Daily Gospel Reflection
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December 31, 2020
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side,
has revealed him.
Reading the prologue to the Gospel of John is like seeing a few stars in the sky most nights and then one night, all of a sudden, seeing the entire Milky Way. It is a cosmic revelation. “All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race.”
The most mind blowing thing about this revelation is that it is so transcendent and so human at the same time. God became human, “made his dwelling among us,” and, right off the bat, John the Baptist is crying out to proclaim him to the world. There is no infancy narrative here, with Jesus in the manger, but there is no doubt that Jesus is one of us, here with us, and here for us.
For many of us, myself certainly included, 2020 was a very difficult year. As we stand on the verge of a new calendar year, still celebrating the Octave of Christmas, it is inspiring to remember that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” We might hope that turning the page on the calendar will solve our problems, but deep down we know that it won’t. Only our faith in Christ can transform us and bring about the true change we seek. In this new year, I pray that he will be the “life [and] the light of the human race.”
Prayer
Jesus, your coming was heralded by John, who never failed in his vocation to point only to you. You call us to take up John’s work of testifying to you by our thoughts, words, and action. Help us to grow in humility so that we can recognize that anything of our own that is worth pointing to is a gift from you. Show us how to put those gifts into your service and let them bear fruit for the Kingdom. Grant that many may accept our testimony, and grant us perseverance when they reject us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Columba is known as one of the "twelve Apostles of Ireland," and is a patron saint of Ireland and Scotland. Columba was a hard-nosed Irish abbot who was a great evangelizing force throughout the Celtic lands. This Celtic saint is sometimes called Columcille [Column - kill] because of the many “cells” or religious abbeys he established.
Columba was born in 521 in northern Ireland with royal lineage, and was educated at a local monastery where he was ordained a deacon. He went on to another town to study history and literature and developed into a poet. He completed his education and was ordained a priest at a famous monastery in Clonard, where he studied under St. Finnian, who was known as the tutor to Ireland’s saints.
Columba was a large and athletic man with a strong voice that carried well. He spent the next fifteen years traveling through Ireland, preaching and establishing monasteries.
Once, during a game of hurling (a game still played today), a player from Columba’s clan fatally injured another player and fled to Columba for protection. The opposing clan, ignoring the traditional right of sanctuary, dragged the man away from Columba and killed him in retribution. War broke out between the two clans, and 3,000 lost their lives in one battle. Columba was accused of instigating the war, and was held responsible for the dead.
Columba decided to repent for this violence by leaving his native Ireland and converting as many souls to Christ as had died in the war. With 12 companions—all related to him—he set sail in wicker, leather-covered currachs and landed on the island of Iona.
Columba built a famous abbey on Iona, which would become the center of his missionary activity for the rest of his life. It was situated between Picts of the north and the Scots in the south, and so was ideal for reaching out to both cultures. Columba traveled all over Scotland, converting souls to Christ and building the Church.
Columba remained connected to Ireland, traveling to Ireland multiple times to participate in councils, but he made the isle of Iona his home. People visited him there to seek healing in body or spirit, knowing that he was a holy man capable of miracles and prophecies.
One historian of the time wrote about Columba, “Of all qualities, gentleness was precisely the one in which Columba failed the most.” Yet he was known to be in constant prayer and projected serenity. He was polished and eloquent, and continued his study and learning through his whole life. He was known as a disciplined man who used severe austerities to deny himself, yet remained joyful and kind to everyone he met.
Columba died of an illness at an old age, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica of the sacred heart on Notre Dame's campus. The small window pictured here carries St. Columba’s name around a Celtic cross and comes from the Dillon Hall chapel.
St. Columba, you became a missionary as a sign of repentance for starting a war—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Columba is in the public domain. Last accessed March 11, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
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