Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 12-24-16

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 12-24-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

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Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 1
67.	And Zachary his father was filled with the Holy Ghost; and he prophesied, saying:	Et Zacharias pater ejus repletus est Spiritu Sancto : et prophetavit, dicens :	και ζαχαριας ο πατηρ αυτου επλησθη πνευματος αγιου και προεφητευσεν λεγων
68.	Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:	Benedictus Dominus Deus Israël, quia visitavit, et fecit redemptionem plebis suæ :	ευλογητος κυριος ο θεος του ισραηλ οτι επεσκεψατο και εποιησεν λυτρωσιν τω λαω αυτου
69.	And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:	et erexit cornu salutis nobis in domo David pueri sui,	και ηγειρεν κερας σωτηριας ημιν εν τω οικω δαυιδ του παιδος αυτου
70.	As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:	sicut locutum est per os sanctorum, qui a sæculo sunt, prophetarum ejus :	καθως ελαλησεν δια στοματος των αγιων των απ αιωνος προφητων αυτου
71.	Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:	salutem ex inimicis nostris, et de manu omnium qui oderunt nos :	σωτηριαν εξ εχθρων ημων και εκ χειρος παντων των μισουντων ημας
72.	To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,	ad faciendam misericordiam cum patribus nostris : et memorari testamenti sui sancti :	ποιησαι ελεος μετα των πατερων ημων και μνησθηναι διαθηκης αγιας αυτου
73.	The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,	jusjurandum, quod juravit ad Abraham patrem nostrum, daturum se nobis	ορκον ον ωμοσεν προς αβρααμ τον πατερα ημων του δουναι ημιν
74.	That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,	ut sine timore, de manu inimicorum nostrorum liberati, serviamus illi	αφοβως εκ χειρος των εχθρων ημων ρυσθεντας λατρευειν αυτω
75.	In holiness and justice before him, all our days.	in sanctitate et justitia coram ipso, omnibus diebus nostris.	εν οσιοτητι και δικαιοσυνη ενωπιον αυτου πασας τας ημερας της ζωης ημων
76.	And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:	Et tu puer, propheta Altissimi vocaberis : præibis enim ante faciem Domini parare vias ejus,	και συ παιδιον προφητης υψιστου κληθηση προπορευση γαρ προ προσωπου κυριου ετοιμασαι οδους αυτου
77.	To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:	ad dandam scientiam salutis plebi ejus in remissionem peccatorum eorum	του δουναι γνωσιν σωτηριας τω λαω αυτου εν αφεσει αμαρτιων αυτων
78.	Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:	per viscera misericordiæ Dei nostri, in quibus visitavit nos, oriens ex alto :	δια σπλαγχνα ελεους θεου ημων εν οις επεσκεψατο ημας ανατολη εξ υψους
79.	To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.	illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent : ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis.	επιφαναι τοις εν σκοτει και σκια θανατου καθημενοις του κατευθυναι τους ποδας ημων εις οδον ειρηνης

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67. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he has visited and redeemed his people.

AMBROSE; God in His mercy and readiness to pardon our sins, not only restores to us what He has taken away, but grants us favors even beyond our expectations. Let no one then distrust Him, let no one from consciousness of past sins despair of the Divine blessing. God knows how to change His sentence, if you have known how to correct your sin, seeing he that was long silent prophesies; as it is said, And Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit.

CHRYS. That is, "with the working of the Holy Spirit;" for he had obtained the grace of the Holy Spirit, not in any manner, but fully; and the gift of prophecy shone forth in trim; as it follows, And he prophesied.

ORIGEN; Now Zacharias being filled with the Holy Spirit utters two prophecies, the first relating to Christ, the second to John. And this is plainly proved by those words in which he speaks of the Savior as present and already going about in the world, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited, &c.

CHRYS. Zacharias, when he is blessing God, says, that He has visited His people, meaning thereby either the Israelites in the flesh, for He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; or the spiritual Israel, that is, the faithful, who were worthy of this visitation, making the providence of God of good effect towards them.

THEOPHYL; But the Lord visited His people who were pining away as it were from long sickness, and by the blood of His only begotten Son, redeemed them who were sold under sin. Which thing Zacharias, knowing that it would soon be accomplished, relates in the prophetic manner as if it were already passed. But he says, His people, not that when He came He found them His own, , but that by visiting He made them so.

69. And has raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.

THEOPHYL. God seemed to be asleep, disregarding the sins of the multitude, but in these last times coming in the flesh, He has risen up and trodden down the evil spirits who hated us. Hence it is said, And he has raised up an horn of salvation to us in the house of his servant David.

ORIGEN; Because Christ was born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, it is said, A horn of salvation to us in the house of his servant David; as it has also elsewhere been said, A vineyard has been planted in a horn, i.e. in Jesus Christ.

CHRYS. Now by a horn he means power, glory, and honor, deriving it metaphorically from the brute creatures, to whom God has given horns for defense and glory.

THEOPHYL; The kingdom of our Savior Christ is called also the horn of salvation, because all our bones are clothed with flesh, but the horn alone stretches beyond the flesh; so the kingdom of Christ is called the horn of salvation, as reaching beyond the world and the delights of the flesh. According to which figure David and Solomon were consecrated by the horn of oil to the glory of the kingdom.

70. As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began.

THEOPHYL. That Christ was born of the house of David, Micah relates, saying, And you, Bethlehem, are not the least in the city of Juda, for out of you shall come a governor who shall rule my people Israel. But all the prophets spoke of the Incarnation, and therefore it is said, As he spoke by the month of his holy prophets.

GREEK EX. Whereby he means that God spoke through them, and that their speech was not of man.

THEOPHYL; But he says, Which have been since the world began. Because all the Scriptures of the Old Testament were a constant prophecy of Christ. For both our father Adam himself, and the other fathers, by their deeds bore testimony to His dispensation.

71. That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.

THEOPHYL; Having first briefly said, He has raised up a horn of salvation to us, he goes on to explain his words, adding, of salvation from our enemies. As if he said, He has raised up to us a horn, i.e. He has raised up to us salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.

ORIGEN; Let us not suppose that this refers to our bodily enemies, but our ghostly. For the Lord Jesus came mighty in battle to destroy all our enemies, that He might deliver us from their snares and temptation.

72. To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73. The oath which he swore to our father Abraham,
74. That he would grant to us.

THEOPHYL; Having announced that the Lord, according to the declaration of the Prophet, would be born of the house of David, he now says, that the same Lord to fulfill the covenant He made with Abraham will deliver us, because chiefly to these patriarchs of Abraham's seed was promised the gathering of the Gentiles, or the incarnation of Christ. But David is put first, because to Abraham was promised the holy assembly of the Church; whereas to David it was told that from him Christ was to he born. And therefore after what was said of David, he adds concerning Abraham the words, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, &c.

ORIGEN; I think that at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, both Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were partakers of His mercy. For it is not to be believed, that they who had before seen His day, and were glad, should afterwards derive no advantage from His coming, since it is written, Having made peace through the blood of his Cross, whether in earth or in heaven.

THEOPHYL. The grace of Christ extends even to those who are dead, because through Him we shall rise again, not only we, but they also who have been dead before us. He performed His mercy also to our forefathers in fulfilling all their hopes and desires. Hence it follows, And to remember his holy covenant, that covenant, namely, wherein he said, Blessing, I will bless you, and multiplying, I will multiply you. For Abraham was multiplied in all nations, who became his children by adoption, through following the example of his faith. But the fathers also, seeing their children enjoy these blessings, rejoice together with them, just as if they received the mercy in themselves.

Hence it follows, The oath which he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant to us.

BASIL; But let no one, hearing that the Lord had sworn to Abraham, be tempted to swear. For as when the wrath of God is spoken of, it does not signify passion but punishment; so neither does God swear as man, but His word is in very truth expressed to us in place of an oath, confirming by an unchangeable sentence what He promised.

74. That we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear.

CHRYS. Having said that a horn of salvation had risen up to us from the house of David, he shows that through it we are partakers of His glory, and escape the assaults of the enemy As he says, That being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, we might serve him without fear. The two things above mentioned will not easily be found united. For many escape danger, but fail of a glorious life, as criminals discharged from prison by the king's mercy. On the other hand, some reap glory, but are compelled for its sake to encounter dangers, as soldiers in war embracing a life of honor are oftentimes in the greatest peril. But the horn brings both safety and glory. Safety indeed as it rescues us from the hands of our enemies, not slightly but in a wonderful manner, insomuch that we have no more fear, which are his very words; that being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we might serve him without fear.

ORIGEN; Or in another way; Frequently are men delivered from the hands of the enemy, but not without fear. For when fear and peril have gone before, and a man is then plucked from the enemies' hand, he is delivered indeed, but not without fear. Therefore said he, that the coming of Christ caused us to be snatched from the enemies' hands without fear. For we suffered not from their evil designs, but He suddenly parting us from them, has led us out to our own allotted resting place.

75. In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

CHRYS. Zacharias glorifies the Lord, because He has made us to serve Him with full confidence, not in the flesh as Judah did with the blood of victims, but in the spirit with good works. And this is what he means by in holiness and righteousness. For holiness is, a proper observance of our duty towards God, righteousness of our duty towards man; as, for example, when a man devoutly performs the Divine commands, and lives honorably among his fellow men. But he does not say "before men," as of hypocrites desirous to please men, but "before God," as of those whose praise is not of men, but of God; and this not once or for a time; but all the days of their life, as it is said, all our days.

THEOPHYL; For whosoever either departs from God's service before he dies, or by any uncleanness stains either the strictness or purity of his faith, or strives to be holy and righteous before men, and not before God, does not yet serve the Lord in perfect freedom from the hand of his spiritual enemies, but after the example of the old Samaritans endeavors to serve equally the Gods of the Gentiles, and his Lord.

76. And you, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.

AMBROSE; In prophesying of the Lord he rightly addresses the prophet, showing that prophecy also is a gift of the Lord, in order that he might not, while enumerating public benefits, seen to be so ungrateful as to be silent of his own. Hence it is laid, And you, child, shall be called the Prophet of the Highest.

ORIGEN; The reason I suppose that Zacharias hastened to speak to his son, was because he knew that John was shortly about to be a sojourner in the wilderness, and that he himself should see him no more.

AMBROSE; Now perhaps some may think it an absurd extravagance of the mind to address a child of eight days old. But if we keep our eyes fixed upon higher things, we surely can understand that the son might hear the voice of his father, who before he was born heard the salutation of Mary. The Prophet knew that there were certain organs of healing in a Prophet which were unclosed by the Spirit of God, not by the growth of the body. He possessed the faculty of understanding who was moved by the feeling of exultation.

THEOPHYL; Unless indeed Zacharias be supposed to have wished as soon as he was able to speak, to proclaim for their instruction who were present, the future gifts of his son, which he had long before learnt from the Angel. Let the Arians however hear that our Lord Christ, whom John went before prophesying of Him, Zacharias calls "the Most High," as it is said in the Psalms, A man was as born in her, and the most highest has established her.

CHRYS. But as kings have their companions in arms, who stand nearest to them, so John, who was the friend of the Bridegroom, went before Him nigh to His coming. And this is what follows, For you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. For some prophets have preached the mystery of Christ at a distance, but he preached it nearer the time, that he might both see Christ, and declare Him to others.

GREG. But all they who by preaching cleanse the hearts of their hearers from the filth of their sins, prepare a way for the coming of wisdom into the heart.

77. To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins.

THEOPHYL. For the manner in which the forerunner prepared the way of the Lord he explains, adding, To give knowledge of salvation. The Lord Jesus is salvation, but the knowledge of salvation, i.e. of Christ, was given in John, who bore witness of Christ.

THEOPHYL; For as if desiring to explain the name of Jesus, i.e. the Savior, he frequently makes mention of salvation, but lest men should think it was a temporal salvation which was promised, he adds, for the forgiveness of sins.

THEOPHYL. For in no other way was He known to be God, but as having forgiven the sins of His people. For or it is of God alone to forgive sins.

THEOPHYL; But the Jews prefer not to receive Christ, but to wait for Antichrist; for they desire to be delivered not from the dominion of sin within, but from the yoke of man's bondage without.

78. Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high has visited us.

THEOPHYL. Because God has forgiven our sins not for our works sake, but through His mercy, it is therefore fitly added, Through the tender mercy of our God.

CHRYS. Which mercy we find not indeed by our own seeking, but God from on high has appeared to us, as it follows; Whereby (i.e. by His tender mercy) the day-spring from on high (that is, Christ) has visited us, taking upon Him our flesh.

GREEK EX. Abiding on high yet present upon the earth, suffering neither division nor limitation, which thing neither can our understanding embrace, nor any power of words express.

79. To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

THEOPHYL; Christ is rightly called the Day-spring, because He has disclosed to us the rising of the true light, as it follows; To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

CHRYS. By darkness he means not material darkness, but error or and distance from the faith, or ungodliness. BASIL; For in thick darkness were the Gentile people sitting, who were sunk deep in idolatry, until the rising light dispersed the darkness, and spread abroad the brightness of truth.

GREG. But the shadow of death is taken to mean the forgetfulness of the mind. For as death causes that which it kills to be no longer in life, so whatever oblivion touches ceases to be in the memory. Hence the Jewish people who were forgetful of God are said to sit in the shadow of death. The shadow of death is taken also for the death of the flesh, because as that is the true death, by which the soul is separated from God, so that is the shadow of death by which the flesh is separated from the soul. Hence in the words of the martyrs it is said, the shadow of death has come over us. By the shadow of death also is represented the following of the devil, who is called Death, in the Revelations, because as a shadow is formed according to the quality of the body, so the actions of the wicked are expressed according to the manner of their following him.

CHRYS. He rightly says sitting, for we were not walking in darkness, but sitting down as having no hope of deliverance.

THEOPHYL. But not only does the Lord at His rising give light to those who sit in darkness, but he says something further as it follows, to direct our feet in the way of peace. The way of peace is the way of righteousness, to which He has directed our feet, i.e. the affections of our souls.

GREG. For we guide our steps in the way of peace, when we walk in that line of conduct wherein we depart not from the grace of our Maker.

AMBROSE; Mark also, in how few words Elisabeth prophesies, in how many Zacharias, and yet each spoke filled with the Holy Spirit; but this discipline is preserved, that women may study rather to learn what are the Divine commands than to teach them.

Catena Aurea Luke 1

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Scenes from the Life of St John the Baptist: 2. Birth and Naming of the Baptist

Giotto di Bondone

1320
Fresco, 280 x 450 cm
Peruzzi Chapel, Santa Croce, Florence

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Birth and Naming St John

Fra Filippo Lippi

1452-65
Fresco
Duomo, Prato

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St John Altarpiece (left panel)

Rogier van der Weyden

1455-60
Oil on oak panel, 77 x 48 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin

The left panel depicts the Naming of John the Baptist.

Elisabeth lies in bed in the background after giving birth, while the pregnant Mary, the future mother of Jesus, brings the newborn child to his father Zacharias. Zacharias had been struck dumb for his doubts when an angel told him, during service in the temple, that he was to be the father of a son (this scene is shown in the lowest archivolt relief on the left). He therefore has to write down the name of the child. Mary, as the more important saint, is distinguished from Zacharias and Elisabeth by her aureole.

The side panels of the St John Altarpiece do not merely show the beginning and end of the Baptist's earthly life. The parallels between the pictorial motifs also express moral conflict. On the left, the chaste Virgin Mary holds the newborn baby in her arms; she and Zacharias are looking at one another gravely, aware of the significance of the event.

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[Salvation]

Information: St. Charbel Makhlouf

Feast Day: December 24

Born: May 8, 1828, Bekaa Kafra (North Lebanon)

Died: December 24, 1898

Canonized: October 9, 1977 by Pope Paul VI

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

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.

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, December 24

Liturgical Color: Violet

St Charbel, priest, died on this
day in 1898. Against his parent’s
wishes, St. Charbel entered a
monastery to study for the
priesthood. He had a great
devotion to the Blessed
Sacrament and strongly believed
in the power of prayer and
fasting.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Advent: December 24th

Christmas Eve

MASS READINGS

December 24, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

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.

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Recipes (53)

• Basic Sweet Dough
• Beet Soup
• Breton Nut Bread
• Brioche
• Buche de Noel
• Bunuelous
• Butterscotch-Walnut Apples on Sticks
• Carp
• Cassata
• Cheese Filling for Pierogi
• Chestnut Stuffing
• Chocolate Cherry Fruit Cake
• Christmas Fruit Bread
• Christmas Stollen (4)
• Christstollen (2)
• Codfish
• Cranberry Foam Cocktail
• Cream Oyster Stew
• Eggnog
• Eggnog Pie
• English Eggnog
• Fish Salad
• Fruit Topping for Mazurek
• Galette
• German Cinnamon Stars
• Hot Buttered Rum
• Insalata di Rinforzo
• Kapusta Czerwona z Grzyby
• Mazurek
• Melachrino
• Mexican Cold Fish
• Mexican Fritters
• Mocha Butter Cream
• Old-Fashioned Bread Stuffing
• Pierogi
• Pierogi
• Plum Pudding Sauce
• Pockets with Cheese or Berries
• Popcorn Balls
• Potato Dumplings
• Sandacz Pieczony
• Simmered Carp
• Six Christmas Dinner Menus
• Soft Molasses Cookies
• Spanish Eggnog
• Spritz Cookies
• Stollen (1)
• Stollen (3)
• Truffled Capon
• Vanocka
• Vegetable Soup
• Wayside Inn Pie
• Yule Log Coffee Cake

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Activities (20)

• A Christmas Play
• Bread of Angels
• Christ-Candle
• Christmas Eve Celebrations
• Christmas Eve Midnight Mass
• Christmas Eve Supper
• Christmas Eve Supper
• Christmas Plays, Los Pastores and Las Posadas
• Christmas Song: The Shepherds' Song
• Christmas Tree Decorations
• Decorating the Tree
• Irish Christmas Candles
• Oplatek, Old Polish Custom
• Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas
• Polish Wigilia
• Santa Claus
• Slovakian Generous Supper
• The Christmas Wreath
• The Exchange of Gifts
• The Feasts of Light: Christmas, Epiphany and Candlemas

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Prayers (23)

• Advent Tower
• Advent Wreath Prayers I
• Blessing of the Christmas Crib
• Blessing of the Christmas Tree in the Home
• Christmas Eve Prayers
• Christmas Novena
• Enthroning the Christ Child
• Blessing of the Crib
• Advent Wreath Prayers II
• Christmas Baking and Bread Blessing
• Christmas Morning Prayers
• Christmas Evening Prayers
• Novena to the Infant Jesus
• Christmas Masses
• Blessing of the Christmas Tree
• Book of Blessings: Blessing of a Christmas Tree
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (2nd Plan)
• December Devotion: The Immaculate Conception
• Christmas Anticipation Prayer
• Book of Blessings: Blessing of the Christmas Tree for the Home (Shorter Rite)
• Book of Blessings: Blessing of a Christmas Tree
• Book of Blessings: Blessing Before and After Meals: Advent (1st Plan)
• Christmas Eve Ceremony: Blessing of the Crib

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Library (3)

• Celebrating Christmas: with the Accent on Christ | Unknown
• May Christ Teach us to be a Gift for Others | Pope John Paul II
• May the Light of this Night Shine Upon the Future | Pope John Paul II

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.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 1:67-79

4th Week of Advent (Mass in the Morning)

The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness. (Luke 1:78-79)

Ebenezer Scrooge, the main character of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, is an angry, bitter man who hates Christmas. But he has a change of heart on Christmas Eve, when he is visited by three spirits who show him what will happen if he doesn’t turn his life around. When Scrooge wakes up, he is a different man: “I am as light as a feather. I am as happy as an angel. . . . I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to everybody!”

In today’s Gospel, Zechariah has also been changed. He speaks for the first time in months, after being struck dumb for doubting the angel’s prophecy that he would have a son. Zechariah had always been a godly man, but he seems to have had little faith that God would intervene in his life. Now he is prophesying, praising God, and letting everyone know of the coming Messiah and of his son, John, who will pave the way.

Are you ready for Christmas? Or perhaps a better question would be, Do you believe that God can still work in your life? You may be expecting just another holiday, but that’s not the way God thinks. He wants to bless you. He wants to show you that he is your heavenly Father and that he cares for you. He wants to give you expectant faith.

So as you’re at Mass tonight or tomorrow, turn to the Lord with a sense of hope and expectation. It’s never too late for miracles to happen. Just ask Ebenezer Scrooge—or Zechariah! Go ahead, and ask God for your own miracle. It may be for healing for you or someone you love. It may be for the grace to overcome some persistent problem. Don’t be shy; ask for something you think is impossible. God won’t mind. In fact, he loves seeing his children reach out to him in faith. Let the magnitude of Jesus’ birth make you bold and confident.

The Messiah is coming, and nothing will ever be the same!

“Jesus, thank you for coming to live among us. Your birth means that my life cannot and must not stay the same!”

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16
Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for December 24, 2016:

Christmas traditions are important but some just add stress to our lives. Christmas Eve Midnight Mass is nice but not with cranky kids. A special meal is unifying – but not if it makes you frazzled. Pause for five minutes today to be quiet, and simplify your expectations.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 33, Issue 1

<< Saturday, December 24, 2016 >>

2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16
View Readings

Psalm 89:2-5, 27, 29

Luke 1:67-79
Similar Reflections

"FREE AT LAST"

"You shall go before the Lord to prepare straight paths for Him, giving His people a knowledge of salvation in freedom from their sins." —Luke 1:76-77

On this Christmas Eve day and last day of Advent, we sing, for the last time until next Advent, "O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel." We are mourning in lonely exile. We cry out and sing out for God to visit and ransom His people this Christmas season (Lk 1:68). We must be "rid of fear and delivered from the enemy" (Lk 1:74). We need Emmanuel, the Messiah, Jesus.

Only Jesus, the Truth, can set us free (see Jn 8:36; 14:6; 8:32). He began His public ministry by proclaiming: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; therefore He has anointed Me. He has sent Me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Lk 4:18-19). Jesus announced a perpetual Jubilee Year of liberation (see Lv 25:8ff).

Receive from Jesus the ultimate Christmas present — freedom to "serve Him devoutly and through all our days be holy in His sight" (Lk 1:75). This Christmas, proclaim as Martin Luther King preached: "Free at last, Lord God Almighty, free at last!"

Prayer: "O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears."

Promise: "Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before Me; your throne shall stand firm forever." —2 Sm 7:16

Praise: "Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel because He has visited and ransomed His people" (Lk 1:68).

[Salvation]