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O Come Let Us Adore Him

31/12/2025

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:
Epiphany of the Lord

Psalm 72

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

For he delivers the needy one who calls, the poor and the one who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

The year was 2006. In that summer of my 13th year, you could find me about as angsty a preteen girl as anyone could imagine. Young, pimply, and loud, noticing a new boy each week and just generally looking for a place of eternal belonging. In early July of that summer, I was given the opportunity to join my youth group on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje, a Marian apparition site in Bosnia, to participate in the Festival of Youth. While I had a good relationship with Mary and I was generally up for anything Jesus-focused, in reality I’m sure what drew me were the attractions of a trip to Europe with a bunch of my friends. I was really just along for the ride, and I had no idea what I was in for spiritually.

As we arrived a few days before the festival, we had become accustomed to this little, holy town with many walks through the streets and shops, time spent in the Church there, and various moments of prayer and sharing before the big events would begin. One evening as we made our way to the first night of the festival, an event held outside behind the church, we rounded the corner of St. James Church and were – seemingly without warning, and out of nowhere after our quiet days of pilgrimaging – confronted by the roar and excitement of a crowd of over 50,000 youth. Now, many people have probably been in much bigger Catholic crowds than this, but as a 13-year-old who’d never ventured beyond the Maritimes, I was floored.

Flags were waving all throughout the crowd showing the global representation of the youth present there. Everyone was singing and shouting and crying out for Jesus and Mary. It was my first time seeing the global Church, the true meaning of the universal, Catholic Church! And it was breathtaking.

This came to mind as I reflected on today’s feast of Epiphany and the refrain of the Psalm “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.”

In these days, when “globalization” has us so much more aware of the lives and circumstances of other nations, I wonder if we have the opportunity to lean all the more into the call we have as Catholics to draw all nations unto their Saviour, Christ Jesus the Lord.

Every nation is called to worship Him. And what a privilege it was on that night, so many years ago, to see how He calls out to every nation. My life is quieter now and much more “localized.” My current life of rhythm and prayer in a convent is quite a stark contrast to that experience in my youth. But in a spiritual sense, the whole Church, the mystical body, is always present wherever Christ, the Head, is.

Could our churches and homes, classrooms and workplaces be little Bethlehems, where the wise may come from every different place to encounter Jesus? Every tribe and tongue, every people, nation, and language will come to worship Him. May we be vessels of this encounter today and every day!

Sr. Angela Burnham

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Gathered into the Light

30/12/2025

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A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:
Epiphany of the Lord

Isaiah
60.1-6

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

“The Ingathering of the Dispersed.” In my Bible, this is the title given to this chapter in Isaiah. The reading and its title usher us into an understanding that the Light gathers, while the darkness disperses. When I take a moment to consider these effects, I find them to be true representations of my life’s experiences.

Darkness has a divisive, isolating way about it. When I take notice of worldly scenarios that have a heavy shadow cast over them, they seem to also be characterized by people running from or hurting one another rather than drawing near and consoling. Consider a gunman in a busy area – people scatter or isolate in their homes. Plagues of infectious diseases turn us away from and even against one another. A person with a heart riddled with trauma may see darkness in everyone they encounter, severing them from the true light of love.

Darkness leaves us cold, alone, doubt-filled, afraid, and hopeless.

One small light, though, sparked in a cold, black room, disperses the darkness. It carries intrigue, beauty.

And then, we all come closer. We gather near it. Warm our hands over it. Heat our food in it. Tell our stories around it.

Sometimes, we simply sit quietly and watch it dance. If one person carries it, we follow along behind it. As we all add something to it, it grows, sparks, flies. We are captivated by it, drawn to it. “Not only because [we] see it, but because by it [we] see everything else” (C.S. Lewis). We need it.

The Wise Men followed a light in the sky, prophesied to appear during that dark time in history, and it led them to The Light who would draw more and more souls unto Himself. Healing them, guiding them, comforting them, gathering them around Him so they would not walk alone – so they would not be dispersed by darkness. And from the moment of His birth, that’s exactly what He did. People of all shapes and sizes, from near and far, of understanding or ignorance, came closer, so that He might warm their hearts, shine a light on His truth, make safe the darkened paths, and fill our cold, empty hands with hope.

On this, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, may the light of the Christ Child illumine our hearts, shine through our eyes, leaven our minds, and dispel any darkness from our souls. Amen.

Lori MacDonald

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How Can I Help?

26/12/2025

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A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:
The Feast of the Holy Family

Matthew
2.13-15, 19-23

After the wise men had left, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the Prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod died, an Angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the Prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

A line that calls my attention the most in this Gospel reading is: “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the Prophet.” It appears twice in the reading. As I pondered on this, I began to imagine how intentional God is about us His children. He had brought Christ, “the light of the world”, to us. Before that light was fully seen and recognized by us, the “world” tried to extinguish it. But He, being God, already knew this would happen, so He had a plan to protect our gift. We did not know what had been given to us at the time until when Christ was fully revealed.

Similarly, in our daily lives we sometimes do not realize the blessings, giftings and/or talents that God has placed in us or do not realize these giftings are for His glory. But guess what–our heavenly Father has also factored that in. Yes! He has factored in every inch of our ignorance, self-doubt, and worry, and extends His grace that we may know that it is by His help that our eyes are opened to see and understand that which He has given.

In this Gospel reading, Joseph exemplifies recognition and deployment of gifts. I marvel every time I read or listen to this Gospel. How Joseph heard God clearly in the midst of all the events occurring at the time. (I probably would have been too busy asking God, “Why a manger?” Or, “How are we going to sleep here in the manger?” Whew!) It appeared as though once the baby was born, Joseph turned to God to say, we still trust your leadership.

Perhaps that trust and assurance born from a place of total surrender to God made it easy for him to move swiftly with God’s plan.

This season, God calls us to spend some time with Him in prayer, praise, worship and scripture reading. He wants us to let Him have the heavy lifting, so that we can have clarity to recognize that which He shows us.

Father, grant us the grace to trust in You completely and open our eyes to recognize our giftings and use them to Your honour and glory. Amen

Celia Omionawele

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Dwell Richly

25/12/2025

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A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:
The Feast of the Holy Family

Colossians
3.12-21

Brothers and sisters: As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Saint Paul’s directions to the Colossians are no easy endeavours! Without “all wisdom”, as he reminds us, there is great potential to cause real and lasting damage to relationships when we “admonish” and “bear with” one another. The truth is, depending on where we are and what we know, we all have a different perspective on life and its challenges. It is often preferable to normalize, minimize, and avoid our painful experiences so that they hurt less, and to use our subjective experiences to justify our behaviour rather than face our pain honestly and objectively. At many times in my life, I have been blind to my own pain out of self-protection and fear, and therefore oblivious to the motivations behind my behaviour. When I look back now on pain that has been processed and understood through a lens of faith, I can see how my behaviour was damaging to those around me because of my desire to protect my wounded heart.

There is a reason why social media is a feeding frenzy of opinions and emotions… it is in many ways easier to thrust one’s position into the relative anonymity and physical distance of an online platform (or even to send an email) than it is to speak face to face with someone’s heart. So often, we jump into the fray without being invited. I have made the mistake of dispensing unsolicited advice when the relationship did not have the depth to support the weight of such ‘admonishment’. At those times, I had been lacking in wisdom and caused lasting damage to those relationships.

I find myself struggling with wanting to share my position and opinions with those around me: tempted by the public debate, frustrated by uninformed opinion, and fearful of the backlash. My desire to enter in on this level can be prideful, and so I realize that it must be carefully discerned. I believe it requires the grace of humility to step back from the fray, to allow the Holy Spirit to present us with personal opportunities to listen and to be curious about the experiences of others. I often lack either the presence of mind to recognize an opportunity when it presents itself or the courage to embrace a chance to engage. I think this is what St. Paul means when he asks us to be clothed with compassion; that our disposition before others might allow them to see themselves through the eyes of a loving God who desires their good. I believe that the more we courageously enter into a patient, observant, and curious personal encounter with those around us, the ripple effect of that grace is much wider than a stone thrown into the middle of a great anonymous battle.

May we all dwell richly in the Word of God and therefore in the midst of our relationships — both the ones we most treasure and the ones that most provoke and challenge us. In doing so, may we bring the heart of Christ to others.

Originally posted on December 26, 2019 by Lindsay Elford

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O Come Let Us Adore Him

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:Epiphany of the Lord

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Gathered into the Light

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:Epiphany of the Lord

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

How Can I Help?

​​A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:The Feast of the Holy Family

​​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Dwell Richly

​​​A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:The Feast of the Holy Family

​​Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Archives

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:
Epiphany of the Lord

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:
Epiphany of the Lord

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:
The Feast of the Holy Family

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, December 28th, 2025:
The Feast of the Holy Family

Pause. Pray. Reflect.