2010 년 12 월 31 일 금요일 성탄 팔 일 축제 내 제 7 일 제 1 독서 요한 1 서의 . 2 , 18 - 2118 자녀 여러분 , 지금 이 마지막 때 입니다 . ‘ 그리스도 의 적 ’ 이 온다고 여러분 이 들 은 그대로 , 지금 많 은 ‘ 그리스도 의 적 들 ’ 이 나타났 습니다 . 그래서 우리 는 지금 이 마지막 때 임 을 압 니다 . 19 그 들 은 우리 에게서 떨어져 나갔 지만 , 우리 에게 속한 자 들 은 아니 었 습니다 . 그 들 이 우리 에게 속하 였 다면 , 우리 와 함께 남 아 있 었 을 것 입니다 . 그러나 결국 에 는 그 들 이 아무 도 우리 에게 속하 지 않 는다는 사실 이 드러났 습니다 . 20 여러분 은 거룩 하 신 분 에게서 기름 부음 을 받 았 습니다 . 그래서 여러분 은 모두 알 고 있 습니다 . 21 내 가 여러분 에게 이 글 을 쓰 는 까닭 은 , 여러분 이 진리 를 모르 기 때문 이 아니 라 진리 를 알 기 때문 입니다 . 또 진리 에서 는 어떠 한 거짓말 도 나오 지 않 기 때문 입니다 . 복음 요한 . 1 , 1 - 181 한 처음 에 말씀 이 계셨 다 . 말씀 은 하느님 과 함께 계셨 는데 , 말씀 은 하느님 이 셨 다 . 2 그분 께서 는 한 처음 에 하느님 과 함께 계셨 다 . 3 모든 것 이 그분 을 통하 여 생겨났 고 , 그분 없이 생겨난 것 은 하나 도 없 다 . 4 그분 안 에 생명 이 있 었 으니 , 그 생명 은 사람 들 의 빛 이 었 다 . 5 그 빛 이 어둠 속 에서 비치 고 있 지만 , 어둠 은 그 를 깨닫 지 못하 였 다 . 6 하느님 께서 보내 신 사람 이 있 었 는데 , 그 의 이름 은 요한 이 었 다 . 7 그 는 증언 하 러 왔 다 . 빛 을 증언 하 여 , 자기 를 통해 모든 사람 이 믿 게 하 려는 것 이 었 다 . 8 그 사람 은 빛 이 아니 었 다 . 빛 을 증언 하 러 왔 을 따름 이 다 . 9 모든 사람 을 비추 는 참 빛 이 세상 에 왔 다 . 10 그분 께서 세상 에 계셨 고 , 세상 이 그분 을 통하 여 생겨났 지만 , 세상 은 그분 을 알아보 지 못하 였 다 . 11 그분 께서 당신 땅 에 오 셨 지만 , 그분 의 백성 은 그분 을 맞아들이 지 않 았 다 . 12 그분 께서 는 당신 을 받아들이 는 이 들 , 당신 의 이름 을 믿 는 모든 이 에게 , 하느님 의 자녀 가 되 는 권한 을 주 셨 다 . 13 이 들 은 혈통 이나 육욕 이나 남자 의 욕망 에서 난 것 이 아니 라 , 하느님 에게서 난 사람 들 이 다 . 14 말씀 이 사람 이 되 시 어 우리 가운데 사셨 다 . 우리 는 그분 의 영광 을 보 았 다 . 은총 과 진리 가 충만 하 신 아버지 의 외 아드 님 으로서 지니 신 영광 을 보 았 다 . 15 요한 은 그분 을 증언 하 여 외쳤 다 . “ 그분 은 내 가 이렇게 말 한 분 이 시 다 . ‘ 내 뒤 에 오 시 는 분 은 내 가 나기 전 부터 계셨 기 에 , 나 보다 앞서 신 분 이 시 다 . ’” 16 그분 의 충만 함 에서 우리 모두 은총 에 은총 을 받 았 다 . 17 율법 은 모세 를 통하 여 주어졌 지만 , 은총 과 진리 는 예수 그리스도 를 통하 여 왔 다 . 18 아무 도 하느님 을 본 적 이 없 다 . 아버지 와 가장 가까우 신 외 아드님 , 하느님 이 신 그분 께서 알려 주 셨 다 . http : / / www . usccb . org / nab / December 31 , 2010 The Seventh Day in the Octave of ChristmasReading 11 Jn 2 : 18 - 21 Children , it is the last hour ; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming , so now many antichrists have appeared . Thus we know this is the last hour . They went out from us , but they were not really of our number ; if they had been , they would have remained with us . Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number . But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy one , and you all have knowledge . I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do , and because every lie is alien to the truth . Responsorial PsalmPs 96 : 1 - 2 , 11 - 12 , 13 R . ( 11 a ) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice ! Sing to the LORD a new song ; sing to the LORD , all you lands . Sing to the LORD ; bless his name ; announce his salvation , day after day . R . Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice ! Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice ; let the sea and what fills it resound ; let the plains be joyful and all that is in them ! Then shall all the trees of the forest exult before the LORD . R . Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice ! The LORD comes , he comes to rule the earth . He shall rule the world with justiceand the peoples with his constancy . R . Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice ! GospelJn 1 : 1 - 18 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 himhe 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 fleshand 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 . http : / / www . staygreat . com / A light was litThe light shines in the darkness , and the darkness has never put it out . John 1 : 5 Austrian psychotherapist Victor Frankl was a prisoner in Nazi concentration camp . In Man ' s Search For Meaning , he recallsdigging a trench on a cold winter morning : " Gray was the sky above ; gray the snow in the pale light of dawn ; gray the rags in which my fellow prisoners were clad , and gray their faces . I was struggling to find a reason for my sufferings . In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death , I sensed my spirit say ' Yes ' to my question , ' Did existence have an ultimate purpose . At that moment a light was lit in a distant farm - house , which stood on the horizon in the mist of the miserable gray of a dawning morning . " What is the purpose of existence ? Live likepeople who belong to the light . Ephesians 5 : 8 http : / / www . franciscanretreats . net / Today is New Year ’ s Eve . We come to the end of another year . Isn ’ t it kind of peculiar that our Gospel for this day that marks the end of the year is from the Prologue of St . John ’ s Gospel and begins : “ In the beginning was the Word , and the Word was with God and the Word was God . He was with God in the beginning . ” So what is it ? Beginning or end ? Perhaps there isn ’ t really that much difference since every end gives way to a new beginning , and I think this is the inference of our Gospel for today . 2010 is over . Everything we did or said during that year is now part of the past . I cannot undo one thing I did or change one thing I said during that time . It is past and it is gone . How does this make us feel ? Does it bring feelings of guilt , regret , shame , joy , happiness ? What ? What are our hopes for the new beginning that follows the end ? Am I , like the Word , going to begin being with God ? “ In him was life , and that life was the light of all people . The light shines in the darkness , but the darkness does not understand it . ” Let us try and do away with any darkness we find in our lives as we begin this New Year . Let us begin in the Light , let us begin positively and put aside darkness and negativity . Let us live as children of the Light letting the Light illumine our lives and spread to the lives of others . Lord , help us begin this New Year with you as our friend . HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 TO YOU ALL ! !!! http : / / www . evangeli . net / gospel / gospel . htmlThe Word was made flesh Today , is the last day of the year . Often , a mixed feelings — even contradictory ones — can be found in our hearts at this time . It is as though a sample of the different moments we have lived and those we would like to have lived make themselves present in our memories . Today ' s Gospel can help us pour them out , in order to start the new year with strength . « The Word was with God ( ...). All things were made through Him » ( Jn 1 : 1 . 3 ) . When making inventory of the year , it is necessary to think that every day we have lived was a gift . Because of that , and whatever the profit might be , it is necessary to thank God for every minute of the year . The gift of life is not whole , though . We are needy . Because of that , today ' s Gospel gives us a key word : “ to welcome , to accept ” . « And the Word was made flesh » ( Jn 1 : 14 ) . Accept God Himself ! God , turning into man , puts Himself within our reach . “ To welcome ” means to open our doors , to allow Him to enter our lives , to be in our projects , in those acts which fill our days . To what degree are welcoming God , letting Him into our lives ? « For the Light was coming into the world , the true Light that enlightens everyone » ( Jn 1 : 9 ) . Accepting Jesus means to allow Him to question us . Letting His criteria influence our more intimate thoughts as well as our social and work performance . Let ' s reconcile our actions to His ! « Life which for humans was also light » ( Jn 1 : 4 ) . Faith is more , however , than a few criteria . It is our life embedded into Life . It is not only effort — which indeed is . It is , above all , gift and grace . Life received at the heart of the Church , especially through the sacraments . What is the place of the sacraments in my Christian life ? « All who have received Him he empowers to become children of God for they believe in His Name » ( Jn 1 : 12 ) . What a passionate project for the year that we are about to start ! http : / / www . creighton . edu / CollaborativeMinistry / daily . htmlMultiple Births As the days of the Christmas Octave draw to a close , we are privileged to hear the moving Prologue of the Gospel of John . Among the many stately phrases that pour out one after the other , I am struck by the following : “ But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God . ” Having power to become a child ? it is a curious phrase . We normally do not associate the words “ power ” and “ child . ” Yet , it is the heart of the Christian mystery . Incapable of saving ourselves , we need a savior . But the path to salvation is not “ upward mobility , ” but rather “ downward humility . ” Christian maturity consists in “ growing up ” enough to become a child , dependent on and totally confident in God . To be “ saved , ” is to become a child . And this must come from a power that does not originate within us . The power comes through the choice to “ accept him ” ? to say “ yes ” to being saved , rescued , by the Word made flesh , the one who is the Way , the Truth and the Life . We must be born “ of God . ” And so Christmas is surely about a birth , in Bethlehem long ago . But just as surely it is about many births , the births of all those who accept Jesus and consent to be born again as children . http : / / www . rc . net / wcc / readings / " The Word became flesh and dwelt among us " Why does John the Evangelist begin his gospel with a description of the Word of God which began the creation of the universe and humankind in the first book of Genesis ? The “ word of God ” was a common ｅxpression among the Jews . God ’ s word in the Old Testament is an active , creative , and dynamic word . “ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made ” ( Psalm 33 : 6 ) . “ He sends forth his commands to the earth ; his word runs swiftly ” ( Psalm 147 : 15 ) . “ Is not my word like fire , says the Lord , and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces ” ( Jeremiah 23 : 29 ) ? The writer of the Book of Wisdom addresses God as the one who “ made all things by your word ” ( Wisdom 9 : 1 ) . God ’ s word is also equated with his wisdom . “ The Lord by wisdom founded the earth ” ( Proverbs 3 : 19 ) . The Book of Wisdom describes “ wisdom ” as God ’ s eternal , creative , and illuminating power . Both “ word ” and “ wisdom ” are seen as one and the same . “ For while gentle silence enveloped all things , and night in its swift course was now half gone , your all - powerful word leaped from heaven , from the royal throne , into the midst of the land that was doomed , a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command ” ( Book of Wisdom 18 : 14 - 16 ) . John describes Jesus as God ’ s creative , life - giving and light - giving word that has come to earth in human form . “ God so loved the world that he gave his only Son , that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life ” ( John 3 : 16 ) . Jesus is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and sustains it who assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it . Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God . “ What he was , he remained , and what he was not he assumed ” ( from an early church antiphon for morning prayer ) . Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who , without ceasing to be God and Lord , became a man and our brother . From the time of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God ’ s Son “ who has come in the flesh ” ( 1 John 4 : 2 ) . Gregory of Nyssa , one of the great early church fathers ( 330 - 395 AD ) wrote : Sick , our nature demanded to be healed ; fallen , to be raised up ; dead , to rise again . We had lost the possession of the good ; it was necessary for it to be given back to us . Closed in darkness , it was necessary to bring us the light ; captives , we awaited a Savior ; prisoners , help ; slaves , a liberator . Are these things minor or insignificant ? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it , since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state ? Christians never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of the Incarnation . The Son of God assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it . The Son of God . .. worked with human hands ; he thought with a human mind . He acted with a human will , and with a human heart he loved . Born of the Virgin Mary , he has truly been made one of us , like to us in all things except sin ( Gaudium et Spes ) . If we are going to behold the glory of God we will do it through Jesus Christ . Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so we could be partakers of his divinity ( 2 Peter 1 : 4 ) . God ' s purpose for us , even from the beginning of his creation , is that we would be fully united with Him . When Jesus comes God is made known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . By our being united in Jesus , God becomes our Father and we become his sons and daughters . Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten Son to redeem you and to share with you his glory ? " Almighty God and Father of light , your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night . Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn , that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace . ” Psalm 96 : 1 - 2 , 11 - 13 1 O sing to the LORD a new song ; sing to the LORD , all the earth ! 2 Sing to the LORD , bless his name ; tell of his salvation from day to day . 11 Let the heavens be glad , and let the earth rejoice ; let the sea roar , and all that fills it ; 12 let the field exult , and everything in it ! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy 13 before the LORD , for he comes , for he comes to judge the earth . He will judge the world with righteousness , and the peoples with his truth . http : / / www . daily - meditations . org / index 2 . htmlWhat Came to Be Through Him Was Life . . . . The Word , Jesus Christ , is coeternal with the Father . Indeed , He has an earthly beginning and end , a life we can track and understand . This is one of the ways that the Lord has blessed us - He became like us so that we could understand Him in a way like no other . But more important , with His birth came the birth of salvation - this salvation rang throughout eternity and redeemed all of those who were faithful to God from the beginning of human time until its end . It was an event anchored in time , which echoes out of human reckoning and time . Indeed , " What came to be through Him was life " itself . He gave eternity to the soul . His birth wrought this miracle and made for us a home with God . It is really incomprehensible . We can speak the words over and over and never really take in the impact of them . However , we don ' t really need to . What we need to do is accept the truth that the incarnation of Christ brought eternity into time and time into eternity . We are made whole , made alive , made eternal by the mystery of the incarnation . We are redeemed and made acceptable to God through the mystery of salvation and redemption . These two echoes resound through our lives , in our minds and in our hearts . So , what do we hold onto when trying to comprehend this mystery ? Easy enough - see Jesus in Mary ' s arms and you can see us in God ' s arms . It is a mirror image - the perishable holding the eternal , and the eternal holding the perishable - but now , because it is so embraced , no longer subject to the reign of destruction and death . The perishable becomes eternal . As Mary gave Birth to Jesus , so Jesus gave birth to Mary ' s eternal life . So for us all . May this mystery fill your life and make the time ahead a blessing and a joy . ~ JuandelaCruz http : / / www . contemplative . com / weekday _ readings . htmThe paradox of contemplative life is the not knowing and also deep knowing . There is no way we can see God who is beyond us . Yet , God has been revealed in Christ , light of light , Son of God made flesh . The Church , through the Sacraments , the Scriptures , the living Tradition of the Magisterium , gives us all the means whereby the Light shines , the Voice is heard , the Spirit penetrates . The kataphatic and the apophatic are two parts of the one reality of revelation and transformation . Never one without the other . The dark unknowing of St . John of the Cross ’ The Ascent of Mount Carmel must be understood by the light of his Living Flame and The Spiritual Canticle . http : / / goodnews . ie / calendar . phpIt is the last day of the year , but the gospel reading begins “ In the beginning . … ” These words echo the opening words of the whole Bible , In the beginning God created heaven and earth . The first words of the story of redemption echo the first words of the story of creation . It is right that we are meditating on the beginning just as we end the year . Yesterday , Anna , though she was at the end of her life , was “ looking forward , ” not back . In the life of faith it is always the beginning . There are no dead ends for a Christian ; the end is always the beginning of something immense . A monk from Thomas Merton ’ s abbey visited our priory in Cork , and I apologised to him for the many steps as we climbed the flights of stairs . “ There are many steps in Gethsemani abbey , too , ” he replied . Then he added , “ I count them as I climb … . This is how I count them : one , one , one … ! ” In the spiritual life it is always the beginning . The Saviour is born ! ? not only in Bethlehem long ago , but now today in our world , in our hearts . That birth long ago , said Meister Eckhart , has this new birth as its purpose ; he was born then so that he could be born now . The Light has come into the world ; even darkness itself helps to announces it . In western countries , Christmas comes in the very dead of the year when days are shortest and the sun seems to be abandoning the world . Then we celebrate the feast of the Unconquered Sun , the new Light , Christ , born today . http : / / www . presentationministries . com / OIL CHANGE " You have the anointing . " ? 1 John 2 : 20 The word " Christ " means " Anointed one , " the Greek translation of the Hebrew word " Messiah . " Therefore , by calling ourselves " Christians , " we call ourselves " anointed ones . " Moreover , the word " Christmas " means " the Mass of the Anointed one . " The word " antichrist " means " against the Anointed one . " Thus , the idea of anointing is very dominant in Christianity or , we could say , in " the way of the Anointed . " The heart of following Christ , " the Anointed one , " is to " have the anointing that comes from the Holy one " ( 1 Jn 2 : 20 ) . " The anointing " we " received from Him " must remain in our hearts ( 1 Jn 2 : 27 ) . It teaches us " about all things and is true ? free from any lie " ( 1 Jn 2 : 27 ) . This anointing teaches us to remain in the Lord ( 1 Jn 2 : 27 ) . " God is the one Who firmly establishes us along with you in Christ ; it is He Who anointed us and has sealed us , thereby depositing the first Payment , the Spirit , in our hearts " ( 2 Cor 1 : 21 - 22 ) . We are anointed by the Father , in Christ , and with the Spirit . Like Christ and in Him , we Christians are anointed by the Father " with the Holy Spirit and power " ( Acts 10 : 38 ) . As anointed followers of the Anointed one , we are sent to bring good news " to the poor , to proclaim liberty to captives , recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners , to announce a year of favor from the Lord " ( Lk 4 : 18 - 19 ) . On this last day of the year , let us repent of stifling the Holy Spirit ( 1 Thes 5 : 19 ) . We must let God ' s precious ointment be poured on our heads and run down over our whole body ( see Ps 133 : 2 ) . Come , Holy Spirit of Christmas . Prayer : Father , may the oil of my baptism and confirmation flow freely and abundantly . Promise : " No one has ever seen God . It is God the only Son , ever at the Father ' s side , Who has revealed Him . " 뾌 n 1 : 18 Praise : Pope St . Sylvester survived the persecutions of two emperors to see Christianity legalized . http : / / www . judeop . org / daily _ bread . htm Children , it is the last hour ; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming , so now many antichrists have appeared . We ring in another year . Will our “ yes ” to Christ resound more fully this time around ? A hard look at what we are up against may help . The strategy of the world ’ s antichrists ? to overwhelm us with their numbers and discourage us into thinking they have the upper hand ? distracts us from fighting them in the only place we can do that effectively : our own hearts . A deep , personal relationship with Christ is our winning strategy . Nothing can withstand Christ ’ s powerful love . Christ conquers all enemies , one heart at a time . Let us pledge ourselves to him . For hearts freed of vice and focused on God , we pray . ECW http : / / www . judeop . org / dailyhomilette 2 . htm http : / / www . judeop . org / dailyreflections . htmThe " overture " to the Gospel of John is vastly different from those of Matthew and Luke ! Here , the story of Jesus is not about location and ancestors and angelic messengers . The context in this majestic introduction is ETERNITY . " Beginning " in this context is not " beginning " for Jesus Christ , but " beginning " for us humans who are subject to time . The scripture today does not present us with a historical figure from a biography - Jesus Bar - Joseph ( born ca . 4 AD , died ca . 36 AD ) ! In the " Word , " we meet the God of all creation , the voice from the burning bush , the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob , the God on Mt . Sinai ! This 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 . " In the person of Jesus Christ , God lived and lives now amongst us ! Yes , it is perhaps easier to re - enact the events of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke with their vivid characters and locations and actions . The Gospel of John , however , reminds us that the meaning of those events is far greater than meets the historical eye . God ' s " incarnation " comes from beyond human history , from the creator of all time and matter . All of this is an act of complete self - giving and love on the part of God . It is this love that lives amongst us now and enables us to experience the " grace and truth " that come in Jesus Christ . on the secular calendar , today is the last day of the year . But God is not subject to our calendars . The timeless has entered human time to remind us that we are ultimately destined to be timeless . In faith , grace and truth , we don ' t have to remember what time it is , what day of the year it is or even what year it is ! AMEN http : / / biblereflection . blogspot . com /