Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice! — Psalm 96:11a

Mass Readings: 1 John 2:18-21/John 1:1-18 

Beginning and End — Right Now 

So, here we are again — the second “New Year’s Eve” this month. Way back on December 1, we were encouraged to be watchful. Should we fall asleep now? I suppose not. But how can we be watchful, vigilant, all the time? 

It’s the last day of the year and, if we listen to today’s first reading, it’s also “the last hour.” But it’s also the beginning (if we are children of the Word) since, as the Gospel tells us, “in the beginning was the Word.” The beginning and the end together? Why not? We believe in a God who embraces all times and all places — whose Word is both Alpha and Omega. So, let’s be alive, vigilant, watchful — which is to say, loving — in all times and places by being so now. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to simply live (always) in the sacrament of the present moment.