Sunday 25 th december 2022
Christmas Day
Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Is 9: 5
A child is born for us, and a son is given to us; his sceptre of power rests upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Messenger of great counsel.
Collect
O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it, grant, we pray, that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading : Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion, ‘Your God is king!’ Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, they shout for joy together, for they see the Lord face to face, as he returns to Zion. Break into shouts of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord is consoling his people, redeeming Jerusalem. The Lord bares his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Psalm 97(98):1-6
R/ All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation
- The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel.
- All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy.
- Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp, with the sound of music. With trumpets and the sound of the horn acclaim the King, the Lord.
Second reading : Hebrews 1:1-6
At various times in the past and in various different ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our own time the last days, he has spoken to us through his Son, the Son that he has appointed to inherit everything and through whom he made everything there is. He is the radiant light of God’s glory and the perfect copy of his nature, sustaining the universe by his powerful command; and now that he has destroyed the defilement of sin, he has gone to take his place in heaven at the right hand of divine Majesty. So he is now as far above the angels as the title which he has inherited is higher than their own name. God has never said to any angel: You are my Son, today I have become your father, or: I will be a father to him and he a son to me. Again, when he brings the First-born into the world, he says: Let all the angels of God worship him.
Gospel Acclamation : cf.Lk24:32
Alleluia, alleluia! A hallowed day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, worship the Lord, for today, a great light has shone down upon the earth. Alleluia!
Gospel : John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower. A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light. The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself. The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. John appears as his witness. He proclaims: ‘This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.’ Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received- yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
Prayer over the Offerings
Make acceptable, O Lord, our oblation on this solemn day, when you manifested the reconciliation that makes us wholly pleasing in your sight and inaugurated for us the fullness of divine worship. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 97: 3
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Prayer after Communion
Grant, O merciful God, that, just as the Saviour of the world, born this day, is the author of divine generation for us, so he may be the giver even of immortality. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Meditation
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. To all who accept him, he gives power to become children of God.” These words of John’s gospel contain the central message of Christmas: God became man so that we may become like God. Jesus took our humanity in order to restore the dignity we lost as a result of sin. The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the restoration of our dignity as children of God. Thanks to the incarnation, you are no longer an ordinary creature; you are a child of God and an heir of God’s heavenly kingdom. Praise and glorify God, for he has exalted you and given you a share in his divine life; rejoice and be glad.