Tuesday December 23, 2025 - Good News Ministries

Good News Reflections:
Making scripture meaningful to your daily life
by Terry Modica

The loudest, most effective message we have is the example of our lives.

Good News Reflection for:

Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
December 23, 2025

Today’s Prayer:

Placing my life in Your hands, Lord, I will travel through paths I have never imagined. Amen.

IMPROVE YOUR DAY!
Powerful Catholic prayers are available on our YouTube channel.

Today’s Readings:

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24
Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-10, 14
Luke 1:57-66
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122325.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-december-23-2025

How to be messengers of good news

Today’s Gospel reading shows us the birth and naming of John the Baptist. This child is an example of who we are. The hand of the Lord was with him, and he was called to prepare people’s hearts for the coming of the Messiah. Like John, we are not the source of salvation. Like John, we are, as the first reading says, messengers of salvation. We carry the Good News about the Savior into the world.

But … how well?

As believers in Christ — as recipients of his saving power, his goodness, and his joy — we have the extremely important responsibility of serving as messengers of the Good News. We are called to birth Jesus in the lives of others by setting good examples of what it means to believe in Christ. We are called to be the hands and feet and voice of Jesus so that he can change the world through us.

This is not an option. It is the last commandment that Jesus gave us before ascending to heaven. It is part of our commitment to follow Christ, and neglecting it has eternal consequences.

Does being a messenger of the Good News seem too hard? Well, it’s not — not if we have a good prayer life and we continue to put forth effort in our own spiritual growth.

It only seems too hard when we forget that we’re not the Savior. We cannot rescue people from sin and darkness; that’s the Savior’s role. God did not give us the ability to bring lost, inactive Catholics back to church; only the Good Shepherd can do that. We were not created with the power to heal the sick, free addicts from slavery to whatever drugs them, or give sight and understanding to those who are blind to the teachings of the Church; these are gifts that only the Son of God can provide.

We are messengers of the good news that Jesus can do all of this for those who seek him. And the loudest, most effective message we have is the example of our lives. Today’s world needs Christians who show by our behavior that following Christ gives us hope in the midst of worries, comfort in the midst of hardships, and victory in the midst of evil. Our joy is a testimony that holiness — living according to the moral teachings of Christ instead of the world’s values — is right and good.

Words are not enough to convince people that they need to convert away from what the world says is right and good. Words won’t get someone to attend church and worship Jesus. To the unconverted, Catholicism, with its all its rules and rituals and teachings, seems to be a burden instead of a blessing. If we do not exude faith with hope and unconditional love, if our worship does not express the joy of being in the presence of Christ and if receiving the Eucharist does not make a difference in our lives, then we are not serving as messengers of Good News.

We give people knowledge of salvation and forgiveness of their sins only if the overcoming of our own sins brings improvement to our lives. This is the best proof of the tender mercy of our God. They need to see that faith in Christ guides our feet onto the path of joy rather than a continuous journey of gloomy misery.

This Christmas, may our lives proclaim “Rejoice! The Lord has come!”

For more on this subject, see our article: “How to be a Good News Ambassador” @ https://gnm.org/about-us/about-how-to-be-missionary/.

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