Gospel: December 30, 2023
(Saturday)
6th Day in the Octave of Christmas
Psalter: Week 4 / (White)
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 96: 7-8a, 8b-9, 10
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
1st Reading: 1 John 2: 12-17My dear children, I write this to you: You have already received the forgiveness of your sins, through the name of Jesus. Fathers, I write this to you: you know him, who is from the beginning. Young men, I write this to you: you have overcome the evil one. My dear children, I write to you, because you already know the Father.
Fathers, I write to you, because you know him, who is from the beginning. Young men, I write to you, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, who have, indeed, overcome the evil one.
Do not love the world, or what is in it. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the craving of the flesh, the greed of eyes and people boasting of their superiority—all this, belongs to the world, not to the Father.
The world passes away with all its craving, but those who do the will of God remain forever.
Gospel: Luke 2: 36-40There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. After leaving her father’s home, she had been seven years with her husband; and since then, she had been continually about the temple, serving God, as a widow, night and day, in fasting and prayer. She was now 84. Coming up at that time, she gave praise to God, and spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When the parents had fulfilled all that was required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their town, Nazareth in Galilee. There, the child grew in stature and strength, and was filled with wisdom: the grace of God was upon him.
Reflection:“We can choose to center our lives on God’s way.”
The first reading cautions various groups of people about the allure of evil and of worldly pleasures. It is easy to get caught up in the world’s way of thinking instead of God’s way. The world encourages us to look out for ourselves and to protect our own interests. God’s way asks us to lay down our lives in loving service of our brothers and sisters. The world teaches us to acquire more and more, but God calls us to give more and more. The world values things over people, but God loves the children he has called into being and asks us to share that love.
Anna offers an example of how we are to live. Widowed after seven years of marriage, she devotes herself to a life of prayer and fasting. She left behind the world’s concerns and focused all her energies on God. Encountering Jesus in the temple, she went on to tell everyone she met about God’s goodness.
Most of us cannot do exactly what Anna did. We have children and parents to care for and community responsibilities. But we can choose to center our lives on God’s way instead of surrendering to the world’s values.
