Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 18, 2025
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
After a fitful sleep, Joseph must have awakened with a start: “Was I dreaming, or was I visited by an angel of God?” He had already decided how to minimize the certain shame to follow the news of Mary being with child. “Do not be afraid,” said the angel to Joseph. “Easy to say, but how am I going to raise a child in such embarrassing circumstances? What am I to do?”
Joseph was about to enter a very tumultuous period, and the scriptures provide little insight into how he fulfilled his duties. Close your eyes and imagine Joseph planning for Mary a destination wedding, then a trip to Bethlehem for tax purposes, and finally accepting a timely opportunity for Egyptian work. Mother Angelica’s maxim that old men don’t walk to Egypt convinces me that Joseph must have been young enough to handle all of this. Back in Nazareth, scripture only recounts Mary and Joseph finding Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem. Years of happy parenting go unnoticed until Mary is accompanied to a wedding in Cana by only Jesus.
Many a night would I visit the Grotto for the peace it brought to a young life. Could I know what I was supposed to do when I could no longer visit my safe place? The Virgin Mary only smiles back at me. What I didn’t know was that my early years would indeed be tumultuous enough. Thank God for small graces!
What a role model was Joseph, who thanklessly toiled for his family with no expectation of acknowledgment. The same holds true for the fathers of today. Make it a full-time job without compensation, as society is praying for your success.
Lord, give me the strength to continue in service to others, knowing only that this is your will.
Prayer
Loving God, please comfort those who sit in any darkness, whether it be illness, confusion, unemployment, or grief. Guide the feet of those seeking to make decisions, that they will listen to the Holy Spirit and trust your presence in their lives.
Let your dawn break upon all who seek your truth in the world, especially in times of wavering faith. As the world seeks your tender mercy, God, guide all of your servants to live together in your love and shine brightly with your light, this Advent season and always. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Today marks the feast day of an important Irish saint, St. Flannan, who is honored in a particular way in Killaloe, a small village on the border of Counties Clare and Tipperary. The Cathedral Church of Killaloe is named after St. Flannan.
Born sometime in the seventh century, Flannan was the son of an Irish chieftain, Turlough of Thomond. He joined the monastery in Killaloe that the famous Irish abbot St. Molua founded.
A legend about how Flannan ended up succeeding Molua says that one day, Flannan was baking bread for the monks and for the poor in the monastery kitchen for thirty-six hours straight. In the middle of the night, he kept baking, and light began to stream from his fingers into the darkness, enabling him to keep baking throughout the night. When Abbot Molua heard about this young monk’s dedication to serving, he appointed him as the next Abbot of Killaloe.
Unsurprisingly, Flannan, before and during his tenure as abbot, gained a reputation for his unwavering hospitality. The families surrounding the abbey whom he looked after clamored for Flannan to be appointed a bishop.
Accordingly, Flannan traveled to Rome where Pope John IV consecrated him the first Bishop of Killaloe. He was a wildly popular bishop, and devotion to him seems to have spread to the Hebrides, islands off the coast of Scotland, where he may have preached.
Flannan is now the patron saint of Killaloe and of County Clare. The image of him to the left comes from CatholicIreland.net and is used with permission.
St. Flannan, faithful monk whose hands shone with Christ’s light—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Flannan is used with permission from CatholicIreland.net. Last accessed November 1, 2024.