Daily Thought For December 31, 2018

From His Fullness We Have Received Grace in Place of Grace

Lectio

John 1:1–18

Meditatio

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God,
who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.”

Have you ever had the chance to see a famous person whom you really wanted to meet? Perhaps a sports star, an actor, a civil leader, or someone else you almost idolized? What was it like for you? How did you feel when you saw your hero in person?

I still recall vividly how thrilled I was to see the Pope in person for the first time, when John Paul II celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium in 1979. After the Mass, he rode around the stadium in the Popemobile, smiling and waving, and I got to see him up close. I felt ecstatic, swept up in the moment and the cheering crowd. It buoyed my spirit for quite a while.

Such things, though, can’t even begin to compare with what it is like to see God. That’s what John is telling us in the prologue to his Gospel. God gave us the greatest gift possible when he sent his Son to earth to suffer and die for us.

Perhaps because it is so familiar to us. We can easily take for granted the incredible gift of the Incarnation. We can hardly begin to grasp the reality of this mystery. But ponder it for a moment. Even though we cannot fully understand it, we can thank God the Father for sending us his Son. He came to this earth to become one of us, to save us from our sins, and to lead us to eternal life with him.

One simple way to acknowledge the mystery it so pray the Angelus.* This simple prayer reminds us of what the Incarnation means. “… the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.…” Hail Mary.…

Oratio

Lord Jesus, I thank you for the amazing gift you gave us by becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Help me to understand this mystery, even if only a little. Pour out your Holy Spirit on me so that I might grasp with my heart what I cannot grasp with my mind. I thank you for being the light of life. Enlighten us all with your truth. You came to earth as our Way, our Truth, and our Life. I believe in you and I love you. Amen.

Contemplatio

“From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.…”


Daughters of Saint Paul. (2009). Advent Grace: Daily Gospel Reflections (pp. 94–95). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.