Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 11, 2025
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
I’m from the Northwest, and like all other people raised there, I am acutely aware of what locals call “The Big One.” It is an inevitable 9.0+ earthquake that will hit the region sometime in the next 50 years. It is not a matter of if but of when. Currently, officials are updating building codes and charting evacuation routes, but the future damage is what we call a known unknown.
In a way, John the Baptist is the final, prior reading on the spiritual seismograph before Jesus’ ministry (“The Big One”) completely sets it off. John foretells what is to come, situated after the tremors from the prophets of Elijah and Malachi. Before today’s passage, we know the kingdom is at hand, but we do not know when. Not yet, at least.
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that the kingdom is here, that the prophets have been fulfilled, and that the earthquake has begun. Think of the imagery Jesus uses: “the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” You do not passively experience an earthquake; you are thrust into one. Likewise, you will not passively receive the kingdom; you will be struck by it.
Now in Advent, we celebrate the arrival of Jesus’ ministry and the kingdom of heaven. What does this arrival look like? It is appealing to think that Jesus’ arrival is like a warm bath that washes over us, alleviating our worries. But the kingdom of heaven may be violent; it may fundamentally strike at the core of our very identities. We may be asked to let go of our sense of control and accept Christ’s change in us. What things will change is anybody’s guess—it is a known unknown. The caveat, of course, is “if you are willing to accept it.”
Prayer
When you walked the earth, Lord, there was the same kind of violence that we see in our day. Violent men threw John into prison and raged against the kingdom you were establishing. Help us counteract the violence of our time by being men and women who try by whatever means to advance your kingdom of peace. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Damasus I, pope from the fourth century, is most famous for asking St. Jerome to translate the Bible.
Damasus was deacon in Rome and elected pope when he was 60 years old. The election was marked by opposition and even violence—he struggled against rivals for the rest of his pontificate.
He was patron to a brilliant scholar, Jerome, who served as his secretary before Damasus encouraged him to study and revise the old Latin translations of the Bible in use at the time. Today's featured image depicts Jerome presenting his translation, the Vulgate, to Damasus.
Damasus also contributed to the practice of venerating relics. He drained and opened the Christian catacombs and even wrote inscriptions for many of the graves. His own relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
As his own death neared, he penned his own epitaph. Popes before him had been buried together in a papal crypt, but he only had an inscription placed there that read, “I, Damasus, wished to be buried here, but I feared to offend the ashes of these holy ones.”
Instead, he was buried with his mother and sister in a small church. This is the epitaph that he wrote for his own grave:
“He who walking on the sea could calm the bitter waves, who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth; He who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, and after three days’ darkness could bring again to the upper world the brother of his sister Martha: He, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust.”
Pope St. Damasus I, you loved God’s Word and trusted in the resurrection, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Damasus I is in the public domain. Last accessed November 21, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
