25 December, 2023 | Solemnity of Christmas

 Gospel Jn 1:1-18

(Mass of the Day)

    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 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 Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, 

has revealed him.

Reflections:

Jesus, the Eternal Word of the Father “became flesh and lived among us”. God who is eternal, in Jesus, lived in time and space. “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being.” The gospel also says, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace . . . to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. What a singular gift, to be God’s children! And as children inherit the traits of their parents, so also, we should have godly traits, traits of incomparable goodness, “full of grace and truth”. This is a great challenge for each one of us. For, we often find ourselves drawn to the opposite, preferring darkness to light, falsehood to truth, thus rejecting him, as the gospel says, “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” By rejecting him, we plunge into darkness, the darkness of sin and misery. As we celebrate his birth this Christmas, let us ask him to draw us to himself, renew us in his love, and fill us with his light and life.

Activity: 

Spend some time today thanking God for his presence in our life and the graces we have receive through faith in Christ Jesus. We also pray for the grace to be able to live lives worthy of being called God’s children.