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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).

Daily Gospel Commentary

Christmas (Mass of the day)

Commentary of the day
Saint Basil (c.330-379), monk and Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, Doctor of the Church
Homily on the birth of Christ; PG 31, 1471f.

"We saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son"

“The magi were overjoyed at seeing the star” (Mt 2,10). Let us, too, today, welcome this great joy into our hearts, the joy the angels announced to the shepherds. Let us adore with the magi, rejoice with the shepherds, sing with the angels: “Today a savior has been born for us who is Christ the Lord; the Lord God has appeared to us”. . .

This feast is held in common by the whole creation: stars traverse the heavens, magi arrive from foreign lands, earth receives him in a cave. There is nothing that does not add to this feast, nothing that does not come to it with full hands. Let us, too, ring out a song of joy. . .; let us celebrate the world's salvation, the day of humanity's birth. Today the punishment that struck down Adam is abolished. Let no one any longer say: “You are dirt and to dirt you shall return” (Gn 3,19), but: “United to him who comes down from heaven you will be raised up into heaven”. . .

“A child is born to us, a son is given us; his dominion is vast” (Is 9,5.6). . . What an abyss of goodness and love for humankind! So unite yourself to those who receive their Lord descending from heaven with joy and who adore the Great God in this little child. God's power is manifested in this body as light through a window and it shines on the eyes of those who are pure of heart (Mt 5,8). So together with them we will be able “with unveiled face, gaze as in a mirror on the glory of the Lord and ourselves be transformed from glory to glory” (cf. 2Cor 3,18) through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and his love for us.