>>> LAST DAY OF THE YEAR
And the light shines
Introduction
Today the liturgy fits in very well with the celebration of New Year’s Eve: it both looks forward to the end of time (first reading) and back to the beginning: to the Word that created all and came among people as the living Word, Jesus, to make a new beginning with us. And that’s life: the end of what is past, a new beginning to be made ever anew. It was a mixture of joys shared together and miseries that were lighter when they too were borne together. And a time for which, after all, we are grateful to one another and to God. A turning point is also a time of hope. The past is gone; we look forward. We say goodbye and we welcome what is coming with hope, for the Lord is with us; we resume our journey together as God’s pilgrim people.
Opening Prayer
Loving Father,
You gave us your Son Jesus Christ
and let him share our poverty.
He brought us grace upon grace,
for all that comes from you is a free gift.
Accept our thanks for the moments
when we accepted your gifts
and shared them with one another.
Accept our thanks for the times
we listened attentively to your Son’s words
and put them into practice.
Help us go forward with hope and joy
with joy and mutual encouragement.
with the companion in life you have given us,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading – 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.
Responsorial PSALM 96:1-2, 11-12, 13
R. (11a) Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice!
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name! R.
Bring gifts, and enter his courts;
worship the LORD in holy attire.
Tremble before him, all the earth. R.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity. R.
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
Today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel 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 into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
Commentary
In the End, it all Begins…
On this final day of the year, we recall the beginnings. For, every end is a new beginning, until we reach the One who never ends. Spend some time today reviewing the year passing by. The hopes and dreams with which it began. The challenges and concerns you feared. Did they all come to pass? If things were better than you had dreamed, thank God for the same. If they were worse, well, you have made it through, and hence, still thank God. There is always a new beginning. We can always start afresh. Hold on to the finger of God and prepare for a new beginning. And remember:
“In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God.
In the end is the Word-Made-Flesh. And, in Him, we are with God.”
IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING.
Intercessions
In gratitude to our generous Father for all his blessings and graces received in the past year, we pray:
– For all those with whom we are united in one common friendship and concern, that he may keep us all in his love, we pray:
– For all whom we have disappointed in the past, for those whom we have hurt or neglected, and for those who have pained and irritated us, we pray:
– For those who have lost someone dear to them, that their hope in Christ may give them strength; for those who have died this year, that they may live in the Lord’s peace, we pray:
– And for all of us here, that we may be grateful for life, for all the joys we have experienced, and for one another, we pray:
God, let your Son speak his word among us and live among us, now and for ever.
Prayer over the Gifts
Loving Father,
it is easy for us here to break this bread
and to share it with one another,
to drink this cup and offer it to one another.
As we offer you these gifts
we pray you for strength,
for it is difficult for us the whole year long,
to keep sharing ourselves with one another
to offer our hand to give and receive help
and to forget ourselves for the sake of others.
Let us be always each other’s food and drink
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
God our Father,
in this celebration we have looked back
to the past, to what is done and gone.
With Jesus in our midst
we look now forward to the future.
Let neither the past nor the present, nor the future,
neither joys nor sorrows
ever separate us from him.
Let you Son be the center of our lives
and the bond that binds us to you
and to one another,
in faith, hope and lasting love.
Go with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
Blessing
Let us go in the peace of the Lord. May the Lord be with you wherever you go. May he bless your coming and your going, your work and your care, your joys and your suffering. As he blessed you the past year, may he bless you even more in the new year: The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!