Posted by The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Bernard Collar SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
December 31 – Octave of Christmas
Every time I am home for a vacation, I usually get invited to celebrate Mass at the Divine Word University Hospital run by the Benedictine Sisters. Particularly for the midnight Mass when we see the old year go ushering in the New Year that night, I end up taking this gospel reading. Indeed, this is a hopeful faith we have because as we see the end go, we are given a new beginning, one which is in the Lord. This reminds us of the fact of life calling us to keep in mind that we are called to end up where we all began—in the Lord.
When he was still young, St. Arnold Janssen always saw his father, whenever there was a storm in their place, call everyone to kneel before the family altar and pray. This Prologue of the Gospel of St. John would always be read. Thus, this personal experience in his family became very significant and reflected very clearly in our congregation name: Divine Word Missionaries. He must have been so deeply touched by his father’s piety that he insisted on having it.
Our own motto carries with it the Prologue content, stirring in us a direction and motivation for mission. “May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace, and may the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all.” Wherever we are sent as missionaries, we acknowledge the state of the world and proclaim, as we constantly remember, the call of Christ for everyone to live in the light of faith guided by the Word and the Spirit of grace so that when His heart shall have been in our hearts, the Kingdom of God will thrive and prosper in our midst.
Our life is due to the immense generosity of God. In love He created us; in love He sustains us; and to love He calls us. May we live responding to this grace every day of our lives.
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