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The Last Hour
As we come to the end of this year, we reflect upon this past year. How has our journey of faith been? In his letter, St. John speaks of the “last hour” in which antichrists are luring the people away from God. There are antichrists in our world today, but sometimes they disguise themselves in ways that are pleasing to us. If today was the end of time and Jesus was to come again, will we be ready? Keep reading for the full reflection.
“Children, it is the last hour;
and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming,
so now many antichrists have appeared.”1 John 2:18
St. John wrote in his letter that it is the last hour. With the coming of Christ and His Paschal Mystery, a new era has been ushered in and the Kingdom of God has come to man. Jesus Christ is the Kingdom. And so St. John speaks of this “last hour,” pointing to the eschaton or the end of time. How fitting it is that on New Year’s Eve we have this reading, the reading the speaks of the “last hour.”
If today was the culmination of the “last hour” and Christ was to come again, will we be ready? Have we prepared our hearts well during this past Advent to welcome Christ into our lives and our hearts on Christmas day and every day since? As we come to the end of this calendar year, how have we journeyed? Have we journeyed with God or have we journeyed ahead or even away from Him?
St. John speaks of these antichrists who are false prophets and those who really tempt us and draw us away from the Light, from God Himself. We can see this happening in our world today, and so the last hour is indeed among us. Have we mistaken darkness for Light or worldly pleasures for grace? Have we sought to conform God to us rather than conforming our hearts to His? In the prologue of his Gospel, John speaks of the Word becoming flesh and how this Word was Life and the Light of the world that dispels the darkness of evil. He also describes two groups of people: one who accepted Jesus and thereby becoming children of God and the other group who rejected Him. Which group do we belong to?
As this year comes to an end and a new year is ushered in, whose will we be? Will we choose God or will we choose the world? Will we choose life or will we choose death? Will we choose hope or will choose despair? It is easy to say that we will choose God, life, and hope because it is obvious, but when we reflect on this past year, how often have we chosen the opposite? This new year, in this last hour, may we come to not simply choose God by our words but truly do so by our lives. And this can only be possible by staying beside our Lord, talking with Him and listening to Him. May our prayer life be ever strengthened this new year.
Promise of Suffering
When Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the Temple they encounter Simeon who has been awaiting the Savior, the Messiah. Upon seeing the Child, Simeon praises God with the words we pray at night prayer, the “Canticle of Simeon.” He also tells Mary some troubling news about Jesus and about her. There is a promise of contradiction and suffering. But this suffering is not without meaning or worth. As human beings we suffer, but as Christians we also know that our suffering is not just simply “a part of life.” There’s something more to it. Keep reading for the full reflection.
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”Luke 2:34-35
Merry Christmas again brothers and sisters! Today we celebrate the Fifth Day within the Octave of Christmas, so it is again Christmas Day!
When Joseph and Mary present Jesus in the Temple the prophet Simeon praises God in the words that we pray daily at night prayer, “Lord now You let Your servant go in peace. Your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal You to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel.” Simeon recognized, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, that the Child brought to him is indeed the Savior, the Messiah, the Christ, the Light of the world. Also, Simeon told Mary that this Child will be a sign that will be contradicted and that she herself a sword will pierce. The sufferings of Christ is joined by the sufferings of Mary. And we too are invited to join our sufferings with Jesus’ and Mary’s, a suffering that is redemptive and not without meaning.
As we continue with our walk of life and journey of faith, we will battle struggles and endure hardships, but we never do it alone — we don’t have to because Jesus walks with us, if we want Him to. When we join our sufferings to the Cross we know that it will bear fruit, fruit, as Christ said, that will last. Fruits that we might never know its effects, how it might free a soul from purgatory, strengthen a fellow brother or sister, or even save someone’s soul at the moment of death. The worth of our sufferings, brother and sisters, is invaluable. It is known to God alone, and we are told what we do in secret God will repay in secret.
Being Christian in 2021 and soon 2022 means that we will be persecuted. We will be mocked and laughed at because we believe in a God who seems fictional and useless in a world that has become estranged from God. And that is why we must continue to bear this light, the Light of Christ, in this world so that all might come to know Him, who is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Yes, as Christians we are promised sufferings but even more than that we are promised life, a life that is eternal, a life that makes all the suffering worth it. Don’t lose hope. Keep the faith. Embrace the suffering. And live the Life!
The Presentation of the Temple, 1648, Philippe de Champaigne
The Meaning of Family
“I forgot when exactly it was when I adapted the tradition of drawing a cross with ‘JMJ’ under it on the top of every piece of paper I write on, but it is something that reminds me that whatever I am doing or writing, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are with me, and that all that I think, write, and ultimately do should reflect that which binds the Holy Family together: love.”
Keep reading for the full reflection.
I forgot when exactly it was when I adapted the tradition of drawing a cross with “JMJ” under it on the top of every piece of paper I write on, but it is something that reminds me that whatever I am doing or writing, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are with me, and that all that I think, write, and ultimately do should reflect that which binds the Holy Family together: love.
What does family mean to you? Perhaps for some it is the biology that ties them together. For others maybe the relationships, without necessarily needing to be blood related. We each belong to a nuclear, biological family that is bound by blood in our DNA, but we also belong to a family that is not by DNA, but very much so by blood. We are one family in Christ because of the blood of Christ. Through Jesus we become sons and daughters of God. We to are then adopted into the Holy Family.
Brothers and sisters, let us never forget that we are part of God’s family! We call Him Father! For us Christians, family is so much more than just who we live with or who we like or get along with. For us, to be a family means to know that no matter how difficult things may be in life, we will never be alone because we have a whole family in heaven praying for us, cheering us on. To be a family means to know that we have been so loved that we are given the grace to share in the very life of God, to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.
The Holy Family reminds us of this truth. The Holy Family reminds us that we are worth it and that we are truly precious in the eyes of God, so much so that He wants to be one with us. May we allow the docility of Mary, the righteousness of Joseph, and the obedience of Jesus to teach us and to move us to a greater awareness of our identity and so live a life that embodies it.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us!
