This Week at Home (Haga clic para esta semana en casa)
Welcome to January 2, 2022. With songs, time spent together, and the word of God, let us join in our homes to thank God for the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ! (Click here for a printable PDF)
Monday, January 3:
A Great Light
“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light,” Jesus reveals himself as the light when he preaches the kingdom of God and heals those who come to him. One purpose of the healing Jesus performed was to return to the community those who were separated from society because of illness or disability. As Jesus heals, his identity shines forth as clearly as it did in the star of Bethlehem. With each healing, he also enters into the vocation of the messiah.
SING A CHRISTMAS SONG TOGETHER
“O Holy Night” is a song you might hear in church during Christmas. Singing even the same simple song every day can create a lovely rhythm for the season.
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Chorus
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine! O night when Christ was born.
O night, O holy night, O night divine.
Tuesday, January 4: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first person born in the United States to be canonized a saint. As a young widow and mother of five, she converted to Catholicism. She founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s and began the first Catholic girls’ school in the United States. She is the patron saint of Catholic schools.
Wednesday, January 5: Perfect Love
“Perfect love drives out fear.” John certainly knew that the world was a broken place when he wrote his first letter. He had witnessed the crowds turning on Jesus and the early persecutions, in addition to the daily worries and anxieties all human beings experience. John knew that there were many dangers in the world. He does not say that perfect love causes fear not to arise. He says perfect love drives it away. This is not about a feeling but about whether we choose to let fear overwhelm us, or whether we choose a different path. Do not be afraid, God says. How can you choose love today?
Thursday, January 6: Fulfilled in Your Hearing
Proclaiming the Scripture from Isaiah, Jesus describes the messiah and the era he has come to inaugurate. As Christ’s hands and feet in the world, we too must live this fulfillment. What might it mean to proclaim glad tidings to the poor? How can you proclaim liberty to captives? Where can you heal brokenness? The heartbreak that you feel over these conditions is your call to live in the kingdom of God.
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Friday, January 7: Carrying the Light
Some people keep their Christmas tree or manger until the traditional date of Epiphany, which was yesterday. There is also a tradition of keeping some decorations until the Feast of the Presentation in the Temple, or Candlemas, which is celebrated on February 2. It can be beautiful to carry the joy of Christmas into Ordinary Time by leaving up a few decorations, possibly some lights to symbolize that Jesus is the Light of the World.
Click for Today’s Readings
Saturday, January 8: Joy Made Complete
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus predicts his passion. It is an interesting thing to consider that Human beings are prone to conflict. In today’s Gospel, we hear the disciples of John the Baptist perceiving rivalry between John and Jesus. As a prophet, John knows that God’s project is healing all such divisions. He knows that he was called to prepare the way for the messiah, and now that the Messiah has come, he feels nothing but joy.
Where in your life has unnecessary conflict and rivalry stolen your joy? How can you be a peacemaker in those situations? John’s joy comes in seeing with God’s eyes. Can you look at a difficult situation with new eyes?
Christmas Season Songs Online
Here is a playlist of music that is focused on the celebration of Christmas with songs found online. Consider more meditative instrumental music for the playlist as well. Listening to this music in the car or while making dinner can balance the excitement and bustle of December and January. As we celebrate with Joy Emmanuel, God with us, music can help us be present to that reality.
© 2021 USCCB, additional text by Liturgy Training Publications. 800-933-1800 and Kathryn Ball-Boruff. Permission to publish was granted by the Archdiocese of Chicago on February 9, 2021.
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