Sunday in the 2nd week of Christmas.

What does God want from us this year?
(Jn 1:1-18)
Let us reflect on our love for our neighbor.

At the beginning of a new year, not only do we think about our plans for the year, but this is also a time to reflect on our duties and, since we are believers, our responsibilities to God.

And in our church community, we keep returning to that great event of the birth of the Lord Jesus. In today’s Gospel, the Apostle John reminds us of it by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1).

John describes the most significant event in the history of the world so simply and yet mysteriously for many. Jesus is simply God. Again, we would do well to take in these events right at the beginning of the year and remind ourselves of our obligations to God.

May this pause at the beginning of a new year help us be more responsible in our duties to our faith. What are our responsibilities? We are obligated to know God. He who does not know God cannot love Him. Therefore, we are bound to know God, and it is unthinkable that if we do not make an effort to do so, we will not love Him. Man’s heart is thrilled with love for the Creator when reason shows him why we should love God. Without those reasons, it is impossible to love. See, the seven disciples who had already come out of the school were having a vigorous conversation among themselves, “I tell you that there is a God.” “And I, in turn, say that God does not exist. Look, the way I see that house, and I have to think that somebody must have built that house. Didn’t it? Similarly, the world speaks of a Creator. That’s a different thing altogether.” The whole group sat down on a bench in the park. The discussion among them became heated. In the clamor, a voice said, “Whoever among you says that God does not exist, let him raise his hand.” Five hands went up as if on command. “Well, you see, out of the seven, five are with me that God does not exist.” The five voted against the existence of God because they knew nothing about God. Therefore, we are to understand the reasons for the existence of God, for this is especially necessary because we often hear that we unreasonably believe in God and that we do not know why we do it. At this time, our faith has a rational justification and a profound one. We believe that God exists when he has left us a trace of his being. That trace of his being in the world. We know that everything must have a cause, and the world must also have a reason. His existence confirms his being. His existence is the trace of God, which we observe without difficulty.
A French scholar was researching the Sahara. He had as guides the Arabs – the Mohammedans. At sunrise, the Arabs spread their rugs on the sand towards Mecca and prayed every morning. This did not please the scholar, who considered himself an unbeliever. Once, he began to mock an Arab for believing in God, pointing out to him that no one had ever seen God and no one had ever touched God. The Arab said nothing back to him. Several days passed. The scholar woke up earlier than usual, earlier than the Arab, saying that the camels had not let him sleep. At this, the Arab asked him: “And did you see those camels?” “I did not see them, but I am convinced that they were here. I can see their tracks in the sand.” “The strange thing is that the camel tracks convince you of the existence of camels, and you do not see the tracks of the Creator. To me, both the rising sun and this wilderness say that God is God, even though I cannot see Him directly.”

We have certainty that God exists when we see that beauty, order, harmony. For example, the stars appear to stand still, moving at great speed. Each one has its orbit and does not deviate from it. Who but God could so ingeniously draw the layout for millions of stars, who do not need to refine or investigate anything.
We are to remind ourselves that we are to love God because He loves us. In the prayer that the Lord Jesus taught us, we say: “Our Father.” God is our Father. He created us; He cares for us; we are given everything we need for our lives. God is a loving 0 Father. St. John writes: “God so loved the world that he sent his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him may have everlasting life” (1 Jn 4:11). We know that true love enriches a person. It benefits both social life and spiritual life. If we recognize this universally in our lives, does it not apply more to our relationship with God?
No one has ever complained that he loved God, for true love is a significant enrichment and benefit to life, both in the inner, spiritual, and social life. St. John Vianney, who was a connoisseur of human souls, used to say: “I have met many people who mourned that they did not love God, but I have never met a person who lamented, mourned that he loved God.” Even today, we are witnessing that the number of people who love God above all things has been increasing recently. They are willing to make even great sacrifices for their faith, which an unbeliever cannot do because of his idea of unbelief.

No one has ever complained that he loved God because true love for God is a significant enrichment and benefit for life, both in inner, spiritual, and social life. St. John Vianney, who was a connoisseur of human souls, used to say: “I have met many people who mourned that they did not love God, but I have never met a person who lamented, mourned that he loved God.” Even today, we are witnessing that the number of people who love God above all things has been increasing in recent years. They are willing to make even great sacrifices for their faith, which an unbeliever cannot do because of his idea of unbelief.
Look, a young girl is working in the hospital. She is trying to do her duty to the best of her ability. Her colleagues ridicule her and even leave many things they should have done to her. She does them. And do you know what makes her do it? That she earns more? No. She’s younger; she needs to get dressed. But her love for the sick is moved by Jesus. She stops every night at prayer and asks her conscience if she has seen God in her neighbor? And yet, she is not a religious sister; she is a believer, not a bigot; she says she wants to live as Jesus preaches. One says: “It disgusts me when I see a colleague going to Holy Communion and I see her fulfilling her duties without love. For if she only knew what the patients say about her…”
And it’s not just in healthcare. Anyone who truly believes in God needs to make their surroundings feel that faith is not just time spent in church, prayer, or a religious community.

Today’s Gospel reminded us that we are obliged to show our love for God and our neighbors this year. We want to exhaust all the possibilities of love, which is impossible in a single speech. However, whoever wants to be a faithful Christian this year and not just a “matriarch” must reach for the most pressing issue of his life. After all, we are obliged to know God, love Him, and live as He desires of us. Therefore, it must not be insignificant for us what knowledge we have of God. This alerts us to reach the Holy Scriptures or other edifying literature more often. But also to reflect more seriously on the words in church and not just listen to them and shake our heads: that’s the way it should be. By what does the world know us to be Christians? Is it not by what was true of the early Christians? Behold how they love each other! Do they say that this is no longer true today? Has it gone unfashionable? The Apostle St. James writes: “Faith without works is dead” (Jam 2:26). We realize that our works are decisive. They are as fashionable and relevant today as they were yesterday and as they will be tomorrow. We want to avoid forgetting that we can stand before the face of our God already this year.
It is not too late today. Tomorrow may be too late. Aware of our responsibilities, we ask for the necessary graces and strength at today’s Mass.