December 31, 2025 // Optional Memorial of Saint Sylvester I, Pope
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 1:1-18
Reflect on the Word //
My family and I had just returned home from Christmas morning Mass and our annual Christmas Jack-in-the-Box food run. It was lunch time, but all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball. I quickly ate what I could and went to lay down while my husband and children sat at the table.
It was time.
My fourth child was giving all the signs of his arrival. I labored since the morning but convinced myself it would be long until it was time to meet him. After all, the finish line of pregnancy always seems so far away. But it was happening. The child we waited over forty weeks for was coming and all of the emotions rushed through me.
Within two hours from parking our car, we were holding our little Christmas boy. His arrival was nothing and everything like what we anticipated.
Today’s Gospel shows how every new beginning is also an end of something else, which is fitting as we approach the new year. Maybe we are counting down the seconds until a difficult or painful year ends, or perhaps we are counting down in anticipation for something exciting that is taking place in the year to come. Regardless of whether we are focusing on the end or a new beginning, God is there and He has always been there.
It is time.
The God of the universe—the Alpha and Omega— the One Who holds time in His hands, allows us to know Him. He came into the world so He could call us His children.
Whatever this year looked like for you, sister, may we be reminded of the perpetual pursuit that God has for us. He goes before us. He sets a place for us. He promised to return for us and take us to this place Himself.
God holds time in His hands, but He also holds you. He holds your desires and your dreams. He carries your burdens and your fears. He is the light in your darkness, and you will not be overcome.
Relate to the Lord // What are you holding? Prayerfully imagine placing all that you hold dear in the Father’s steady, gentle Hands.
Stephanie Salinas is a wife and mama living in the West Valley of Arizona. A California native, she enjoys time with family rooting for the LA sports teams. She holds a Communications degree and a Catholic Studies degree. Her background is in parish and diocesan ministry and has a heart for planning opportunities of encounter with Christ through Blessed is She events while also facilitating resources for the Hispanic community. Steph also runs a Young Adult Ministry with her husband, Chilo called The Well. Find out more about it here.
Stephanie Salinas es una esposa y madre que vive en el Valle Oeste de Arizona. Originalmente de California, disfruta del tiempo con su familia apoyando a los equipos deportivos de Los Ángeles. Tiene una licenciatura en Comunicaciones y Estudios Catolicos. Su experiencia es en el ministerio parroquial y diocesano y tiene corazón para la planificación de oportunidades de encuentro con Cristo a través de eventos Blessed is She, al mismo tiempo facilitando recursos para la comunidad hispana. Steph también ofrece un ministerio para jóvenes adultos con su esposo, Chilo llamado The Well. Encuentra mas información aqui.
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