The Fifth Day of Christmas
St. Thomas Becket, Bishop and Martyr

The Responsorial Psalm insists, “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice” (Psalm 96), even when things look bad. 1John 2:3-11 gives us a reason: “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” The darkness John has in focus is the failure to love: “Whoever hates a brother or sister is in darkness.… All who hate… are murderers, and… murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them.”

Hatred, murder, and violence are very real in our day. The Church’s weapon against violence is truth: to let the facts be known. When Archbishop Thomas Becket was killed by the king’s men in Canterbury Cathedral (1170 A.D.) for defending the rights of the Church, Pope Alexander III responded by swiftly canonizing him (1173 A.D.). Eighteen months after that, King Henry II did public penance for causing his death. By contrast, when a government agent shot Archbishop Oscar Romero to death at the altar during Mass for defending the rights of the poor in El Salvador (March 24, 1980), he was not proclaimed as a martyr, and the government never apologized for his murder.

In Luke 2: 22-35 Simeon exclaimed, “My own eyes have seen the salvation” promised by God: “a light to the nations, and the glory of your people.” But he goes on the tell Mary that Jesus is a light many will “contradict” and reject. And Mary’s own heart will be pierced with sorrow like a sword. So when we say, “Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice,” we are not being simplistic. We know there is still struggle and pain ahead of us. Nevertheless, in Jesus-Emmanuel, we have “God with us” already. “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.”

We simply need to let it shine in us.

Prayer Prompt: If you want to know Jesus, seek him where he can be found. Look for his light even where everything seems dark. Search for a glimmer of love.

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #202, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.