December 24, 2014
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Vigil Mass
For Zion’s sake I will not be silent,
for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet,
until her vindication shines forth like the dawn
and her victory like a burning torch.
Nations shall behold your vindication,
and all the kings your glory;
you shall be called by a new name
pronounced by the mouth of the LORD.
You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD,
a royal diadem held by your God.
No more shall people call you “Forsaken,”
or your land “Desolate,”
but you shall be called “My Delight,”
and your land “Espoused.”
For the LORD delights in you
and makes your land his spouse.
As a young man marries a virgin,
your Builder shall marry you;
and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride
so shall your God rejoice in you.
R/ (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.
R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
He shall say of me, “You are my father,
my God, the rock, my savior.”
Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
R/ For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia and entered the synagogue,
he stood up, motioned with his hand, and said,
“Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the
land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out of it.
Then he removed Saul and raised up David as king;
of him he testified,
‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.’
From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tomorrow the wickedness of the earth will be destroyed:
the Savior of the world will reign over us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile,
fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.
Interactive Saints for Kids
St. Charbel
Feast Day: December 24
Born:1828 :: Died:1898
St. Charbel was born Youssef Zaroun Makhlouf in the mountain village of Beka-Kafra in Lebanon. He was the son of a mule driver and his life was very ordinary.
Youssef attended the small school and the parish church. His favourite book was Thomas a Kempis's The Imitation of Christ. He loved the Blessed Mother and spent lots of time praying.
He had two uncles who were monks. Although Youssef did not tell anyone, he prayed to Our Lady to ask her help in becoming a monk. His parents wanted him to marry. There was a very nice girl in the village who would make an ideal wife, they thought. But Youssef believed it was time to follow his call to become a monk.
He joined the monastery of Our Lady at the age of twenty-three. He took the name Charbel, after an early martyr by that name. Charbel studied for the priesthood and became a priest when he was thirty. He remained at the monastery of St. Maron for sixteen years.
Father Charbel was a special person whose love for prayer became his outstanding quality. From time to time he would go alone to the order's hermitage for stronger prayer times.
The last twenty-three years of his life, Charbel spent in the peace of the hermitage in total silence. He chose to lead a very hard life. He made sacrifices, ate little, slept on the hard ground, and prayed long hours.
The years passed, and Charbel became a person totally in love with Jesus. Then as he celebrated the Mass on December 16, 1898, he suffered a stroke during the consecration. Charbel lingered for eight painful days, then died on December 24, 1898.
Miracles began to happen at the holy monk's grave. Some of those miracles were accepted for declaring Charbel "blessed" and then "saint."
Father Charbel was proclaimed a saint by Pope Paul VI on October 9, 1977. The pope explained that St. Charbel taught us by his life the true way to God. He said that our lives today give so much importance to wealth and comfort. Charbel, instead, teaches by his example the value of being poor, self-sacrificing and prayerful.
Catholic Culture
Collect: Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus, and do not delay, that those who trust in your compassion may find solace and relief in your coming. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
o Basic Sweet Dough
o Beet Soup
o Breton Nut Bread
o Brioche
o Buche de Noel
o Bunuelous
o Butter Balls
o Butterscotch-Walnut Apples on Sticks
o Carp
o Cassata
o Cheese Filling for Pierogi
o Christmas Fruit Bread
o Christmas Stollen (4)
o Christstollen (2)
o Codfish
o Cream Oyster Stew
o Eggnog
o Eggnog Pie
o English Eggnog
o Fish Salad
o Fruit Topping for Mazurek
o Galette
o German Cinnamon Stars
o Hot Buttered Rum
o Insalata di Rinforzo
o Kapusta Czerwona z Grzyby
o Mazurek
o Melachrino
o Mexican Cold Fish
o Mexican Fritters
o Pierogi
o Pierogi
o Plum Pudding Sauce
o Pockets with Cheese or Berries
o Popcorn Balls
o Potato Dumplings
o Sandacz Pieczony
o Simmered Carp
o Six Christmas Dinner Menus
o Soft Molasses Cookies
o Spanish Eggnog
o Spritz Cookies
o Stollen (1)
o Stollen (3)
o Truffled Capon
o Vanocka
o Vegetable Soup
o Wayside Inn Pie
o Yule Log Coffee Cake
o A Christmas Play
o Bread of Angels
o Christ-Candle
o Christmas Eve Celebrations
o Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
o Christmas Eve Supper
o Christmas Eve Supper
o Christmas Plays, Los Pastores and Las Posadas
o Christmas Song: The Shepherds' Song
o Christmas Tree Decorations
o Decorating the Tree
o Irish Christmas Candles
o Oplatek, Old Polish Custom
o Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas
o Polish Wigilia
o Santa Claus
o Slovakian Generous Supper
o The Christmas Wreath
o The Exchange of Gifts
o The feasts of Light: Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas
o Advent Tower
o Advent Wreath Prayers I
o Blessing of the Christmas Crib
o Blessing of the Christmas Tree in the Home
o Christmas Eve Prayers
o Christmas Novena
o Enthroning the Christ Child
o Blessing of the Crib
o Advent Wreath Prayers II
o Christmas Baking and Bread Blessing
o Christmas Morning Prayers
o Christmas Evening Prayers
o Novena to the Infant Jesus
o Christmas Masses
o Blessing of the Christmas Tree
o Book of Blessings: Blessing of a Christmas Tree
o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
o December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
o Christmas Anticipation Prayer
o Book of Blessings: Blessing of the Christmas Tree for the Home (Shorter Rite)
o Book of Blessings: Blessing of a Christmas Tree
o Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (1st Plan)
o Christmas Eve Ceremony: Blessing of the Crib
o Celebrating Christmas: with the Accent on Christ | Unknown
o May Christ Teach us to be a Gift for Others | Pope John Paul II
o May the Light of this Night Shine Upon the Future | Pope John Paul II
· Advent: December 24th
· Christmas Eve
Old Calendar: Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord ; Other Titles: Christmas Eve
+Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen.
In the General Roman Calendar, this date is the last day of Advent, Christmas Eve, and also (beginning with the vigil Mass) is the first day of Christmas time. The liturgical texts express wholehearted confidence in the imminent coming of the Redeemer. There is much joyous expectation. Most families have their own observances, customs that should be preserved from generation to generation. Today is the last day of our Christmas Novena.
Christmas Eve at Church
The entire liturgy of Christmas Eve is consecrated to the anticipation of the certain and sure arrival of the Savior: "Today you shall know that the Lord shall come and tomorrow you shall see His glory" (Invitatory of Matins for the Vigil of the Nativity). Throughout Advent we have seen how the preparation for Jesus' coming became more and more precise. Isaiah, John the Baptist and the Virgin Mother appeared throughout the season announcing and foretelling the coming of the King. We learn today that Christ according to His human nature is born at Bethlehem of the House of David of the Virgin Mary, and that according to His divine nature He is conceived of the Spirit of holiness, the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity.
The certitude of His coming is made clear in two images. The first is that of the closed gate of paradise. Since our first parents were cast forth from the earthly paradise the gate has been closed and a cherubim stands guard with flaming sword. The Redeemer alone is able to open this door and enter in. On Christmas Eve we stand before the gate of paradise, and it is for this reason that Psalm 23 is the theme of the vigil:
Lift up your gates, O princes,
Open wide, eternal gates,
That the King of Glory may enter in. . . .
Christmas Eve at Home
It must be so that the grown-ups may devote themselves with a quiet mind, unhindered by any commotion, to these great mysteries of the Holy Night, that in most Catholic countries the giving of gifts has been advanced to Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve is an appropriate time for the exchange of gifts, after the Christ-Child has been placed in the manger, and the special prayers before the crib — and a round of Christmas carols — are over. If the gifts are given out before the Midnight Mass, the children can concentrate more easily on the great mystery which is celebrated, when the Greatest Gift is given to all alike, even those who have received no material expression of Christmas love. And then, too, Christmas Day with its two additional Masses can be devoted more to the contemplation of the Christmas mystery and the demands of Christmas hospitality.
The opening of the eternal gates through which the King of Glory may enter is indicated by the wreath on the door of our homes at Christmastide. The Advent wreath, which accompanied the family throughout the season of preparation may be taken down. The violet ribbons are removed, and it is gloriously decorated with white and gold. It is then placed upon the door as a symbol of the welcome of Christ into our city, our home and our hearts. On Christmas Eve the whole house should be strewn with garlands and made ready for the Light of the World. The crib is set in a special place of honor, for tonight the central figure of the Nativity scene is to arrive.
Today is Day Nine of the Christmas Novena.
Reflection by Father Robert Barron
Christmas Eve – The True King
by Fr. Robert Barron
St. Luke’s telling of the Christmas story, which is read at Midnight Masses all over the Catholic world, commences by invoking the first-century’s most powerful man: “In those days Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole world.”
Here the emperor is doing a paradigmatically powerful thing. If you can count your people more accurately, you can tax them more efficiently and you can draft them into the military more expeditiously. So far, this story begins like all other ancient epics, by praising the strong and powerful.
But then St. Luke makes a canny move. He shifts his attention away from Augustus Caesar and toward a poor couple of no notoriety whatsoever, making their way to a dusty hamlet on the fringes of the Roman Empire. In the nothing town of Bethlehem, Mary gives birth to a child, who is wrapped up in swaddling clothes and placed in the manger where the animals eat. The baby is visited, not by courtiers, but by shepherds, who had, at that time, something of the status that street people have today.
Then an angel appears and announces that this destitute infant, to whom Caesar Augustus in Rome would pay absolutely no heed, is in fact the true Emperor: “I come to proclaim good news to you—tidings of great joy to be shared by the whole people. This day in David’s city a savior has been born to you, the Messiah and Lord.”
To say “Messiah” and “Lord” was to imply that a new David had arrived, a new King of the Jews. But as any careful reader of the Psalms and Prophets would know, to say King of the Jews was to imply King of the world—which is precisely why the angel said his message was for “the whole people.” This true king—simple, humble, vulnerable, and non-violent—would establish an order, a kingdom of God, which stands athwart the order of Rome.
Lest we have any doubt as to which of these kings is more powerful, Luke tells us, “Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in high heaven, peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.’” We should not be sentimental in regard to angels, for the typical reaction to one in the Bible is fear. And we are dealing here with a stratia of these fearsome creatures. That Greek word, translated usually as “host” or “multitude,” literally means army. The only reason that Caesar Augustus was able to dominate the world is that he had the biggest army. But Luke is saying that the baby king actually possesses a bigger army, though it is one that fights, not with the weapons (arma) of the world, but with those of heaven.
It is of these arms and of this man that Luke sings. His subversive Christmas tale continues posing a question: which narrative do you accept? Which king do you follow? Caesar or Jesus?
The Word Among Us
Meditation: Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29
4th Week of Advent
Forever I sing the goodness of the Lord. (Psalm 89:2)
Picture yourself perched excitedly at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning, like a little child who is waiting to come down and look at his presents. When the moment finally arrives, you rush down the stairs to find a whole stack of gifts with your name on them. Some are in a neat little pile, while others are hidden, waiting for you to find them.
Even though all the gifts are beautifully wrapped, the contents of each package are clearly labeled on the front: Patience. Wisdom. Fortitude. Humility. Peace. And then there is the biggest box of all: Joy. You immediately understand where these gifts came from—your heavenly Father. He knows just what you need and has given it all to you.
Which gift will you open first? Why not start with the biggest gift? So you go to the package that has “Joy” written on the side and open it excitedly.
Immediately you are filled with a beautiful warmth, a heartfelt, sincere delight that emanates from the center of your soul. This is more than just happiness, for that is a more fleeting and superficial feeling. This joy is deep-rooted, life affirming, and wholesome. It’s like having an eternal flame of contentment inside that can’t be extinguished. What a marvelous gift!
Joy is the perfect gift to open first. From the Annunciation to Mary to the birth of Jesus, we have heard the angels reminding us of the joy that God wants us to have. “Joy to the World!” is not just a popular Christmas carol but God’s promise to us. He is offering us the joy that comes because Jesus has not only entered the world; he has entered our hearts! In a sense, joy is also the basis for all the other gifts. With joy come peace, patience, courage, and so much more.
This Christmas Eve, rejoice in God’s goodness. Then take that gift of joy with you as you enter the new year so that you can share it with all the people God puts in your path.
“Lord, thank you for your gift of joy! Help me carry this gift with me and pass it on to all my friends—even my enemies!”
2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16
Luke 1:67-79
