The Catholic Calendar for Friday, January 2, 2004
St Basil the Great, bishop, doctor of the Church
St Gregory Nazianzen, bishop, doctor of the Church

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
1 John 2:22-28
Psalm 98:1-4
John 1:19-28

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

Today's readings are insistent on adherence to truth. One of the struggles of any Christian on the journey to the Father, is to adhere strictly to Church teaching on Jesus. There are so many, especially young people, who learn their religion from pop culture rather than from the revealed Word of God, and the ever-growing understanding of that Word as revealed by the Spirit through the magisterium (teaching authority) of the Catholic Church. In the 4th century, in which our two saints of the day lived--St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen--there was a heresy called Gnosticism. Its chief teachers were members of the community of believers who denied Jesus' identity as Messiah. St. John, in today's Epistle, opposes them, calling them anti-christs.

John the Baptist in today's Gospel, is insistent on the role of Jesus as Messiah, and so were the two great Bishops, Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen. All three are truly heroic in their defense of truth, risking ridicule, persecution, and even death for the sake of truth. In our own day, there are multiple attacks daily on the truth of Jesus' divinity and Jesus' mission of saving the whole human race.

Even though we believe, we may not follow up on all the ramifications of belief in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior. All other lifetime goals pale in comparison to proclaiming and living the Truth of Jesus, and what living in His life entails for me.

- Msgr. Paul Whitmore (smartins at twcny dot rr dot com)

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posted by joachim at 4:24 AM