Reading 1 1 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 Psalm Ps 96:1-2, 11-12, 13
R. (11a) 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 justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Gospel Jn 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 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-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.
Meditation: 1 John 2:18-21
It is the last hour … “(1 John 2:18)
Endings and beginnings collide in today’s readings, just as they do in real time. Eleven p.m. tonight will open “the last hour” of 2011. Midnight will then usher in a new year, charged with all the hopes and dreams implied in the very first “in the beginning” (John 1:1).
Today we are poised between the past and the future—the perfect opportunity to take stock of where we’ve been and where we’re going. So sit with the Lord for a half hour or so today, and look back over 2011.
One way to do this is to adapt the examination of conscience that St. Ignatius Loyola recommended for daily use. This simple, five-part prayer helps reveal where God has worked in your life, as well as where you’ve fallen short. And having studied these divine “footprints,” you’ll see more clearly where to walk in the future.
1. Begin by thanking God for his blessings, great and small. Let your mind recall events and experiences from the past year, and express your gratitude. “Bless his name,” as today’s psalm says (Psalm 96:2).
2. Ask for the grace to know your-self—especially to know your sins and be rid of them. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see what should be brought to light and to know how greatly God cherishes you.
3. Now review the year in more detail, month by month. (If you kept a journal or marked events on a calendar, these could help jog your memory.) Consider the highs and lows, the victories and defeats. Ask: Where did I experience God’s presence and accept his invitation? Where did I turn away? Where could I have been more loving? More open? Where did I respond to the Spirit?
4. If you turned up some faults and failings (and who doesn’t!), ask God’s forgiveness. Plan to go to confession and, if need be, to make things right with anyone you’ve wronged.
5. Now it’s time for resolutions! Enlightened by your backward look, you can move forward to set good goals for 2012. Do it with confidence, for the God who poured out his grace in the past is with you to make this a year of grace upon grace.
“Lord, how can I thank you for your goodness to me? What return can I make for your love?”
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