Bishop Taylor, in his Christmas letter to all the priests of the diocese, quoted a passage from the prologue of the Gospel of John.  I would like to share it for our reflection.  It makes one of the strongest statements about the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and His work even before He came into the world.  "All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing came to be.  What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.  (John 1:3-5).  From the moment of Adam and Eve's sin, there was, still is, and always will be, darkness in the world and in our lives.  The clergy abuse crises with instances in which church leaders failed in their call to protect the sheep, the continued conflicts between nations and within nations (e.g., Syria) and its affects especially upon refugees who have to flee their homes and homeland, the reality of so much violence with lives that are affected and taken because of it, the list of evils that create darkness are many and seem to increase in intensity and frequency as time goes on.  John's Gospel, almost from the very beinning, makes a strong statement of faith and hope that the darkness will not EVER extinguish the Light that shines through Jesus Christ our Savior and the crucified and risen Lord.

As we prepare to begin a new calendar year, my hope and prayer is that we will all choose to grow closer to the Light that is Jesus Christ, and happily and purposefully live as people who reflect the light of His love and hope to everyone we meet.  The last words of the refrain from the song "I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light: is certainbly worth praying in word and/or in song every day of the upcoming new year (and our whole life long): SHINE IN MY HEART LORD JESUS!