The victory that conquers the world is our faith.

This Thursday, the Church continues to celebrate the manifestation of God’s saving love in Jesus Christ. Today’s readings reveal that this love is a living power that transforms hearts, heals wounds, and conquers the world. Saint John proclaims with confidence: “The victory that conquers the world is our faith” (1 Jn 5:4). This victory is not achieved by force, wealth, or status, but by a faith rooted in love, God’s love first given to us and then shared with others. The First Reading reminds us of a profound truth: “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). Our faith begins not with our effort but with God’s initiative. God loved us into existence, loved us into redemption, and continues to love us into holiness. Yet John is uncompromising, any claim to love God that does not result in love for one’s brother or sister is empty. Faith that conquers the world is not mere belief or religious language; it is lived love. To be begotten by God means to reflect God’s own way of loving: concrete, faithful, and self-giving. John goes further to say that God’s commandments “are not burdensome” (1 Jn 5:3). This may seem surprising, especially when love demands forgiveness, patience, justice, and sacrifice. But when love flows from faith, obedience becomes freedom. Faith opens our eyes to see that God’s commands are not chains but pathways to life. The world is “conquered” not by escaping it, but by refusing to let hatred, violence, fear, or indifference have the final word. In the Gospel, Jesus stands in the synagogue of Nazareth and declares the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me” (Lk 4:18). This is faith embodied in mission. Jesus reveals that God’s victory takes the form of good news to the poor, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and freedom to the oppressed. The power of the Spirit is not for self-glory but for healing and restoration. When Jesus says, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing,” he invites his listeners and us, to recognize that God’s saving work is happening now. Thus, faith that conquers the world is faith that believes, loves, and acts. It is faith that trusts God’s love enough to love others, faith that listens to God’s word and lives it, faith that allows the Spirit to work through us for the sake of the poor and forgotten. In this Epiphany light, we are reminded that the world is not changed by dominance but by discipleship. United with Christ, and begotten by God, we already share in the victory—because our faith is alive in love.