For unto us, a Child is born,
unto us, a Son is given .....
Posted on 12/24/2005 5:46:18 PM PST by Salvation
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Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn,
sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.
This prayer from the Roman Martyrology is said by the family on Christmas Eve to celebrate Christ's birth, accompanied by the placement of the Christ Child in the crib in the home.
From the Roman Martyrology:
In the twenty-fourth day of the month of December;
In the year five-thousand one-hundred and ninety-nine from the creation of the world, when in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;
In the year two-thousand nine-hundred and fifty-seven from the flood;
In the year two-thousand and fifty-one from the birth of Abraham;
In the year one-thousand five-hundred and ten from the going forth of the people of Israel out of Egypt under Moses;
In the year one-thousand and thirty-two from the anointing of David as king;
In the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel;
In the one-hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;
In the year seven-hundred and fifty-two from the foundation of the city of Rome;
In the forty-second year of the reign of the Emperor Octavian Augustus;
In the sixth age of the world, while the whole earth was at peace—
JESUS CHRIST
eternal God and the Son of the eternal Father, willing to consecrate the world by His gracious coming, having been conceived of the Holy Ghost, and the nine months of His conception being now accomplished, (all kneel) was born in Bethlehem of Judah of the Virgin Mary, made man. The birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh.
All: Thanks be to God.(The Child is now placed in the crib by the youngest child, while all sing the following antiphon.)
All Sing: This day Christ is born; this day the Savior hath appeared; this day angels are singing on earth, archangels are rejoicing. This day the just are glad and say, Glory to God in high heaven, alleluia.
All: (All pray Psalm 109, one of the great Messianic psalms.)
The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand * till I make your enemies your footstool."
The scepter of your power the Lord will stretch forth from Sion: * "Rule in the midst of your enemies.
Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor; * before the day-star, like the dew, I have begotten you."
The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: * "You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchisedech."
The Lord is at your right hand; * he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will do judgment on the nations, heaping up corpses; * he will crush heads over the wide earth.
From the brook by the wayside he will drink; * therefore will he lift up his head.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son * and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.
All Sing: This day Christ is born; this day the Savior hath appeared; this day angels are singing on earth, archangels are rejoicing: This day the just are glad and say, Glory to God in high heaven, alleluia.
Mother or Eldest Child reads the Gospel from the Christmas Mass at Midnight.
All: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee. We bless Thee. We adore Thee. We glorify Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. Thou who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou only are holy. Thou only art the Lord. Thou only Jesus Christ, art most high.
With the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Father: O Lord, hear my prayer.
All: And let my cry come to You.
Father: Let us pray. O God, who made this most holy night to shine forth with the brightness of the true Light, grant we beseech Thee, that we who have known the mystery of His light on earth, may attain the enjoyment of His happiness in heaven. Who lives and reigns with Thee forever and ever.(The last window of the Advent Tower, masking the Christmas scene could be opened here.)
Prayer Source: Twelve Days of Christmas, The by Elsa Chaney, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 1955
| Sunday, December 25, 2005 The Nativity of the Lord - Christmas (Solemnity) |
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Lk 2:1-14 It was Christmas Eve and a young mother was busy wrapping the very last packages. She asked her little boy to polish her shoes for next morning's Christmas Mass. And so off he went. The little fellow was gone quite a while. But when he returned he was beaming as he presented the shiny shoes to his mother. "What a perfect shoe shine!" she said. And with that she gave him a shiny new quarter for working so hard and doing so well. The next morning, when she was dressing for church, she found something lodged in the toe of her shoe — something tiny, wrapped in a crumpled piece of paper. Carefully she opened the tiny package, and inside she found the quarter she'd given her little boy for shining her shoes. Written on the crumpled paper in his childish scrawl were these words: "Dear Mommy, I done it for love!" That's why we're here to celebrate on Christmas: because He did it for love! All for love! So what more can we say but "Thanks"? + + + + Thank You, Lord Jesus, for becoming our brother! Thank You for taking on all our troubles! Thank You for keeping your promise to be with us and for us all the days of our life! In the quiet of our hearts, we thank You, Lord Jesus, this day and always! Amen. |
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| 12/24/05 |
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Just for fun, the next time you hear people refer to the "Christmas spirit" or the "spirit of Christmas," ask them what they mean. By "spirit" they usually mean a vague attitude or a warm feeling surrounding a holiday that falls in an otherwise grim time of year. |
Did you know that Father Scalia is the son of Justice of the Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia?
In the January 2006 edition of First Things, Father Richard Neuhaus has a great critique of the ungainly NAB translation of the Bible. This Christmas reading is one of the prime examples he cites.
Faith-sharing ping.
My local newspaper used to print those verses in their editorial section every Christmas. I grew up reading it in a secular newspaper every Christmas. And then they stopped doing it....forget the year....but I do miss that tradition and I regret the aggressive secularism of our culture which purged such a positive nod to Christianity.
Such a blessing to view NBC's broadcast of Midnight Mass from the Vatican. The narrator (the American archbishop from the Vatican Press Office, "Norman") has such a soothing, comforting voice. He's a wonderful communicator of the Christian message.
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December 25, 2005    Solemnity of Christmas Old Calendar: The Nativity of Our Lord
The Christmas feast is a festival full of joy. The Eternal Word has become Man and dwells among us. The longings of the patriarchs and prophets are fulfilled. During the Christmas season there is an extensive exchange of greetings and good wishes among friends. These greetings are a reminder of those "good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people, for this day is born to you a Savior Who is Christ the Lord" (Lk. 2:11). They are a reminder, too, that all blessings and graces come to us from Christ: "Hath He not also with Him given us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). During the Christmas season there is also an exchange of gifts. This custom should recall to us that on this day God Himself gave to us the greatest of all gifts, His beloved Son: "God so loved the world as to give His only begotten Son" (John 3: 16).
Though not entirely unknown before, the custom of the Christmas Crib was adopted by St. Francis of Assisi at Greccio, Italy, on Christmas 1225. It is a concrete and vivid way of representing to ourselves the Incarnation and birth of Christ. It depicts in a striking manner the virtues of the newborn Savior, especially His humility, poverty, and charity. |
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With the shepherds we hurry to the manger and adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation descended upon earth. The purpose of the Christmas feast is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: "For by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that while we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen." 
The Christmas tree, of which the first-known mention was made in 1605 at Strasbourg, was introduced into France and England in 1840. It symbolizes the great family tree of Christ which through David and Jesse has its roots in Abraham, the father of the chosen race. It is often laden with gifts to remind us that Christmas brought us the priceless gifts of grace and of eternal life. It is frequently adorned with lights that recall to us that Christ is the Light of the world enlightening those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.