Gospel of the Day
Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 1:19-28
This is the testimony of John.
When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him
to ask him, “Who are you?”
he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,
“I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him,
“What are you then? Are you Elijah?”
And he said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us?
What do you have to say for yourself?”
He said:
“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’
as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent.
They asked him,
“Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?”
John answered them,
“I baptize with water;
but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me,
whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,
where John was baptizing.
Where we do not see.
A new year is beginning, and it is time to cross to the other shore, a moment of change, like those announced by John the Baptist. We embark on these changes in which God always wants us to advance towards Him, with hope. We go with the docility to the Holy Spirit that sometimes requires us to respond in places where we do not see. Let us all journey together towards the Lord this year on this new path that opens before us in 2025, with more strength and enthusiasm than ever, wherever the Holy Spirit may lead us.
Grounded in Married Life:
Pablo: Vanesa, I bought salmon for dinner tonight, knowing that you like it.
Vanesa: (Very surprised) Salmon, Pablo? I can’t believe it! It has never been to my taste. The one who likes salmon is you, not me.
(That evening in prayer)
Pablo: Lord, forgive me because I felt hurt by Vanesa’s response when I specifically bought salmon for her. I don’t understand anything, because I did it with love, and because other years I’ve seen her enjoy salmon butter toasts.
Vanesa: Lord, forgive me because I did not understand how little Pablo knows me if he doesn’t even know what I like. I failed to use this moment of misunderstanding to love him more instead of criticising him in my heart.
Pablo: Holy Spirit, thank you for placing this moment of confusion in front of me so that I realise what prevents me from loving, which is looking at myself. I hope to better seize the next moment of bewilderment you put before me.
Mother,
Blessed be the Holy Spirit who leads us where we need to go.