Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 30, 2025
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.
No one likes to be alone. People are made for community, for family. But the holiday season can be an especially lonely time for some. Anna, the focus of our gospel passage for today, has been alone for a long time. Her husband passed away when she was most likely in her early twenties, leaving her without a family for the majority of her life.
The text is unclear about how long she’s been spending all her time in the temple, worshipping day and night. It could’ve been the past few months; it could’ve been the past few decades. This speaks to so many of our elderly friends and neighbors this Christmas season, who perhaps are left to celebrate the coming of our Messiah without their loved ones, who’ve either passed on or forgotten them. How many seniors are spending day and night confined to their homes, apartments, or nursing homes, their only activity relegated to heartfelt prayer and longing, their only community a small team of caregivers?
Anna was at an advanced age by the time we met her in the Bible; her family had most likely passed on or all but forgotten her. She can be read as a lonely figure, a stand-in for those forgotten in our own communities. But like Anna, so many of our seniors are filled with great wisdom.
Having such depth of life experience, many have come to truly know what the Christmas season is all about. And like Anna, they want to proclaim it. Let this season be a time for engaging with our friends and neighbors who may be feeling lonely and forgotten in their older years, and learn from them the true meaning of Christmas that Anna herself came to realize 2000 years ago.
Prayer
O Lord, there are so many days when we can feel as if you are distant. We wonder if you are really there—if you will really come. Grant us the faith and patience of the Prophetess Anna and increase our trust in the promise of your coming. May our celebration of your incarnation remind us of your fidelity. Help us to recognize that you are always near, so that we might live out our days in faith and prayer, awaiting the joy of your coming again. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Anysia was a wealthy young woman in Thessalonica who was killed for her faith in the early fourth century.
She inherited a fortune from her parents when they died, and she used the money to assist the poor. She was also a faithful member of the local Christian community. A persecution prevented Christians from gathering in public, so the faithful gathered secretly. Anysia set out one day to join others in one of these secret assemblies when she was stopped by a soldier. He asked her where she was going. Startled, she made the sign of the cross. The soldier grabbed her and demanded to know who she was and where she was going.
“I am a servant of Jesus Christ,” she replied, “and I am going to the Lord’s assembly.”
“I will prevent that,” the soldier said. “I will take you to sacrifice to the gods. Today we worship the sun.” She struggled against him, and spat in his face—so he became enraged and drew his sword and killed her.
Later, when the persecution ended, Thessalonian Christians built a church on the spot where she was killed.
St. Anysia, the young woman who used her fortune to help the poor, and who was killed on her way to Mass, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Anysia is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed November 7, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
