Memorial of Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Lectionary: 205
Reading 1
1 John 2:22-28
Beloved:
Who is the liar?
Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Whoever denies the Father and the Son, this is the antichrist.
Anyone who denies the Son does not have the Father,
but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Let what you heard from the beginning remain in you.
If what you heard from the beginning remains in you,
then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.
And this is the promise that he made us: eternal life.
I write you these things about those who would deceive you.
As for you,
the anointing that you received from him remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you.
But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false;
just as it taught you, remain in him.
And now, children, remain in him,
so that when he appears we may have confidence
and not be put to shame by him at his coming.
Responsorial Psalm
98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Alleluia
Hebrews 1:1-2
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In times, past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets:
in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
John 1:19-28
This is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,
“I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
The Greatness of Humility
“I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:26–27
Now that our Christmas Octave is completed, we immediately begin to look toward the future ministry of our Lord. In our Gospel today, Saint John the Baptist is the one who points us to that future ministry of Jesus. He acknowledges his mission to baptize with water is one that is temporary and only a preparation for the One Who is coming after him.
As we saw in several of our Advent readings, Saint John the Baptist is a man of great humility. His admission that he is not worthy to untie even Jesus’ sandal straps is proof of this fact. But ironically, it is this humble admission that makes him so great!
Do you want to be great? Deep down we all do. This desire goes hand in hand with our innate desire for happiness. We want our lives to have meaning and purpose, and we want to make a difference. The question is “How?” How do you do this? How do you achieve true greatness?
From a worldly perspective, greatness can often become synonymous with success, riches, power, admiration from others, etc. But from a divine perspective, greatness is achieved by humbly giving God the greatest glory we can with our lives.
Giving God all the glory has a double effect upon our lives. First, doing so allows us to live in accord with the truth of life. The truth is that God and God alone deserves all our praise and glory. All good things come from God and God alone. Second, humbly giving God all the glory and pointing to the fact that we are unworthy of Him has the reciprocal effect of God reaching down and elevating us to share in His life and His glory.
Reflect, today, upon your calling to imitate the humility of Saint John the Baptist. Never shy away from humbling yourself before the greatness and glory of God. Doing so will not demean you or hamper your greatness. Rather, only in the deepest humility before the glory of God is God able to draw you into the greatness of His very life and mission.
Reflection 2
By Mons. Romà CASANOVA i Casanova Bishop of Vic
(Barcelona, Spain)
“Among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me”
Today, in the Gospel of the Eucharist liturgy, we read the testimony of John the Baptist. The text preceding these words in St. John's Gospel is the prologue where it is clearly affirmed: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). What was announced in the prologue —as a great prelude— is now, step by step, manifested in the Gospel. The mystery of the Incarnated Verb is the mystery of salvation for mankind: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (Jn 1:17). Salvation comes through Jesus Christ, and faith is the answer to the manifestation of Christ. Whoever believes in Him is saved.
The mystery of salvation in Christ is accompanied always by the testimony. Jesus Christ himself is “The Amen, the faithful and true witness” (Rev 3:14). It is John the Baptist who bears witness with his vision and gaze as a prophet: “There is one among you whom… is coming after me” (Jn 1:26-27). And this is how the Apostles understand their mission: “God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).
The whole Church, and therefore all its members, have the mission of bearing witness. The testimony we bring to the world has a name. Jesus Christ is the very Gospel. He is the “Good News”. And the proclamation of the Gospel all over the world must also be understood as the key of the testimony uniting inseparably the announcement and the life. It is good to remember the words from the Pope Saint Paul VI: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses rather than to teachers and if he does listen to teachers it is because they are witnesses”.
Reflection 3
By Fr. Martin Hogan
From now until the end of the week, our gospel reading is taken from the first chapter of John’s gospel. Beginning at v. 19, which is where this morning’s gospel begins, we read through the chapter continuously until we reach the end of the chapter at v. 51. This morning, John the Baptist is asked one of the really important questions of life, ‘Who are you?’ We can spend most of our lives trying to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ It is not a question that lends itself to a quick and easy answer. There is a sense in which we never really come to know ourselves fully. A first step in knowing ourselves is knowing who we are not, so that we don’t try to be someone we are not. John the Baptist comes across in the gospel reading this morning as knowing who he is not. He is not the Messiah, he is not Elijah, and he is not the prophet. John does not claim to be someone he is not. He not only knows who he is not, he knows who he is – the voice crying in the wilderness preparing people for the Lord’s coming. He is the witness, the person who points to Jesus and leads others to him. In a very real sense, that is what we are all called to be. Even though we might have difficulty fully answering the question, ‘Who are you?’ we can all give the answer, ‘I am a witness’. That is our calling, to point towards the Lord and to lead others to him by our lives.
Prayers
Lord, I give all glory and praise to You and You alone. You are the source of all good; without You I am nothing. Help me to continually humble myself before You so that I may share in the glory and greatness of Your life of grace. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and make me a herald of your word of truth and grace. Fill me with the joy of the Gospel that I may eagerly point others to you as John did through his life and testimony.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 2: Creation as an Act of Mercy
In preparation for a deeper understanding of The Divine Mercy, we begin with the first gift of God: The Creation of the World. God, in His goodness, created the world out of nothing. This act of creating everything out of nothing reveals, in part, that creation is a pure gift from the goodness of God. This first act of love is His first act of Mercy.
Ponder the gift of creation throughout this day. Try and let your heart be filled with gratitude for all God created out of nothing. All creation reflects the splendor and beauty of our God.
Lord, I thank You for the wonderful gift of creation. I thank You for creating all things out of love and for being the one and only source of all that is. All of creation reveals Your merciful love. Jesus, I trust in You.
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