The Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas

“Still Turning Toward the Light”

Here we are—the seventh day of Christmas, and somehow also the last day of the year. That’s a bit of a strange mix, isn’t it? We’re still in the glow of Christmas, and at the same time, we know the calendar is about to turn. It’s one of those moments where endings and beginnings overlap.

The first reading from St. John might have caught our attention. It sounds a little stark for Christmastime. He talks about antichrist, about people leaving the community. Not exactly what we expect with the crib still up.

But John isn’t trying to shake us. He’s trying to ground us. He’s saying: over time, things show themselves for what they really are. What’s true lasts. What isn’t… doesn’t. And then he says something very reassuring: you have the anointing. You’ve been given the Holy Spirit. You’re not in the dark.

That matters, especially as we look back over a year. Because most years are mixed, aren’t they? Some light. Some shadows. Times we felt close to God, and times we drifted a bit. Things that turned out well—and things that didn’t.

And then we hear that Gospel again. Those beautiful words from the beginning of John’s Gospel. The Word who was with God, who is God, becoming flesh and dwelling among us. God didn’t stay at a distance. He stepped right into real life.

And that tells us something important: God isn’t afraid of our mess. He doesn’t wait for everything to be neat and figured out. The light shines in the darkness, John says—not outside of it, but right in the middle of it.

So maybe as you look back on this year, not everything went the way you hoped. Maybe prayer was uneven. Maybe there were struggles, losses, or disappointments. And yet—here you are. At daily Mass. On the last day of the year.

That says something. It says faith is still alive. It says you’ve kept turning toward the light, even if it wasn’t perfect. And that’s really what matters.

So before we rush ahead into the next year—before resolutions and plans—let’s just pause and give thanks. For a God who came close. Who stayed with us this year. And whose light has not gone out.

And as we step into a new year, we don’t do it alone. We do it with the Word who has been with us from the beginning—and who will walk with us, one ordinary day at a time..