Commentary on the Gospel – December 11, 2025

December 11, 2025

Sometimes in life we spend far too much time looking at the past. We remember other times and it always seems to us that they were better. There was more of…—and we can fill in here many things we believe are missing today. But in reality, that is not true. What happens is that memory plays tricks on us and, without realizing it, we select what we remember. We leave some things aside—often the unpleasant ones. And what now seems good to us shines in all its splendor. The truth—the simple truth—is that this world is always changing. And living on nostalgia often paralyzes us and keeps us from facing the situations we must live today.

Jesus invites us to live in the present. Today is when the Kingdom of God is being revealed, becoming real before our eyes. Today is when we have the chance to live the Gospel with those around us, to create fraternity, to do justice. That is the message of today’s Gospel. It is a message that helps us live Advent by looking forward.

With Jesus, a new time begins in human history. Our relationship with God and with our brothers and sisters is no longer what it was before. In Him we discover a God who is love. Before Him there is no fear, but love, hope, mercy. We can no longer keep living in the Old Testament. In Jesus, the new world is already here. It is true that it has not yet been fully revealed, but what came before has already passed, and God has made Himself present in our world through Jesus as never before.

Enough nostalgia. It is not true that every past time was better. It is in the present that we must live. And we have this new presence of God in our lives to build the Kingdom, to become more truly brothers and sisters, to love and forgive as never before. We must force ourselves, in a sense, to go beyond appearances and discover the newness of the Kingdom in our world.

Fernando Torres, CMF