READING OF THE DAY
A reading from the First Letter of John
1 Jn 1:1-4
Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to John
Jn 20:1a and 2-8
On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
Tuesday the Second Day in the Octave of Christmas
Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist
(Lk 20:2-8)
God’s Word for Us
Dear People of God,
Today, the Church celebrates Saint John the Apostle, a saint loved by and very dear to God.
At The Last Supper, this saint saw, touched, and rested his head on the loving God. The same saint saw the Lord in difficult times and trials in the work of evangelization, and this saint himself saw the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the empty tomb, and he said: Jesus is no longer in the tomb. God revealed many things to Saint John about the person of Jesus Christ, so, because of faith and love, John believed and realized the words of His Master: He was the Messiah, a God of love who came down to earth as a man and lived with mankind.
Today, God calls all mankind to look up to Saint John’s example of fidelity, faith, and absolute trust in God. The saint gave up everything to follow Jesus Christ. He listened to His Master’s words and had absolute confidence in His love, trusting in a Jesus Christ who would die and rise again to save people. It is God who revealed to humanity that He is the Light of the world; He is a God of love. God revealed a great deal to Saint John about the image of a God of love, a God who became man, a God made flesh like many other human beings.
God invites everyone to have absolute confidence in the fact that Jesus Christ died and rose again to save people. John’s testimony shows that: His assertions are true; his testimony comes from the spirit of the Holy Spirit, prompting him to know of a God of love that is true, a God-made flesh, a God who is among mankind to free man from the captivity of Satan.
God also invites everyone to look to the Cross of Jesus Christ: To walk and to live according to His word, to value and prioritize God’s work above all else. According to Saint John’s example, he invites us to: Faithfully follow Jesus Christ, and courageously bear witness to the love of God in the midst of the world. In the words of Saint John: I have seen, and I have believed.
Through Jesus Christ’s acts of love shown to humanity, He invites everyone: Have absolute trust in the love of God, and He will bestow all blessings on those who love God above all else and love their neighbor as themselves.
Thanks Be to God. Amen.
