L'Evangile dans ma vie/ The Gospel in my life

Gospel text

(Lk 2:22-35): 

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “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.”

The Application

After celebrating the Nativity of the Lord in solemnity, we prepare for the Feast of the Epiphany, when the world will see and recognise the Saviour in Jesus. In these days of preparation, all that is important for me personally is, first, how I prepare to know Him, and to meet Him. Secondly, on this day, do I recognise the impulse of the Holy Spirit, which pushes me in a totally unknown and unforeseen direction? Do I remain faithful to what He asks me to do?

In all this, we will recognise that everything God promised us, He has fully accomplished, and He will complete in me, if I remain faithful to Him, all that He has initiated in me. There I shall stand before my Lord, righteous and upright, in all wonder. Help me Lord, that I may be that Simeon, just and devout, faithful to your love, in prayer and contemplation. That I may remain vigilant, when you call me, I may be ready to move and meet you.

Action of the day: Be vigilant
 

“Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation”

Fr. Daniel MEYNEN

(Saint Aubain, Namur, Belgium)

Today, December 29th, we celebrate the festivity of the saint King David. But, it is actually the entire David's family the Church wants to honor today, and most than all, it most illustrious of them all: Jesus, the Son of God, and Son of David! Today, in this eternal “today” of the Son of God, the Old Alliance of King David's time is executed and fully consummated. For, as today's Gospel narrates, the Child Jesus is presented to the Temple by his parents according to the custom of the old Law: “When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord.” (Lk 2:22-23).

Today, the old prophecy evanesces to leave the way open for the new one: He, who King David had announced when intoning his Messianic Psalms, has at long last entered into the Temple of God! Today is the great day when he, who St. Luke names Simeon will soon abandon this world of darkness to enter the vision of eternal Light: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel” (Lk 2:29-32).

Also, we, who are God's Shrine, where His Spirit dwells in (cf. 1Cor 3:16), must be alert to receive Jesus in our interior. If today we have the joy of receiving the Holy Communion, let us ask Mary, God's Mother, to advocate for us before her Son: let the old self be taken off and the new self be put on (cf. Col 3:10) so that we can renew our whole being and become the new prophets, who will announce to the whole world the presence of God, thrice saint, Father, God and Holy Spirit!

Let us be, along with Simeon, prophets because of the death of the “old self”! As Saint John Paul II said “The fullness of the Spirit of God is accompanied (…) first of all through that interior availability which comes from faith. The aged Simeon, the ‘righteous and devout man’ upon whom ‘rested the Holy Spirit’, sensed this at the moment of Jesus' presentation in the Temple.”

Texte de l'Évangile

(Lc 2,22-35): 

Et, quand les jours de leur purification furent accomplis, selon la loi de Moïse, Joseph et Marie le portèrent à Jérusalem, pour le présenter au Seigneur, suivant ce qui est écrit dans la loi du Seigneur: «Tout mâle premier-né sera consacré au Seigneur», et pour offrir en sacrifice deux tourterelles ou deux jeunes pigeons, comme cela est prescrit dans la loi du Seigneur.

Et voici, il y avait à Jérusalem un homme appelé Siméon. Cet homme était juste et pieux, il attendait la consolation d'Israël, et l'Esprit Saint était sur lui. Il avait été divinement averti par le Saint Esprit qu'il ne mourrait point avant d'avoir vu le Christ du Seigneur. Il vint au temple, poussé par l'Esprit. Et, comme les parents apportaient le petit enfant Jésus pour accomplir à son égard ce qu'ordonnait la loi, il le reçut dans ses bras, bénit Dieu, et dit: «Maintenant, Seigneur, tu laisses ton serviteur s'en aller en paix, selon ta parole. Car mes yeux ont vu ton salut, salut que tu as préparé devant tous les peuples, lumière pour éclairer les nations, et gloire d'Israël, ton peuple».

Son père et sa mère étaient dans l'admiration des choses qu'on disait de lui. Siméon les bénit, et dit à Marie, sa mère: «Voici, cet enfant est destiné à amener la chute et le relèvement de plusieurs en Israël, et à devenir un signe qui provoquera la contradiction, et à toi-même une épée te transpercera l'âme, afin que les pensées de beaucoup de cœurs soient dévoilées».

L’Application

Après avoir célébré la Nativité du Seigneur dans la solennité, nous nous préparons à la fête de l'Épiphanie, lorsque le monde verra et reconnaîtra le Sauveur en Jésus. En ces jours de préparation, tout ce qui est important pour moi personnellement, c'est, premièrement, comment je me prépare à Le connaître et à Le rencontrer. Deuxièmement, en ce jour, est-ce que je reconnais l'impulsion de l'Esprit Saint, qui me pousse dans une direction totalement inconnue et imprévue ? Est-ce que je reste fidèle à ce qu'Il me demande de faire ? 

En tout cela, nous reconnaîtrons que tout ce que Dieu nous a promis, il l'a pleinement accompli, et il achèvera en moi, si je lui reste fidèle, tout ce qu'il a initié en moi. Là, je me tiendrai devant mon Seigneur, juste et droit, en toute merveille. Aide-moi Seigneur, pour que je sois ce Siméon, juste et pieux, fidèle à ton amour, dans la prière et la contemplation. Que je reste bienveillant, que lorsque tu m'appelles, je sois prêt à bouger et à te rencontrer. Amen. 

«Maintenant, Seigneur, tu laisses ton serviteur s'en aller en paix, car mes yeux ont vu ton salut»

Abbé Daniel MEYNEN

(Saint Aubain, Namur, Belgique)

Aujourd'hui, 29 décembre, nous fêtons le saint Roi David. Mais c'est toute la famille de David que l'Église veut honorer, et surtout le plus illustre de tous: Jésus, Fils de Dieu, Fils de David! Aujourd'hui, dans cet éternel “aujourd'hui” du Fils de Dieu, l'Ancienne Alliance, celle du temps du Roi David, reçoit son accomplissement et sa plénitude. Car, comme le relate l'Évangile de ce jour, l'Enfant-Jésus est présenté au Temple par ses parents pour accomplir la Loi ancienne: «Joseph et Marie le portèrent à Jérusalem, pour le présenter au Seigneur, suivant ce qui est écrit dans la loi du Seigneur: ‘Tout mâle premier-né sera consacré au Seigneur’» (Lc 2,22-23).

Aujourd'hui, l'ancienne prophétie s'éclipse pour faire place à la nouvelle: Celui que le Roi David avait annoncé en chantant ses psaumes messianiques est enfin entré dans le Temple de Dieu! C'est aujourd'hui le grand jour où celui que Saint Luc appelle Siméon va bientôt quitter ce monde d'obscurité pour entrer dans la vision de la Lumière éternelle: «Maintenant, Seigneur, tu laisses ton serviteur s'en aller en paix, selon ta parole. Car mes yeux ont vu ton salut, salut que tu as préparé devant tous les peuples» (Lc 2,29-32).

Nous aussi, qui sommes le Temple de Dieu dans l'Esprit (cf. 1Co 3,16), soyons attentifs à recevoir Jésus en nous. Si nous avons le bonheur de pouvoir communier en ce jour, demandons à Marie, la Mère de Jésus, d'intercéder pour nous auprès de son Fils: que le vieil homme meurt et que l'homme nouveau (cf. Col 3,10) naisse enfin dans tout notre être, afin que nous soyons les nouveaux prophètes, ceux qui annoncent au monde entier la présence du Dieu trois fois saint, Père, Fils, et Saint-Esprit!

Comme Siméon, soyons prophètes par la mort du “vieil homme”! Comme le disait le Pape Jean-Paul II, «la plénitude de l'Esprit de Dieu s'accompagne (…) avant tout dans la disponibilité intérieure qui provient de la foi. Cela, le vieillard Syméon, ‘homme juste et pieux’ sur qui ‘reposait l'Esprit Saint’, en eut l'intuition au moment de la présentation de Jésus au Temple».

Gospel text

(Mt 2:13-18): 

When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out of Egypt I called my son.

When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet: A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.

The Application

My God, how can you afford all this? What suffering for you, to see so many of your children perish because of the unnecessary fear and stupidity of men? Unfortunately, you are still suffering today, because of our silences, and because of our fears and our stupidity. The evil one provokes in our hearts this fear of the other, fear of the difference, fear of danger, without being able to verify or analyse them. Free us Lord from our fears that destroy us unjustly, very often in the name of good. And, forgive us sinners.

Joseph the righteous, the adoptive father will listen to your word and take his child, run to another region, without doing any harm to others. Help us, Lord, to listen to you and to be faithful to your word.

The way you propose to us is always right and good. Fortunately, the Magi followed your advice and took a different path. Leaving the known path is a great risk. Help us, Lord, to take risks in our lives, with strangers, the unexpected, etc.

Action of the day: Act in freedom, not in fear.

“Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt”

Fr. Joan Pere PULIDO i Gutiérrez

(Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Spain)

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs. Embedded within the Christmas celebrations, we cannot ignore the message the liturgy wants to convey to us to define with two clear accents, and even more, the good news of the birth of Jesus. In the first place, St. Joseph's predisposition in God's design for our salvation, by accepting God's will. And, at the same time, the evil, the injustice we often find in our life, determined in this case by the martyrdom of those innocent infants. All this requires a personal and social attitude and response.

St. Joseph offers us a very clear and responsive testimony to God's call. We can, thus, identify ourselves with him when we are to take decisions, from our own faith, in difficult moments of our life: “Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Mt 2:14).

Our faith in God entails our own life. It wakes us up, that is, makes us fully alert to those things happening around us, because —quite often— it is where God speaks to us. He makes us take the child and his mother, i.e., God becomes closer, our travel companion, and He strengthens our faith, hope and charity. And He makes us leave at night for Egypt, i.e. He invites us not to be afraid of our own life, which, more often than not, is full of shadows too difficult to illuminate.

Today, those infants martyrs also have specific names in other infants, youngsters, old people, immigrants, ailing persons... requesting the response of our charity. Saint John Paul II told us: “In our own time, there are so many needs which demand a compassionate response from Christians. Now is the time for a new "creativity" in charity, not only by ensuring that help is effective but also by "getting close" to those who suffer.”

Let us hope that God Infant's clear and strong new light fills up our lives and reaffirm our faith, our hope and our charity.

Texte de l'Évangile

(Mt 2,13-18): 

Après le départ des mages, l'ange du Seigneur apparaît en songe à Joseph et lui dit: «Lève-toi; prends l'enfant et sa mère, et fuis en Égypte. Reste là-bas jusqu'à ce que je t'avertisse, car Hérode va rechercher l'enfant pour le faire périr». Joseph se leva; dans la nuit, il prit l'enfant et sa mère, et se retira en Égypte, où il resta jusqu'à la mort d'Hérode. Ainsi s'accomplit ce que le Seigneur avait dit par le prophète: «D'Égypte, j'ai appelé mon fils».

Alors Hérode, voyant que les mages l'avaient trompé, entra dans une violente fureur. Il envoya tuer tous les enfants de moins de deux ans à Bethléem et dans toute la région, d'après la date qu'il s'était fait préciser par les mages. Alors s'accomplit ce que le Seigneur avait dit par le prophète Jérémie: «Un cri s'élève dans Rama, des pleurs et une longue plainte: c'est Rachel qui pleure ses enfants et ne veut pas qu'on la console, car ils ne sont plus».

L’Application

Mon Dieu, comment pouvez-vous vous permettre tout cela ? Quelle souffrance pour toi, de voir tant de tes enfants périr à cause de la peur et de la bêtise inutiles des hommes ? Malheureusement, tu souffres encore aujourd'hui, à cause de nos silences, à cause de nos peurs et de notre bétis. Le malin provoque dans nos cœurs cette peur de l'autre, peur de la différence, peur du danger, sans pouvoir les vérifier ou les analyser. Libère-nous Seigneur de nos peurs qui nous détruisent injustement, très souvent au nom du bien ou de la sécurité.

Joseph le juste, le père adoptif écoutera ta parole et prendra son enfant, courra vers une autre région, sans faire de mal aux autres. Aide-nous, Seigneur, à t'écouter et à être fidèles à ta parole.

La voie que tu nous proposes est toujours juste et bonne. Heureusement, les Mages ont suivi tes conseils et ont pris un autre chemin. Quitter le chemin connu est un grand risque. Aide-nous, Seigneur, à prendre des risques dans notre vie, avec les étrangers, l'inattendu, etc.

«Se leva; dans la nuit, il prit l'enfant et sa mère, et se retira en Égypte»

Abbé Joan Pere PULIDO i Gutiérrez

(Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Espagne)

Aujourd'hui, nous célébrons la fête des Saints Innocents, martyrs. Plongés dans les célébrations de Noël, nous ne pouvons pas ignorer le message que la liturgie veut nous transmette pour définir, encore plus, la Bonne Nouvelle de la naissance de Jésus, avec deux précisions très claires. Tout d'abord, la prédisposition de saint Joseph à participer dans le dessein créateur et salvifique de Dieu, en acceptant sa volonté. Et puis, le mal, l'injustice que, bien souvent, nous rencontrons dans notre vie, réalisés dans ces enfants innocents morts en martyrs. Tout cela nous demande une attitude et une réponse personnelle et sociale.

Saint Joseph nous offre un témoignage très clair de réponse décidée à l'appel de Dieu. Nous nous identifions à lui quand nous devons prendre des décisions dans les moments difficiles de notre vie et de notre foi: «Joseph se leva; dans la nuit, il prit l'enfant et sa mère, et se retira en Égypte» (Mt 2:14).

Notre foi en Dieu implique notre vie toute entière. Elle fait que nous nous levons, c'est à dire, qu'elle nous rend attentifs aux choses qui se déroulent autour de nous, parce que —souvent— c'est à partir d'elles que Dieu nous parle. Elle nous fait prendre l'Enfant et sa mère, c'est-à-dire que Dieu se rend proche de nous, Il devient notre compagnon de route, renforçant notre foi, notre espérance et notre charité. Et elle nous fait retirer dans la nuit en Égypte, c'est à dire, nous invite à ne pas avoir peur face à notre propre vie, qui souvent, se remplit de nuits difficiles à illuminer.

Aujourd'hui, ces enfants martyrs ont aussi des noms concrets d'enfants, de jeunes gens, de couples, de personnes âgées, d'immigrants, de malades... qui demandent la réponse de notre charité. Ainsi le dit Jean Paul II: «En effet, à notre époque, nombreux sont les besoins qui interpellent la sensibilité chrétienne. C'est l'heure d'une nouvelle imagination de la charité qui se déploierait non seulement à travers les secours prodigués avec efficacité, mais aussi dans la capacité de se faire proche, d'être solidaire de ceux qui souffrent, de manière que le geste d'aide soit ressenti non comme une aumône humiliante, mais comme un partage fraternel».

Que la nouvelle lumière, claire et forte de Dieu devenu Enfant remplisse nos vies et consolide davantage notre foi, notre espérance et notre charité.

Gospel text

(Jn 20:2-8): 

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.

The Application

John, who has heard Jesus' prayer, 'may their joy be complete', discovers for himself the joy of the resurrection. Joy is a fruit of faith. He saw and he believed. Seeing and believing are coincidental, because faith is not the fruit of meticulous work, it is essentially a gift from God.  It is God who helps us to see all that is invisible, in the visible elements. One may ask why God did not give this gift to Peter, and why John received a gift. Why did God choose a woman to be the first witness of the resurrection than the disciples he had already chosen and trained?

We have many other questions, which are humanly justifiable. Yet, if we look at the events with the eyes of faith, we can easily discover that the love we have for this God conditions the reception of grace. Everything changes in love and it changes radically in faith. How many times has Jesus revealed the fruit of faith to us, saying, 'your faith has saved you'? If we do not have love and faith, we can never see the invisible truth that is hidden in the visible elements. Everything is received by the one who has faith, because  in faith everything is given.

Action of the day: Do everything in love.

«He saw and believed»

Fr. Manel VALLS i Serra

(Barcelona, Spain)

Today, the liturgy celebrates the festivity of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist. The first day after Christmas, the Church celebrates Saint Stephen's day, the first martyr of the Christian faith. And the following day is the feast of Saint John. Saint John is the one who better and most deeply understood the mystery of the Word Incarnate. John was the very first “theologian” and best example for any other true theologian. Today's proposed fragment of his Gospel helps us to consider Christmas from the perspective of the Lord's Resurrection. Indeed, when John arrived at the empty tomb, “he saw and believed” (Jn 20:8). Trusting the Apostles’ testimony, every Christmas we are stimulated to ‘see’ and ‘believe’, too.

We can also find these same words “see” and “believe” in connection with Jesus' birth, the Verb incarnated. Pushed by his heart's intuition —and we should add, by “grace”— John “sees” beyond what, at that time, his eyes can see. In fact, he believes without “having yet seen” the Christ; and receives the praise of those “who have not seen and have believed.” (Jn 20:29), and that ends chapter twenty of his Gospel.

Peter and John “run” together towards the tomb, but the text says John “ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first” (Jn 20:4). It seems that the desire to be again by the side of the One he loved —Christ— was stronger than that of physically being next to Peter, with whom, however —by waiting for him and allowing him to be the first to enter the tomb— he shows that it is Peter who holds the primacy of the Apostolic College. Yet, it is his ardent heart, full of zeal, John's impassionate love, which impels him to “run” and “outrun”. This is a clear invitation for us to equally live our faith with such a fervent desire to see the Resurrection.

Texte de l'Évangile

(Jn 20,2-8): 

Le premier jour de la semaine, Marie de Magdala court donc trouver Simon-Pierre et l'autre disciple, celui que Jésus aimait, et elle leur dit: «On a enlevé le Seigneur de son tombeau, et nous ne savons pas où on l'a mis». Pierre partit donc avec l'autre disciple pour se rendre au tombeau. Ils couraient tous les deux ensemble, mais l'autre disciple courut plus vite que Pierre et arriva le premier au tombeau. En se penchant, il voit que le linceul est resté là ; cependant il n'entre pas. Simon-Pierre, qui le suivait, arrive à son tour. Il entre dans le tombeau, et il regarde le linceul resté là, et le linge qui avait recouvert la tête, non pas posé avec le linceul, mais roulé à part à sa place. C'est alors qu'entra l'autre disciple, lui qui était arrivé le premier au tombeau. Il vit, et il crut.

L’Application

Jean, qui a entendu la prière de Jésus : " Que leur joie soit complète ", découvre pour lui-même la joie de la résurrection. La joie est un fruit de la foi. Il a vu et il a cru. Voir et croire sont des coïncidences, car la foi n'est pas le fruit d'un travail méticuleux, elle est essentiellement un don de Dieu.  C'est Dieu qui nous aide à voir tout ce qui est invisible, dans les éléments visibles. On peut se demander pourquoi Dieu n'a pas fait ce don à Pierre, et pourquoi Jean a reçu un don. Pourquoi Dieu a-t-il choisi une femme pour être le premier témoin de la résurrection plutôt que les disciples qu'il avait déjà choisis et formés ?

Nous avons beaucoup d'autres questions, qui sont humainement justifiables. Pourtant, si nous regardons les événements avec les yeux de la foi, nous pouvons facilement découvrir que l'amour que nous avons pour ce Dieu conditionne l'accueil de la grâce. Tout change dans l'amour et tout change radicalement dans la foi. Combien de fois Jésus nous a-t-il révélé le fruit de la foi en disant : "Ta foi t'a sauvé" ? Si nous n'avons pas l'amour et la foi, nous ne pourrons jamais voir la vérité invisible qui est cachée dans les éléments visibles. Tout est reçu par celui qui a la foi, car dans la foi tout est donné. 

«Il vit, et il crut»

Abbé Manel VALLS i Serra

(Barcelona, Espagne)

Aujourd'hui, la liturgie célèbre la fête de saint Jean, apôtre et évangéliste. Le jour qui suit la Noël, l'Église célèbre la fête du premier martyr de la foi chrétienne, saint Étienne. Et le jour suivant, saint Jean, celui qui pénètre le mieux et le plus profondément le mystère du Verbe incarné, premier théologien et modèle de tout véritable théologien. Le passage de son Évangile qu'on nous propose aujourd'hui nous aide à contempler Noël dans la perspective de la Résurrection du Seigneur. Jean, en effet, arrivé au sépulcre vide, «vit et crut» (Jn 20,8). Confiants dans le témoignage des Apôtres, à chaque Noël, nous nous voyons poussés à “voir” et à “croire”.

L'on peut revivre ces mêmes “voir” et “croire” à propos de la naissance de Jésus, le Verbe incarné. Jean, poussé par les intuitions de son cœur —et, devrions-nous ajouter, par la “grâce”— “voit” au-delà de ce que ses yeux peuvent contempler en ce moment. En réalité, s'il croit, il le fait sans “avoir vu” encore le Christ, ce qui inclut déjà la louange implicite de ceux qui «croiront sans avoir vu» (Jn 20,29), qui culmine dans le vingtième chapitre de son Évangile.

Pierre et Jean “courent” ensemble au sépulcre, mais le texte nous dit que Jean «courut plus vite que Pierre et arriva le premier au tombeau» (Jn 20,4). Comme si Jean était mu davantage par le désir d'être de nouveau aux côtés de Celui qu'il aimait —le Christ— que par le fait de rester aux côtés de Pierre, dont, cependant —par le geste de l'attendre et de le laisser entrer le premier— il reconnaît la primauté dans le Collège des Apôtres. Malgré tout, le cœur ardent de Jean, plein de zèle, regorgeant d'amour, le porte à “courir” et à “s'avancer”, nous invitant clairement à vivre aussi notre foi avec ce désir ardent de rencontrer le Ressuscité.

We enter once again around the manger, but in the Temple, the dwelling place of God, where all are called to be. Jesus invites his parents to come to the demure of the Father. Hannah presented Samuel to God, because this child is a gift from the Lord, and will hand over to God everything that belongs to God. A just and praiseworthy gesture. Mary and Joseph, on the other hand, present the baby Jesus to the Temple, not alone, but with all his family, not as a gift received and given, but as a pilgrimage according to custom. This is how she introduces into the Church of the Lord, the pilgrimage that we must all make, towards the heavenly Jerusalem, the true home of God. We are all pilgrims, walking together, on the path of holiness, recognising that Jesus is our way, our truth and our life. He is our Alpha and Omega.  It is giving oneself, without any reserve, just like prophet Samuel, in his obedience, to the will of his mother. Surrendering ourselves to the divine will is the first lesson of the Holy Family.

The feast of the Holy Family is a Trinitarian feast, for the Holy Family helps us to discover how the Trinity works in our families on earth. God prepared Joseph separately and accompanied him in a way of discretion and silence. In this preparation we don’t find the Spirit of the Lord, having an active role.  However, we know that it was the Spirt which was active here. We are called to see what is invisible in what is visible. Thus, we discover in Mary, another type of preparation. Mary was prepared, even before her birth, with a priestly tradition, parents from the temple.  Three PERSONS, accomplishing a marvellous work, for the human salvation.

Today we see one of the works of this couple, formed in the school of Trinity, a wonder for the whole family and a model to be imitated. This Holy Family, being faithful to the custom of the family, the culture, and the religion, invites us to discover our own cultures, both social and religious, and calls us to introduce the new generation into it. They are with the other members of the family and reveal to us the importance of others in our family building. God, who brings us together, wants our families to imitate this work of the Holy Family. All work in trust.

Although we work in trust, we discover failure, failure in the trust, and the responsibility. In the face of failure, we see no accusation or judgment.  They discover that they committed a great mistake of confirmation and verification, and will correct it immediately and together. They commit themselves and share the suffering together. They seek each and every one, a mission, together, two sides, respecting their individuality which is very complementary. Both of them take a different way, knowing the incertitude before them, but trusting God in everything. In the family we have to grant this space of difference, different way of thinking and doing, with its legitimacy of existence. Unity is not synonymous with uniformity. Each one has its important role.  Separately, they will accomplish a common mission.

In the family we have to grow together. We have the impression that we know our children well. It is Jesus who will make them to understand that he is in his Father's house. In front of our children, unfortunately, parents are always big and know everything. We should believe in the divine mystery, revealing to us, through our children.  We do not have to understand everything, however, we need to believe in God and learn to trust the other. Let our family be a place of contemplation, a space reserved for silence. Mary kept everything in her heart. This place of silence and contemplation helps us to grow in faith, what us just before God. Let us never forget the prayer of the family, where we feel the emancipation of God’s presence. Let our children learn to pray, not only in the church, but in the home, from their parents.

In the family, there is need of the day, to imitate Jesus. Jesus teaches us to listen to the elders in the family. He has chosen to listen to his parents and we need to inculcate in the heart of every children of the day. On this day of the Holy Family, let us pray for divided families, separated families and couples in difficulty. May God bless our families and every member of it. Amen.

We stand before a little child, all powerful God, the Light of the world, the prince of peace, yet he is so little that he paradoxically depends on us for his own security. We rejoice, not because He is all powerful, but rather because God has kept His promise to our Father Abraham. The Word who was God, chose man for his existence. He has chosen us to be part of His divinity.

He kept his promise by taking on our flesh, the flesh of man, a weak and unfaithful man. It was in this weakness that He chose to show us power, the power that God had bestowed on humanity.  It is in the same flesh that He makes us discover that man is not synonymous with weakness. He has chosen our own weakness that we may find the path of faithfulness. It is not my will that your will be done. He will learn it from his own mother, from man, true fidelity. Let it be done for me, according to your will. Faithfulness has brought us this child.

Before this will, nothing was given in detail. Neither Mary nor Joseph knew that this child would not find his place, his rightful place on earth. In the beginning, darkness gave way to light. Today, the darkness has rejected the light. What a change in man's behaviour and what a debasement for a Creator God before this man! God has chosen to bear all things. God bears with us and brings us the Light, the Light of Christ.

Christmas is not only a religious celebration, but also a family celebration. A gathering of its members, simply to be together. A strong and nourishing moment.  We are invited to discover this child in his simplicity. He is not dressed in a luxurious garment, waiting for the heavenly gift. A little child seeks only the presence of his parents, the warmth of his mother. God comes to meet us in this child, like a beggar, seeking this human warmth, seeking our warm presence.

Christmas is a moment of encounter. God comes to visit us so that we accept this Light and make it our own, in our hearts, in our homes and in every human encounter. The Gospel tells us that the world has not recognised him and his own people have not received him. It is true that it is still looking for Him, like the Magi in a palace, like a miracle worker, who will make disappear the killing virus. Let us not look for Him in the palace, nor in the manger, or as a miracle worker but in the heart of every living being, including our own heart. After celebrating the mystery of the Eucharist, let us enter the house, let us meet Him at the table, in the living room, in every conversation, in every exchange we can have with each other. Let us not be satisfied with receiving gifts, but rather let us receive ourselves, in joy and happiness. Let us discover the presence of God in every human encounter.

The Gospel tells us once again that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory". I have just received a beautiful Christmas message from a friend in Toulouse and would like to share with you, "We live in an 'age of barbed wire and walls', where the value of life visibly loses its meaning from conception until death. Joseph's temptation (to give up easily and quietly) and Mary's fear (of life's unforeseen events) characterise contemporary convictions. In the midst of the "shipwreck of civilisation" and a culture of violence and death, Christmas comes to resurrect the sacredness of life. May the Child of Bethlehem regenerate in us an unwavering devotion to life and inspire our choices to respect it so that we may be responsible ambassadors for life, and may we be witnesses to the divine glory, Amen.

Gospel text

(Lk 1:67-79): 

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The Application

Nine months of silence and contemplation allowed Zechariah to give thanks to God in all sincerity and joy. The joy that Jesus passed on to John the Baptist begins to spread throughout the Jerusalem area.  God comes to visit us, Zechariah tells us. How true and necessary it is for man to believe in this statement of Zechariah!

This child will prepare the way for the Lord, thus leading us to Him. He will lead us on the path of peace, especially at this time when we live in the shadow of death. Let us not be afraid and let us be joyful. He is coming  our Saviour.  

Action of the day: Prepare yourself to welcome Christ.

“The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness”

Fr. Ignasi FABREGAT i Torrents

(Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel gathers Zechariah's song of praise after the birth of his son. In its first part John the Baptist's father thanks God, and in the second, his eyes look forward into the future. He oozes joy and hope on recognizing the salvation’s action of God toward Israel, which culminates in the coming of the Messiah, prepared by his own son John.

We already know that Zechariah had been punished by God because of his skepticism. Now, however, that the divine action has been made real —as he has recovered his ability to speak— says what he before could express only in his heart: “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel” (Lk 1:68). How Many times do we see the dark side of things, negatively, in a pessimistic way! If only we had the supernatural vision of the facts that Zechariah shows in the Benedictus, we would be constantly living in joy and hope.

“The Lord is at hand; the Lord is here”. The forerunner's father is conscious of the fact that the arrival of the Messiah means, above all, light. A light that illuminates those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death. Us! May we realize with full consciousness that Jesus came to illuminate our lives, that he is coming to guide us, to point out the way to go... It would be great if we were to allow Him guide us with His desires; with the hope he has invested in us!

Jesus is the “Lord” (cf. Lk 1:68.76), but he is also the “Savior” (cf. Lk 1:69). These two attributes that Zechariah points to about God, so close to Christmas eve, have always surprised me, because they are precisely the same ones that the Angel of the Lord will assign to Jesus in its announcement to the shepherds and that we will hear touchingly tonight at Midnight Mass. It is God Himself who is born!

Texte de l'Évangile

(Lc 1,67-79): 

Zacharie, son père, fut rempli de l'Esprit Saint et prononça ces paroles prophétiques: «Béni soit le Seigneur, le Dieu d'Israël, parce qu'il a visité son peuple pour accomplir sa libération. Dans la maison de David, son serviteur, il a fait se lever une force qui nous sauve. C'est ce qu'il avait annoncé autrefois par la bouche de ses saints prophètes: le salut qui nous délivre de nos adversaires, des mains de tous nos ennemis. Il a montré sa miséricorde envers nos pères, il s'est rappelé son Alliance sainte: il avait juré à notre père Abraham qu'il nous arracherait aux mains de nos ennemis, et nous donnerait de célébrer sans crainte notre culte devant lui, dans la piété et la justice, tout au long de nos jours. Et toi, petit enfant, on t'appellera prophète du Très-Haut, car tu marcheras devant le Seigneur pour lui préparer le chemin, pour révéler à son peuple qu'il est sauvé, que ses péchés sont pardonnés. Telle est la tendresse du coeur de notre Dieu; grâce à elle, du haut des cieux, un astre est venu nous visiter; il est apparu à ceux qui demeuraient dans les ténèbres et dans l'ombre de la mort, pour guider nos pas sur le chemin de la paix».

L’Application

Neuf mois de silence et de recueillement permettent à Zacharie de rendre grâce à Dieu en toute sincérité et dans la joie. La joie que Jésus a transmise à Jean le Baptiste commence à se répandre dans toute la région de Jérusalem.  Dieu vient nous visiter, nous dit Zacharie. Comme il est vrai et nécessaire que l'homme croie en cette déclaration de Zacharie !

Cet enfant préparera le chemin du Seigneur, nous conduisant ainsi à Lui. Il nous conduira sur le chemin de la paix, surtout en ce moment où nous vivons dans l'ombre de la mort. N'ayons pas peur et soyons joyeux. Il vient notre Sauveur.  

«Un astre est venu nous visiter; il est apparu à ceux qui demeuraient dans les ténèbres»

Abbé Ignasi FABREGAT i Torrents

(Terrassa, Barcelona, Espagne)

Aujourd'hui, l'Évangile recueille le chant de louange de Zacharie après la naissance de son fils. Le père de Jean y rend d'abord grâce à Dieu, puis ses yeux se tournent vers le futur. Tout y regorge de joie et d'espérance en reconnaissant l'action salvifique de Dieu envers Israël, qui culmine dans la venue-même de Dieu en notre chair, préparée par le fils de Zacharie.

Nous savons que Zacharie avait été châtié par Dieu à cause de son incrédulité. Mais à présent, quand l'action divine est totalement manifeste dans sa propre chair —puisqu'il recouvre la parole— il proclame ce que jusqu'alors il ne pouvait dire qu'avec le cœur; et il le disait, bien-sûr: «Béni soit le Seigneur, le Dieu d'Israël…» (Lc 1,68). Que de fois nous percevons les choses de manière obscure, négative, pessimiste! Si nous possédions la vision surnaturelle des événements que montre Zacharie dans le Cantique du Benedictus, nous vivrions constamment dans la joie et l'espérance.

«Le Seigneur est proche; le Seigneur est là». Le père du précurseur est conscient que la venue du Messie est, surtout, lumière. Une lumière qui éclaire ceux qui vivent dans l'obscurité, sous les ombres de la mort: nous-mêmes! Ah si nous nous rendions pleinement compte que l'Enfant Jésus vient illuminer nos vies, nous guider, nous montrer le chemin…! Ah si nous nous laissions conduire selon ses voies, par ces espérances qu'Il met en nous!

Jésus est le “Seigneur” (cf. Lc 1,68.76), mais Il est aussi le “Sauveur” (cf. Lc 1,69). Si proches de la nuit de Noël, ces deux confessions (attributions) que Zacharie fait à Dieu, m'ont toujours surpris: ce sont exactement les mêmes que l'Ange du Seigneur attribuera à Jésus lors de l'annonce aux bergers et que nous pourrons écouter avec émotion pendant la Messe de cette même nuit. Car celui qui naît est Dieu!