Daily Gospel Reflection

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December 31, 2021

Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
Jn 1:1-18
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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.

Reflection

Breanna J. Nickel ’18 Ph.D.
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For many of us, the last day of the year provides a meaningful moment to pause and observe the passage of time. We might reflect on past events and make plans for what comes next. We may celebrate (or sometimes lament) having reached a new calendar year. And anyone joining my family on December 31 is welcome to help themselves to pie and board games while marking the time until midnight and beyond!

In these moments of celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another, today’s gospel reading can sound counterintuitive. Here we are presented with a beginning that does not require an ending to precede it. There is no timeframe, schedule, loss, or gain. There is only God’s Word in infinite existence.

Reading this passage, are we intended to be humbled at the prospect of eternity? Should we marvel that we came to be at all? Or should we instead renew our care and attention for the immediate, temporal things around us?

These verses may confront us with what we cannot fully understand, not least the ideas of an original beginning and a Word that is both infinite and at the same time “dwelling” on earth. Nevertheless, I hope we can also take comfort in the implications of these opening verses: “In the beginning was the Word…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” If this beginning can be eternal, then perhaps we are also given the capacity to attempt countless new beginnings.

Prayer

Rev. John Sebastian Gutierrez, C.S.C

Lord Jesus, you are truly the Son of God who desires an intimate relationship with us. In the form of a helpless child, you came into this world amid the poor and vulnerable. May we welcome you with joy into the quiet stillness of our hearts. Help us to recognize the greatness of your glory and the abundance of life which you offer us each day. For today you offer us abundant life and call us to proclaim this Good News to the whole world. In your Holy Name, Amen.

Saint of the Day

Pope St. Sylvester

Pope Sylvester is better known for the events that took place during his pontificate than for anything we know about his own life. He was ordained pope in 314, less than a year after the Roman Empire granted freedom to Christianity.

Legends accrued around Sylvester because he was pope when Constantine opened the empire to Christianity, an event that changed the Church forever. One story tells of Constantine suffering from leprosy until he converted to Christianity and was baptized by Sylvester, and thereupon cured. In gratitude, it is said that the emperor granted special privileges and lands to the pope and Church. These are likely fabrications, however, created to serve political ends.

Constantine did, however, give the Lateran palace in Rome to Sylvester, who used it as the seat from which he oversaw the Church in Rome. It has since become the Lateran Basilica, and remains the official seat of the pope, whose fundamental role is bishop of Rome.

He died in 335, and is depicted in this stained glass window (with mitre and crosier) in the Basilica with St. Helena as she discovers the true cross.

Pope St. Sylvester, who oversaw the growth of the Church into a world-wide institution, pray for us!