Computers and cell phones are absolutely amazing. They are physical instruments that enable us to do countless things and to find more information than we would be able to find otherwise. At times they can be a curse, that is, when they are used for self pleasure or to send terrible messages to and about one another. We have smart TVs and cars that are more advanced than ever with electronic parts to actually run the car, keep us safe, and enable us to call anyone from any place.

Darkness is part of nature. We have the sun to illumine the day. Living in the twenty-first century we have many ways to illumine the darkness with lights. I love the parts of Scripture that speak of the light that God in His goodness brings into our world through His mercy, love, and hope. In the first reading from Isaiah 8:28-9:3 we have these joyful words: “Anguish has taken wing, dispelled is darkness: for there is no gloom where but now there was distress. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing.”

“I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord and my God is now my strength.” This line is from the first reading at Mass today (Isaiah 49:3,5-6). In the Gospel for today’s Mass (John 1:29-34) John the Baptist points out Jesus to His followers and says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

There is a great difference between having all we need and having all we want. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings who followed a star that led them to the Christ Child. Clearly they were men of means as we see in the gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh and they had the means to travel a distance on camels. It was not just curiosity about a new star that led them to find the Christ Child, but the inner longing and thirst we all have for something more, and that something more is God. We can feel very comfortable and secure at times, but there is always that inner longing God placed in our hearts when He created us in His very image, and that is the longing for the light of God’s presence.

Happy New Year! As we begin another year of life in this world it is good to look at where we are in our lives, how we got here, and where we are going. As we begin the New Year as Catholics, we continue in the Christmas season with our prayers and readings at Mass. Christmas is about the GIFT we have all received, the GIFT of God Himself in the person of Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill God’s promise to send a Savior because we are a gift to Him. As much as we place our confidence and faith in Him, the foundation of our faith is gratitude. The Christmas season is our time offer prayers of thanks for the gift God is to us. He came in Jesus to save us from confusion, fear, ignorance, and sin, and, even more, to fill us with joy, hope, peace, truth, and love.