Dec 22-27:Dec 22 Monday:Lk 1:46-56: Catholic reflections on Luke 1:46-56, also known as the Magnificat, focus on the song of praise from Mary which expresses her humility, God’s justice, and the fulfilment of His promises. The Magnificat is seen as a prayer inspired by the Holy Spirit, celebrating God’s power to lift up the lowly and scatter the proud, and reflecting Mary’s personal joy at being chosen as the mother of the Messiah. The passage is a key part of Catholic Church’s prayer, liturgy, and understanding of Mary’s role.

Expression of praise and humility: Mary’s song begins, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” This powerful statement of Mary’s deep humility and reverence, recognizes that all glory belongs to God, not herself, even though she has been chosen for a unique role.

God’s justice and the reversal of fortunes: The Magnificat is famous for its message of social and spiritual reversal. Catholic teaching emphasizes that Mary’s song highlights God’s consistent action of exalting the humble and bringing down the proud, filling the hungry and sending the rich away empty.

Fulfilment of Old Testament promises: Mary’s words are deeply rooted in the Old Testament and especially in the Psalms. Her words show that she understands her role within the long history of God’s promises to Israel, and that she is a part of a lineage of faithful servants in whom God has shown mercy.

A personal and universal prayer: While deeply personal to Mary, the Magnificat has become a universal prayer for Catholics. It serves as a reminder that God’s mercy is ever-present and extends “from age to age,” so the Magnificat is meant to be a part of the regular, joyful prayer of all believers.

God’s action through the lowly: The Magnificat also celebrates God’s favorable “look” (attentive awareness) of Mary’s “lowliness.” This “look” reflects a broader theme in Luke’s Gospel in which God works through the marginalized and unexpected to bring about salvation, and invites reflection on how/where/when God is at work in our own lives and communities.

For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 23 Tuesday:St. John of Kanty, Priest:[For
a brief account, click on https://franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day-saint-john-of-Kanty-priest/
]Lk 1:57-66:57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all marveled. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

The context:Today’s Gospel describes the birth and naming of St. John the Baptist, the last Old Testament prophet, who was given the mission of heralding the promised Messiah and of preparing the Chosen People to welcome him. It was by preaching to everyone the need for repentance and the renewal of life that John fulfilled his mission. John was born to the priest, Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth in their old age a miracle indicating the importance of this child in God’s plans. Today’s Gospel passage describes John’s birth, Circumcision, and Naming ceremony.

A miraculous birth and an event of double joy: His elderly parents rejoiced in John’s birth, as he was a gift from God in their old age. Since the child was a boy, all their neighbors rejoiced with them, and the village musicians celebrated the birth by playing their joyful music. On the eighth day after his birth, John was Circumcised and Named. The neighbors assumed that the boy would be named Zechariah after his father. However, Elizabeth insisted firmly that the child should be named John (= “the Lord is gracious”), the name given him by the Archangel Gabriel when he spoke to Zechariah. Appealed to by the gathered people, the mute Zechariah approved that name by writing, “His name IS John.” At that action of obedient surrender to the Lord God, the priest’s speech was restored, God for blessing him with a son, and Israel with her Deliverer, Whose herald his son would be.

Life messages: 1) We need to pray for our parents and be thankful to them for their gift of life, the training, and the discipline they have given us, and the love and affection they have lavished on us. Let us ask God’s pardon if we are, or were, ungrateful to them, do/did not take proper care of them in their illness or old age or ever inflicted pain on them. 2) We need to remember and pray for our godparents who sponsored us in Baptism, which made us children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, heirs of Heaven, and members of Jesus’ Mystical Body, the Church.

3) We should have the courage of our Christian convictions as John the Baptist did, and we should become heralds of Christ as the Baptist was, by our transparent Christian lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections, click on: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 24 Wednesday:Lk 1:67-79: 67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

The context: Today’s Gospel gives the prophetic hymn which Zechariah, filled with Holy Spirit, sang on the eighth day after his son John’s birth when all had assembled for his Circumcision and Naming ceremony. Although the Jews generally believed that Elijah the prophet would return to earth to prepare the way for the Messiah, Zechariah prophetically sang here that it was his son, John, who was going to prepare the way for the Messiah, Jesus.

Zechariah’s prophecy contains four steps of the Christian Way we are supposed to take. 1) Preparation: Our life must be a preparation, leading us to our eternal salvation, enabling us to walk through/with/in Christ, the only sure Way.

2) Correct knowledge of the only true God: Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior who taught us that God His Father is a loving and forgiving Father Who saved us through His son Jesus.

3) Forgiveness of sins: The restoring of our broken relationship with God, was accomplished through the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus. We experience this forgiveness particularly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation received devoutly and frequently.

4) Walking in the way of peace: Peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the fullness of everything needed for man’s highest good. Jesus instituted in His Church all the means necessary for us to attain our highest good. He gave us the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, the Sacraments, and the centralized teaching authority of his Church, with Mary and the saints as role models and praying companions for our journey.

Life message: 1) As happened to doubting Zechariah, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit by asking for His daily anointing and strengthening. Let us prophesy (speak the truths of God and His will for us) as Zachariah did, by conveying to others the reason for our Christmas celebration as rebirth of Jesus into our lives. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

Additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 25 Thursday:Christmas Daytime Mass:Jn 1:1-18: 1 In the beginning was the Lord, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning withGod; 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. 9 The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. 11 He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. 15 (John bore witness to him, and cried, “This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me.'”) 16 And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.

The context and the content: Bible scholars generally agree that the Prologue (1:1-18) of John’s Gospel is a hymn, the overall purpose of which is to highlight the historical and theological significance of Jesus’ origins as “Word,” “true Light,” and the “Only-begotten Son,” thus tracing Jesus’ genealogy to God Himself. The Navarre Bible commentary summarizes the main teachings in the prologue thus: 1) the Divinity and Eternity of the Word; 2) the Incarnation of the Word and His manifestation as man; 3) the part played by the Word in creation and in the salvation of mankind; 4) the different ways in which people react to the coming of the Lord — some accepting the Word made Flesh with Faith, others rejecting Jesus; 5) finally, John the Baptist as witness-bearer to the presence of the Word in the world.

The significance of the text: Verses 6-9 introduce John the Baptist in a manner that clearly distinguishes him from Jesus – “John himself was not the Light, but he came to testify to the Light. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world…” Some scholars maintain that the author of the Gospel may be making such a forceful differentiation in order to counter a sect claiming that John the Baptist was the Light and the Messiah, and not simply the one testifying to the Light. In all he did and said, the Baptist always bore witness to Jesus and Jesus’ messianic identity: “John testified to Him and cried out, saying, ‘The One Who is coming after me ranks ahead of me because He existed before me'”(Jn 1:15). Verses 19-28: an Advent and Christmas text that calls us to remember the origins and purposes of Jesus and His coming with the kind of devotion that challenges us to be witnesses for Jesus. John the Baptist demonstrates what it means to bear witness to the true Light coming into the world.

Life messages: 1) We need to bear witness to Christ the Light: By Baptism we become members of the family of Christ, the true Light of the world. Jesus said: “You are the light of the world.” Hence, our mission as brothers and sisters of Christ and members of His Mystical Body, the Church, is to reflect Christ’s Light to others, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. 2) It is especially important during the Christmas season that we reflect on Christ’s unconditional love and forgiveness. Very many people live in spiritual darkness and poverty, lacking real freedom. There are others who are deafened and blinded by the cheap attractions of the world. Still others feel lonely, unwanted, rejected, useless, and marginalized. All these people are waiting for us to reflect the light of Christ on and into them, thus turning their lives into experiences of joy, wholeness and integrity. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 26 Friday:St. Stephen, the first Martyr:For a brief account, click on https:franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day-saint-stephen-deacon-martyr

Mt 10:17-22: 17 Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Life and death of St. Stephen: Today’s first reading, taken from theActs of the Apostles, describes the death of Stephen, the first martyr in the history of the Church. Stephen was a zealous Greek convert from Judaism to Christianity. He was chosen by the community and accepted by the Apostles to serve as one of the seven earliest deacons in the Church. These Deacons were meant to help meet the material needs of Greek Christian widows in Jerusalem who had complained that they were being slighted in favor of Hebrew Christian widows in the matter of Church assistance. Stephen was chosen for this ministry of helping the poor because he had good character and was filled with the Holy Spirit. But he was arrested by the Sanhedrin because he was converting numerous Jews to Christianity, and the Jewish leaders could not win against him in debates. The jealous Jews arranged false witnesses against Stephen. These men accused him of blaspheming against Yahweh and Moses. In his final defense speech before his judges in the Sanhedrin, Stephen, inspired by the Holy Spirit (as Jesus had promised all His disciples they would be when called to bear witness to Him), bravely and eloquently defended his belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah. He accused the Jews of unbelief and explained that the sacrifices and sacrificial Laws given by Moses were temporary. When Stephen suddenly announced that he could see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father, the infuriated Jews mobbed him, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him to death. During the stoning, Stephen bore heroic witness to Jesus, first praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and then, obeying the command of Jesus, prayed loudly for his executioners, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” With that, he “fell asleep.”

Life message: St. Stephen teaches us how to bear witness to Christ bravely in our lives, when our Faith and its practice are questioned or challenged. St. Stephen’s martyrdom is celebrated on the day following Christmas to remind us of the consequences of giving our lives to Him who was born an Infant in Bethlehem — that we must give Him everything, holding nothing back, even if it means persecution and death. Fr. Tony (https://frtonyshomilies.com/) L/2025.

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections

Dec 27 Saturday: St. John, Apostle, Evangelist:For a brief account click https://franiscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day-saint/john/evangelist/

Jn 20:2-8:2 So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. 4 They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; 5 and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, 7 and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

St. John, Apostle and Evangelist: John was the son of Zebedee the fisherman and Salome, a close relative of Mary. John and his brother, James the Greater, were fishermen, partners of Peter and Andrew; they were disciples of John the Baptist before they were called by Jesus as his Apostles. John’s name is mentioned always after his brother’s name in Matthew, Mark and the Acts of the Apostles. John was the Apostle beloved by Jesus and one of the three constituting Jesus’ inner circle of friends who witnessed Jesus’ raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead, His Transfiguration on the mountain and His agony in the garden of Gethsemane. After fleeing with the others from Gethsemane, John returned. He remained faithful to Jesus at the palace of the High Priest during Jesus’ trial by the Sanhedrin, and he had the courage to be at the foot of the cross, supporting and consoling Mary. He was entrusted by Jesus with the care of His mother, and, after the Resurrection, John was the one who first recognized the risen Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Missionary activities: With Peter, John played a prominent role in founding and guiding the Church. John was with Peter when the latter healed the lame man (Acts 3:1), was in prison with him (Acts 4:3), and was with him when Peter visited the new Christians in Samaria (Acts 8:14). John left for Asia Minor and Ephesus when King Herod Agrippa I started persecuting Christians. He returned to Jerusalem in AD 51 to attend the Jerusalem Council. According to tradition, when the attempt of Emperor Domitian to murder John by putting him in boiling oil failed, John was exiled to Patmos Island. As an Evangelist, John wrote five books of the New Testament: The Gospel according to John, three epistles and the Book of Revelation. He preached always about God’s love in his old age. Returning to Ephesus, John lived there, dying when he was one hundred years old. John reminds us of the greatest commandment of love given by Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Fr. Tony) L/25

For additional reflections: https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video; https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/daily-reflections/; https://www.epriest.com/reflections