the last shall be first
“Anyone who sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should petition God, and thus life will be given to the sinner.” —1 John 5:16
Many have not had Christmas because they have not repented of sin in their lives. We should petition the Lord for sinners and life will be given to them. Through the Lord’s forgiveness, they will be given Christmas just before the season ends. The devil thought he had robbed them of Christmas. Yet, by prayer, we repossess from the robber and give many people another opportunity for Christmas.
On this second last day of the Christmas season, go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and invite others to join you. For so many, Confession is the key to Christmas. Many people are spiritually still in Advent. They need to obey St. John the Baptizer’s call to repentance (Lk 3:3). We are called to be ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18), to encourage others to get the specks out of their eyes, after we have removed the planks from ours (Mt 7:5). The Lord is entrusting “the message of reconciliation to us. This makes us ambassadors for Christ, God as it were appealing through us. We implore you, in Christ’s name, be reconciled to God!” (2 Cor 5:19-20)
Tomorrow, on the last day of the Christmas season, let’s help others have their first day of Christmas by going down together into the waters of the Jordan and repenting of our sins.
Prayer: Father, give us a full Christmas even if we start Christmas on the last day of the season (see Mt 20:14).
Promise: “He must increase, while I must decrease.” —Jn 3:30
Praise: After coming to Bible study for three years, Louise came to believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Reference: (For a related teaching on Reconciliation, listen to, download or order our AV 1A-1 or V-1A on our website.)
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