Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for December 19, 2025
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The Youtube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. It’s December 19th. Behind me is the beautiful mosaic reliquary of St. Charbel Makhlouf, the great Maronite monk and intercessor, miracle worker who died on Christmas Eve at the end of the 1800s. He is someone who shows us how to live this last six days before Christmas with great prayer. You can hear the beautiful choir of St. Patrick’s regaling us behind me. Today in the gospel, we have the very important scene of Zachariah in the temple. He was one of the 24 divisions of priests. He was of the tribe of Abijah. And that would mean twice a year he would go up to the temple in order to be able to serve. There were 20,000 Jewish priests and they were divided into these 24 divisions. So each of them had a little over 800 priests and every day of an 8-day cycle of service, they would have their numbers and names chosen by law in order to serve. You could literally go by just the numbers 16 years before your number would be called. We remember that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were unable to conceive a child for many years. Doubtless when Zechariah was going up to the temple, Elizabeth would have said, “If your number is called, Zach, please pray to God to remove my shame before others.” Because it was something very difficult for Jews to whom God’s first commandment was increase and multiply, not to be able to conceive children. And so, while Zechariah had been chosen to do the incense at the evening sacrifice, when he was on the right side of the altar, St. Luke tells us that the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him, said his prayer has been heard, and that Elizabeth, his wife, even though she’s old, would conceive a child in her old age. Rather than just accept with extraordinary joy that news, rather than jump up and down with a thrower in his hand, he began to doubt. He said, “How can this be? For I’m old and my wife is advanced in years.” That’s totally different than Mary who just asked how she could conceive with full full of faith that she would conceive. Zechariah was doubting. And so God gave a medicinal penance to Zechariah. He said because you have doubted from this point forward you will be silent until the baby is born. Why silence? So that he would be able to appreciate the mystery rather than talk himself out of faith. silent so that he would be able to listen and pay very close attention to the young girl, Mary of Nazareth, who would be coming in order to care for Elizabeth, his wife, pregnant in her old age. And at the end of his nine months in which he was silent, as we’ll see in a few days, he burst forth with the great canticle that the church prays every morning. What do we learn from this scene? We need silence before Christmas. Zechariah shows [music] us how to ponder the extraordinary mystery, not only of the conception of his son, John, but of the conception of Jesus within Mary’s womb. And so, let’s enter [music] into that mystery of silence. Let’s enter into that mystery of joy. And then let’s learn how to become like the angels, messengers, bringing the extraordinary gift of what God is doing to people everywhere. This [music] is the continual mission of the church every Advent and Christmas. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
Gospel
In the days of Herod, King of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechariah
of the priestly division of Abijah;
his wife was from the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth.
Both were righteous in the eyes of God,
observing all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.
But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren
and both were advanced in years.
Once when he was serving as priest
in his division’s turn before God,
according to the practice of the priestly service,
he was chosen by lot
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense.
Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside
at the hour of the incense offering,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him,
standing at the right of the altar of incense.
Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him.
But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah,
because your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,
and you shall name him John.
And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth,
for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.
He will drink neither wine nor strong drink.
He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,
and he will turn many of the children of Israel
to the Lord their God.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah
to turn the hearts of fathers toward children
and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous,
to prepare a people fit for the Lord.”
Then Zechariah said to the angel,
“How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”
And the angel said to him in reply,
“I am Gabriel, who stand before God.
I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news.
But now you will be speechless and unable to talk
until the day these things take place,
because you did not believe my words,
which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah
and were amazed that he stayed so long in the sanctuary.
But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them,
and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He was gesturing to them but remained mute.
Then, when his days of ministry were completed, he went home.
After this time his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and she went into seclusion for five months, saying,
“So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit
to take away my disgrace before others.”