Reading 1 1 Jn 3:22-4:6
Beloved:
We receive from him whatever we ask,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
And his commandment is this:
we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as he commanded us.
Those who keep his commandments remain in him, and he in them,
and the way we know that he remains in us
is from the Spirit whom he gave us.
Beloved, do not trust every spirit
but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God,
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
This is how you can know the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh
belongs to God,
and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus
does not belong to God.
This is the spirit of the antichrist
who, as you heard, is to come,
but in fact is already in the world.
You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them,
for the one who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world.
They belong to the world;
accordingly, their teaching belongs to the world,
and the world listens to them.
We belong to God, and anyone who knows God listens to us,
while anyone who does not belong to God refuses to hear us.
This is how we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 2:7bc-8, 10-12a
R. (8ab) I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
this day I have begotten you.
Ask of me and I will give you
the nations for an inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.”
R. I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
And now, O kings, give heed;
take warning, you rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice before him;
with trembling rejoice.
R. I will give you all the nations for an inheritance.
Gospel Mt 4:12-17, 23-25
When Jesus heard that John had been arrested,
he withdrew to Galilee.
He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea,
in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people who sit in darkness
have seen a great light,
on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death
light has arisen.
From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say,
“Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
He went around all of Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness among the people.
His fame spread to all of Syria,
and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases
and racked with pain,
those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics,
and he cured them.
And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
REFLECTION
by
One Bread, One Body - Reflection for January 6, 2014
LIES, LIES, AND MORE LIES
"Many false prophets have appeared in the world." –1 John 4:1
"You have conquered the false prophets. For there is One greater in you than there is in the world." –1 John 4:4
We are being bombarded with lies. We lie to ourselves to justify our enslaving compromises with the world and the flesh. Others lie to us to make themselves feel better or to take advantage of us. The devil, the father of lies, "has never based himself on truth; the truth is not in him. Lying speech is his native tongue" (Jn 8:44). Lies, lies, and more lies!
We cut through all these lies by committing our lives completely to Jesus, the Truth (Jn 14:6). He will then baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8), the Spirit of Truth (e.g. Jn 14:17), Who will guide us to all truth (Jn 16:13).
The Spirit of truth will dispel the fog and smoke of deceit by bearing witness to Jesus (Jn 15:26) and by acknowledging Jesus as having come in the flesh (1 Jn 4:2). Also, the Holy Spirit will cry out in our hearts: "Abba" (Gal 4:6). The Holy Spirit will lead us into the love of the Trinity. "Thus do we distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of deception" (1 Jn 4:6).
Come, Holy Spirit! Come, Spirit of truth! Come, true Christmas Spirit!
PRAYER: Father, make this the best Christmas season ever.
PROMISE: "They carried to Him all those afflicted with various diseases and racked with pain: the possessed, the lunatics, the paralyzed. He cured them all." –Mt 4:24
PRAISE: St. André was a humble Holy Cross brother in Montreal through whom God healed many. Although barely literate, His ministry touched 80,000 letter-writers per year.
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