bounds. First of all, there was no need to kill all the male children. It would be enough to identify the child Jesus and kill him only. Secondly, there was no need to kill all two-years or below because clearly Jesus just born would not be two-years old or just below. Thirdly, there was no need to be in such a mighty hurry to kill Jesus because he would not grab his throne immediately as an infant himself. 3. Finally, such cruelty was utterly senseless and purposeless. What is the use of killing all the other children just for the sake of one child? What does he gain from such a massive massacre? It was more an act out of frustration and fury. It was a repugnant reaction leading to violence and destruction. 4. We need not content and absolve ourselves with cursing Herod. There are many Herods today. They act like Herod whenever they give vent to heartless and merciless anger and fury, aggression and violence, harm and destruction. They are more than Herod when they act inhumanly and treacherously for the sake of power and position. 5. Perhaps, there are also Herods who kill the unborn babies for various reasons. One may argue and justify such acts in the garbs of modernity and unbridled freedom and choice. But in the heart of conscience, nothing can be a pretext for such inhuman cruelty. 6. We get the reason for this “herod-ness”. This “herodness” happens when one has no light of God in him, has no fellowship with God, no cleansing from sin, and thus walks in darkness. There are traces of “herodic” mentality in every one of us. 7. Today’s innocent children show us a contrast to Herod. Herod destroys life. These children ‘save’ and ‘sustain’ life by dying “in the place” and “for the sake” of Jesus. The point here is not why the innocent should die for Jesus for no fault of theirs. 8. The death of the holy innocents also indicates that we need not do great and extraordinary things to show our fidelity to the Lord. Even in our littleness, even in our silence, even in and through our unrecognised and insignificant lives, we can “protect” and “safeguard” the life and values of Christ. 9. This can be very indicative of our own reality. It is a fact that a numberless suffer and die innocently and unjustly. Perhaps at times unconsciously we ourselves may be the causes and agents of it. Are we aware of it? What do we do in the face of innocent suffering? What are our efforts to alleviate such pain and injustice? Imperative: The holy Innocents died so that the Saviour could escape death and live on so as to give life to many. What do I do to ‘shield’ the Lord and promote life (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021) Focus: True love dies for the sake of the loved one. It is better to die for love rather than live in hatred 1. On 28th December we commemorate the death of the holy innocents. It looks strange that soon after the greatest birthday at Christmas we celebrate a series of deaths, of St Stephen on the 26th and today on the 28th, the holy innocents, on 29th, St Thomas Becket and on the 30th, St Anysia. Their death in fact is a birth to heaven. God came down from heaven so that we can go to heaven. He shared in our human life so that we can share in his eternal life. He became like us in our human misery so that we become like him in his divine glory. Every martyrdom for the sake of Christ is a new birth, a rebirth into heaven. 2. The children below two years of age get killed by Herod. It was a part of his desperate attempt to terminate the child Jesus. The newborn, the prophesied messiah would be a threat to his power and authority. His wrong understanding of the messiah and his clinging to power lead him to this merciless murderous act. The children become the helpless victims of his cruelty. 3. Why Herod acts so? The first reading from 1 John gives us the answer. It is because the light of God is not in him. He walks in darkness. He does not live according to the truth. He is steeped in a false life. He has no fellowship with God or with others. 4. On one hand, Herod stands before us as a negative example, and on the other hand, the innocent children as a positive example. Herod serves as a caution for us not to walk in the darkness of sin or falsity, not to go against our fellowship with God and others, and not to do harm to others. 5. The innocent children show us that life is meaningful and meritorious to live and even to die for the sake of Christ. Even though they did not die consciously and out of a free choice, yet what is important is that their life was offered on behalf of Christ. By their death in the place of Jesus, they in a way “saved” and “spared” the life of the Saviour, the giver of life himself. 6. This also indicates that any suffering in the name of Christ, for his sake and on his behalf, whether voluntary or forced, whether conscious or unconscious, is certainly meritorious and rewarding. God needs all of us and each one of us can help God in our own little way in fulfilling his holy designs. Direction: In life, the reasons for all the problems and sufferings may not be always clear and reasonable. But it is always better to live through them in a spirit of forbearance and courage (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2020) Focus: Love gives life to others, while hatred destroys life. We are constantly to make choice between life and death, between good and evil, between construction and destruction The small children below two years become the victims of the fury of Herod, in his attempt to kill the child Jesus. We get a better understanding of Herod in the light of the first reading from 1 John. He has no light of God in him, but darkness. He does not walk in the light. Therefore, he is not in fellowship with others, and has no human concern for others, not even for the little children. And what an irony and contrast: Jesus sheds his own blood, in order to purify us from our sins. But Herod sheds the blood of the innocent children, accumulating sin for himself. Now, one may argue why God allows such a tragedy. What is their fault? But this is not the main issue and it is not so necessary also. What is important to note is God's plans go ahead despite human cruelty and obstacles. No human powers or evil forces can deter God's ways, even though they may create some temporary blocks, and may appear to dominate God and good. In the process of accomplishing a higher good and God’s holy will, some may need to pay the price and suffer. This is what is seen in the case of the holy innocents. They die in the place of the child Jesus. They die on behalf of him. Apparently, these innocent children were the helpless victims, brutally murdered. But they were the "saviours" of the Saviour. In fact, they were not even aware of what was happening. This also shows another truth of God’s working. Everyone, even in innocence and silence can help the plan of God and can bear witness to the Lord. Though they are done away from the earth, from mortal life. But they obtain heaven and the eternal life. Yet again, there is a simple contrast between Herod and the small children: Herod, in full knowledge, kills the children, to kill Jesus; but the small children, even without any knowledge, die so as to save Jesus. Direction: It is meritorious to suffer something for God, even in silence and innocence. To die for Jesus, even if it be forced, is certainly great 29 DECEMBER 2022: 1 JOHN 2. 3-11; LUKE 2. 22-35 Thrust: Light in darkness! Indicative: The Lord is born for us and amidst us. He is the light that dispels darkness. He is the truth that disperses the shades of falsity. Those who believe him must live in light and truth 1. In today’s gospel, we have the purification ceremony of Jesus. This has two symbolic aspects: one is, the self-offering to God and the other is the purification of the offered. By offering the child in the temple to God, the child is symbolically offered and surrendered to God. And as offered to God, the child needs to be constantly purified and remain pure. Only thus, what is offered becomes a worthy offering. 2. In the case of Jesus, in no way he needs this ceremony. Because there is no need to offer him to God. His very birth is a great act of self-offering to God. He is already and always offered and surrendered to God. Besides, there is absolutely no need for purification because he is the purest and the holiest Son of God. 3. However, born as a human, he fulfills the human requirements. And this ceremony is necessary because it is symbolic and pre-figurative. This purification ritual shows that he came to us as an offering from God and his whole life will be a total offering and sacrifice to God. Further, through this self-offering and self-immolation, he will bring about the purification of all. 4. Now we will be purified and pure if we too make ourselves worthy offerings to God. How to do so? The first reading gives us some simple guidelines. They are namely, Know him. Love him. Live in him. Follow his commandments. That would mean: Abide in truth. Walk in his light. Love the other. 5. If we say that Christ is born for us and he is our Saviour but we do not allow him to live in us and save us, then we are lying. If we say that Christ is the light and our light and he dispels our darkness but walk and stumble in darkness, then we are not yet lighted. If we say that we love him but do not love the other, then his love does not abide in us. 6. Therefore, we need to become like Simeon who waits patiently for the encounter with the Lord. For this, he lives a whole life of preparation in being “righteous and devout”. Further, we need to become like our sweetest Mother Mary who allows a “sword to pierce through her soul” all through her life. That is, to live a life of surrender to God’s will which will surely bring forth a sword of suffering and affliction. Imperative: Knowing God is not something intellectual or conceptual. This is a knowing that is perfected in loving, experiencing, and living worthily (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021) Focus: Truth is not merely a matter of intellect and the commandment is not merely a matter of legality. For us as the followers of Christ, knowing the truth and following commandments is a matter of faithful life 1. For many, knowing is only an intellectual capacity and exercise. There is no guarantee that such knowledge affects and changes the life of a person. But for us, the disciples of Christ, knowing is believing and living, abiding in him and following. That is why St John in the first reading attests that the test for knowing God is to follow his commandments. 2. Now, what are these commandments? Loving God and loving the other. This is the only way to know and follow the truth. One who does not follow this double-pronged love is not in truth and is a liar. Further, this is the only way to know the light and walk in the light. Jesus is the light and one who does not know and believe and follow him is not in the light. 3. If one is truly walking in the light, that is following Jesus, then it must be shown and testified by his love for his brother. Therefore, knowing, believing, abiding in the truth, and walking in the light are all essentially connected to loving God and loving the other. 4. The beauty of the Word of God is that concepts like truth and light are understood in terms of experience, relationship and loyalty, and commitment. They are not conceptual or abstract. They are always in reference to Christ. That is why Simeon, a righteous and devout person who encounters the child Jesus in the temple at his purification ceremony, blesses and declares Christ to be the light of all. 5. The purification and presentation of Jesus as per the Jewish custom is not merely a fulfillment of the custom, but much more a symbolic act. His presentation symbolizes his self-offering for the humanity. His purification indicates the purification of the sin-infected humanity. This purification in terms of truth and light would mean to abide in truth and walking in the light. In other words, it means to be faithful to Christ and to love the other. 6. Those who are with Christ and for Christ will certainly be pierced by a sword of sorrow like Mary. She became a sharer in the divine plan of salvation along with her Son. Therefore she becomes also a partaker of his own struggle against falsity and darkness. Direction: Christ is both the truth and the light. He calls for a truthful and authentic life. He also gives us the light to see the path and walk it. Such a life in concrete implies a life of devotion and righteousness like Simeon and a sword of suffering like Mary (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2020) Focus: Jesus is presented in the temple, symbolizing his own presentation, his self-offering for the salvation of the humanity. We have in today’s gospel passage the purification ceremony of the child Jesus in the temple, as per the Law. He undergoes the purification ceremony, signifying our own purification from sin. As a firstborn male, he is consecrated to God, again indicating his total consecration to God’s will for our sanctification. Now how to merit the fruits of this purification or presentation or consecration? See Simeon and follow his example. In the whole episode, Simeon remains a key figure. Both the first reading and the gospel depict his person: he is in the light because he loves his brothers and sisters, and awaits their salvation. He knows God and he is true because he fulfills God’s commands. The Holy Spirit was in him. He was upright and devout. That is why he is granted the unique grace of encountering the incarnate Savior. Indeed, what a grace and privilege it is: to see the Light of the nations, to see the light of salvation, to hold the Savior himself in his hands. Simeon today teaches all of us that the only way to see the light of salvation is to constantly dispel the shades of our darkness. The more we know Jesus and follow him, the more we allow him to illumine us and to touch us, the more we love him and live uprightly and devoutly, the more we too will be blessed like Simeon. Direction: In life, ultimately what counts is not intelligence or competence or worldly resources, but only a life of truthfulness and faithfulness 30 DECEMBER 2022: SIRACH 3. 2-6, 12-14; MATTHEW 2. 13-15, 19-23, HOLY FAMILY Thrust: Love needs a family! Indicative: Love that is born from heaven needs to be nurtured and fostered in a family. The health of an individual and society itself depends on the quality of a family 1. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, the family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. It comes during the Christmas Octave between Christmas and the New Year. It is usually the immediate Sunday after Christmas. But since this year the New Year falls on Sunday, the holy Family festivity is celebrated on the 30th. 2. This placement is very significative. The Saviour born is part of a family. God lives in the family and family becomes the abode of the Lord. The family is that nucleus, that locus, that ambience that shelters, sustains, nurtures, and grows God. It is this family that gives the identity to Jesus. It is where the Incarnate Saviour is loved and cared for. 3. The Holy Family is the model and guide for every family. Every family must be a sacred abode where God lives. Every family must become a point of reference and a sign of the identity of God. Every family must love, care for, nurture, and foster God. 4. For our practical reflection, we can think of 4 pillars on which the edifice of the Holy Family was built. They are namely: Communion, Compassion, Cooperation, and Commitment. It is precisely these which are most lacking in most families. 5. There was deep communion between Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. They were one in heart and spirit. They were knit together by the sense of oneness - belonging to one God, to each other, adhering to one holy will of God. It is this spiritual communion with God and fraternal communion with each other that bound them together always and guided them all through. 6. In contrast, how thin and brittle is the thread of oneness and unity in modern families! Alas, some families behave as if they are aliens and strangers, so separated and divided, living under the same roof, but so aloof and distant from each other! 7. There was genuine and profound compassion reigning in the Holy Family. They had concern, attention, and care for each other. They nurtured deep respect for each other. Every thought, word, and action was truly permeated by a profound sensitivity and tenderness for the other. They felt for each other. They experienced the struggle of the other as their own. They always guarded themselves against anything that is offensive and hurting. They had a keen sense of appreciation and encouragement toward each other. 8. In contrast, how less is the spirit of compassion in many modern families! What a height of resentment, hostility, and apathy, as if they are enemies and rivals to each other! What indifference and insensitivity as if they are strangers to each other! Often, there isn't even a single word of comfort and consolation, appreciation, and encouragement. Instead, often there are deliberate attacks of troubling, annoying, aggression, insults and humiliation, discouragement, and despising. 9. In the Holy Family, their communion and compassion led them to authentic and constant cooperation with each other. In fact, real cooperation means not only doing the same work, but much more working together in the same spirit, with one focus and zeal. They shared their struggles, they shared their duties and responsibilities. They worked together for one and the same will of God, for one and the same family. 10. In contrast, how less is the spirit of cooperation in many families! The way some families fight and block and damage each other's work gives the impression whether they forget that they are one family and must work for one family, to guard it, build it, and foster it. Whether they are trying to save and construct the family or destroy it, we must wonder. 11. And some families, forget about cooperation; at least even the minimum communication is not there. There are families where you can count the number of words that the members speak to each other. How can there be communion, compassion, and cooperation where there is no communication? Many speak hours and volumes with others outside the family, but they cannot speak at least a few alphabets with their own family members. 12. There was perfect commitment to each other in the Holy Family. Each was ready to struggle and sacrifice for the sake of the other. The good and the happiness of the other was the main concern of each of them. Imperative: The spirit of the human family based on hearty communion is the foundation for the spiritual family. One who is a family person can easily be a loving and effective member of the spiritual family as well (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021, 26 DECEMBER) 1. The celebration of the Holy Family follows the celebration of the holy Christmas. Is it a clear indication that the Saviour who is born on earth, must be born in every family, and must be nurtured and taken care of by every family? Christ must grow day after day in every family. Christ must “live” in every family, and those greatest Christmas gifts of hope, light, and joy must continue to “incarnate” in every family. Every family takes the place of the holy family, and every family can be a holy family, in so far as it embodies the same values and disseminates the same ambience. 2. Our reflection on Holy Family is simple and focused: what does the Holy Family teach the families of today? First of all, how lovely it is to think that the Holy Family perfectly represents the holistic nature of God: paternity, maternity, and fraternity. Yes, God is fatherly, motherly, and brotherly, each represented by Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The love between the Father and the Spirit “generates” and “nurtures” the Son, and so also the holy love between Joseph and Mary “regenerates” and “fosters” the son Jesus. 3. Thus, the Holy Family resembles this divine nature and represents the divine face. Accordingly, in Joseph, we see the fatherly care, guardianship, and owning of responsibility for the family, for Mary and Jesus. In Mary, we see the motherly tenderness, affection, and sense of support and standing together with the husband and son. In Jesus, we see the fraternal and filial devotion, openness, trust, belongingness, and loving submission. 4. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of many a family of today is the “loss of this divine and human face”, the loss of love with God, and the loss of love with the others in the family. When a family loses this “divine touch” and “human reach”, then there is no beauty, joy, and peace. 5. In our times, the life of many families is a story of tension, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness, because of the continuous replay of irresponsibility and strife. Why a family becomes a place to avoid or escape from, instead of a refuge to turn to? Why a family becomes a misery, instead of beauty? Why family life becomes a burden, instead of a lightening experience? It is not enough to glorify the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. But it is more important to verify and rectify the quality of each family in the light of the Holy Family. 6. A husband’s duty is not over, just earning some money, and ensuring material well-being. A wife’s duty is not over, just managing the house chores or partnering in the financial concerns. What matters most is, how much they are loving companions and partners, in mutual love, respect, care, and forbearance. It is not a wonder that despite all increase in education and progress, the bonding between husband and wife is very much “thinning”, with no real vibrations of communication and communion. 7. A parent’s duty is not just over, by giving the children some money, a good dress, a good education, a good job, and a comfortable life. Much more than that, how many parents give their children sane values of life, give God, faith, and kindness? How many parents teach and make their children to be good human beings? Those parents who are responsible for their children to become irresponsible, without devotion and morals, are the biggest “failed parents”. 8. A son’s or daughter’s duty is not over, by just getting well-educated and well-settled in life. How sad it is that a good number of children turn so ungrateful, disrespectful, and even harmful toward their parents! A son or daughter who becomes the cause of sorrow of the parents, is a disgrace before God, even if is rated high before the world. Such children are a great “misery” and “failure”, even if they ride on glory and success. 9. An “about-turn” is then the need of the day: Turn to God, and turn to each other. Return to God’s heart, with faith; Return to each other’s heart, with love! See your partner’s face and heart. See your children’s faces and hearts. See your parents’ faces and hearts. Do it daily. Then surely, your face and heart, and the whole face of life and family, will change! 31 DECEMBER 2022: 1 JOHN 2. 18-21; JOHN 1. 1-18 Thrust: Last hour but not lost! Indicative: We are at the end of the current year and the threshold of a new year. This shall not be a time of remorse and regret, nor shall it be a time of fear and cynicality 1. We are on the last day of 2022 and toward the beginning of 2023. This is a contrast: the “last” and the “beginning”. In fact, we have this dialectic in today’s readings. In the first reading, we have the mention of the “last hour”, and then in the gospel, we have the mention of the “beginning". 2. This contrast can indicate to us what we should resolve in these last hours for the coming year. As the first reading states, surely in our times too, “many antichrists have come”. Many who have been with us, went out of us. It does not refer merely to human relationships and friendships. This is mainly a matter of clinging to a genuine relationship with God and others. It is a matter of being faithful to godly and humane values. 3. The last hour refers to a constant existential situation of struggle and battle between the godly and the ungodly, the spiritual and the unspiritual, and the new and the old. Therefore, end the old year with a sincere review and evaluation of our fidelity to Christ. Have we been on the side of Christ? Have we tended to fall among antichrists? 4. In the light of this healthy self-check, we need to resolve to “begin anew”. Start afresh. We remind ourselves that we start the new year with Christ born for us. We have his light that will illumine our whole journey, all our paths. 5. Let one thought continue to stir and guide us: Am I, are we - For Christ, or against Christ? In Christ or out of Christ? Near to Christ or Far from Christ? Lighted by Christ? Darkened without Christ? Born of Christ or dead, away from Christ? Anointed by Christ or tainted by the evil one? Knowing Christ or Ignorant of Christ? Experiencing Christ or being indifferent to Christ? Imperative: He was in the world but the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. He is in me and amid us. But do I know and receive him? (REFLECTION 2 FROM 2021) Focus: The graced life of Christmas is a constant invitation to live in a state of grace which is in contrast to a life of vice and evil. It is a call to be pro-Christ and for Christ and not antichrist 1. One more year is finishing and slipping into the past calendar. At the end of the outgoing year, many may be in the mood of recollection of the past and planning for the future. Yes, it is a double-edged mood: recollection leading to reconstruction, review leading to renew. We shall recollect the past memories and situations. It is not to regret or lament past lapses and mistakes or failures. It is to learn from past defects and deficiencies to grow into a better future. 2. It has been another hard year under the spell of the pandemic. We have not yet recovered from our bitter and painful, failed and deprived, frightening and worrisome experiences. The reasons to be sad and upset seem to be more than those to rejoice and be calm. The spirit of joy and peace that Christmas promises does not seem to make sense in the lives of many. 3. But, the ending of the old year and the beginning of a new year shall reignite our dulled spirits. Nothing, however sad or bad, painful or lamentable, unpleasant and unfavorable, shall strike down our energy and zest for life. Why? The sole reason is God. The birth of Christ is not a past, bygone event. Christ who was born on Christmas day continues to live in the new year. He walks into our journey of the new year. The Word who became flesh dwells among us, full of grace and truth. 4. We are reminded again that He gives us the power to become the children of God through the gift of faith. He is the Word of God, the communication of God with us, the medium through which God reveals himself to us. He is the life that becomes the light of all. He is the Light that enlightens everyone. This light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. He is the light that enlightens everyone. From his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. We all know the truth. We have been anointed by the Holy One. 5. Therefore, we have better and more valid reasons to rejoice than to grumble and blame. The blessings and the spiritual success we experience count more than all the troubles and losses put together. Nothing shall keep low our soaring spirits. Let our review of the past help us to renew our present to build a better future. Direction: At the closure of the outgoing year 2021, let our prime focus be on guarding ourselves and witnessing to the Lord against antichrists. Accepting the truth and light and walking in their path shall be our fitting turning point in the year to come (REFLECTION 3 FROM 2020) Focus: God came down to us so that we can go up to him. Therefore, we can go up only when we raise ourselves up from being too much earth-bound As we are on the last day of the year, quite fittingly we have the Prologue of St John which summarizes the whole plan and action of salvation, the interplay between God and the