the last shall be first
"If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and He will give him life." —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 grinch thought he had robbed them of Christmas. But, by prayer, we rob the robber and give many people another opportunity for Christmas.
On this second last day of the Christmas season, go to Confession 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 John the Baptizer's call and be baptized in repentance (Lk 3:3). We are called to be ministers of reconciliation, 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 to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, 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 (Mt 20:14).
Promise: "He must increase; I must decrease." —Jn 3:30
Praise: Having repented of living a wild life "on the road," Joseph received God's mercy and became an instrument of evangelization as his job took him from place to place.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Reconciliation on audio AV 1A-1 or video V-1A.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend David L. Zink, June 12, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 13, 2002