DAILY- HOMILY

DAILY-HOMILY

DECEMBER 31, 2005
7TH DAY, OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS

1 JOHN 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.

JOHN 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.

REFLECTION
Today's first reading begins with the statement, "Children, it is
the final hour."  `The final hour' refers to the period beginning
with Jesus' resurrection and stretching to the Second Coming,
however long or short that may be, the time of testing which leads
to the judgment.  During this period antichrists will walk among
us. 

In John's day the antichrists were people who had been members of
the church but had abandoned her traditional teaching.  Such
antichrists also walk among us today. But there are other
antichrists too: those who, having never been with Christ, reject
his values.

Have antichrists walked the streets of our world this past year?  
Terrorists, for instance, who kill innocent civilians to attain
political goals.  Abortionists, who destroy, and teach it legitimate
to destroy, defenseless and innocent babies in the womb. 
Politicians, who serve only themselves rather than the people whose
servants they are elected to be.

Yet Christ dwells with us. Need we fear these antichrists?  Perhaps
we fear them for the evil they do, and for the evil they may do to
us, for we may be drawn to join in their anti-christian beliefs and
activities.  Yet John reminds us that God has protected us against
these human antichrists.  We have been anointed with the anointing
that comes from the Holy One, he says. 

We can, then, as we approach the end of the closing year and the
beginning of the new year, anticipate a new beginning.  The Holy One
has anointed us.  In the power of this anointing we have the
strength to stand against all evil and all darkness.

PRAYER
"Almighty God and Father of light, your eternal Word leaped down
from heaven in the silent watches of the night.  Open our hearts to
receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn,
that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace."

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- in thanksgiving: all those who passed the recent nursing board
exams in Manila.
- in thanksgiving: Domingo Alfonso & family
- for the enlightenment and conversion of Armando.
- for the safety and good health of Albert Yap.
- for the continued and speedy recovery of Mike Torres.
- for the personal intentions, forgiveness, peace, reconciliation
and harmony of the marriage of Charles Conrad H.C and Cheryl P.C.
- In Thanksgiving: Lydia
- for blessings, protection and good health of the Pe Family
- for the speedy recovery and well-being of Lorenza Averilla
Montesines.
- for the personal intentions of  the Marasigan and Gonzales Family.
- for the speedy recovery and well-being of Annika.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Peace on earth and goodwill to all mankind.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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© 2005 Daily-Homily

# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 9:18 AM