DECEMBER 24 Tuesday/Wednesday The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Vigil Mass
Vigil of the Nativity or Christmas
Eve[1]
CHRISTIAN, for the love of Christ, and for thine own
salvation, occupy thy mind, during this holy night, with holy thoughts and
aspirations, in order to make thyself worthy of all the graces which Christ
will grant thee on His coming. Consider how St. Joseph and the Blessed Virgin
Mary, in obedience to the edict of Caesar, and in perfect submission to the
will of God, went to Bethlehem, and, finding no room there, at last entered an
open stable, where they were content to stay. Does not the Son of God deserve
all our love when He thus humbled Himself for us? Tender Him your heart as an
abode, in the following
Prayer of the Church.
O God, Who givest us joy by the annual expectation
of our redemption, grant that we may securely see Him coming as our Judge Whom
we joyfully receive as our Redeemer, Our Lord Jesus
Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reignest with Thee forever. Amen.
Nativity of our Lord, or Christmas
CHRISTMAS
brings before us the happy day on which, in the fulness of time, Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, was born of the ever blessed and immaculate
Virgin Mary, in the stable at Bethlehem.
Why does every priest say three Masses on this day?
1. To
give thanks to the ever-blessed Trinity, Who cooperated in the incarnation of
Jesus Christ.
2. To
honor the three-fold birth of Jesus Christ: His eternal birth in the bosom of
His heavenly Father; His temporal birth of His virgin Mother; and His spiritual
birth in our hearts, which He occupies by His grace.
Why is the first Mass
celebrated at midnight?
The first
Mass is said at midnight to remind us that before Jesus Christ was born the
world was without the true light, and lay in darkness and the shadow of death.
Again, it was in the night that He was born; and both His temporal and eternal
births are mysterious truths, incomprehensible to our understanding.
Why is the second Mass
celebrated at daybreak?
The
second Mass is celebrated at daybreak because the birth of Christ brought light
to the gentiles, whose salvation was then nigh, and because, according to
tradition, it was about that hour that the shepherds came to see and adore the
new-born Savior.
Why is the third Mass
celebrated at daylight?
The third
Mass is said at daylight because Christ dispersed the darkness of ignorance,
and appeared as the Light of the world (John i. 9; Is. Ix. 8).
OF THE FIRST MASS.
The
Introit of the first Mass reminds us of the eternal birth of Jesus Christ: “The
Lord hath said to Me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps. ii.
7); “Why have the gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things?” (Ps. ii.
1.)
Prayer.
O God,
Who hast made this holy night shine forth with the brightness of the true
Light, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may enjoy His happiness in heaven, the
mystery of Whose light we have known upon earth. Amen.
EPISTLE. Titus ii. 11-15.
Dearly
Beloved: The grace of God our Savior hath appeared to all men, instructing us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and
justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the
glory of the great God and Our Savior Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for us,
that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to Himself a
people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort, in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
How did the grace of God
appear to all men?
Through
the incarnation of His Son, Whom, in His infinite love, He made like unto us,
to be our brother and teacher, that we might become children and heirs of God,
and co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
What does Christ teach us by
His incarnation?
That we
should abandon impiety, infidelity, injustice, and worldly desires, and love
God, and our neighbor, though he be our enemy, for God’s sake. The incarnation
also shows the dignity and greatness of man, for as God gave His only Son for
our redemption, we thereby perceive the worth of man in the sight of God.
What does the Apostle mean
by worldly desires?
He means
by them carnal and sensual desires and lusts, such as impurity, drunkenness,
avarice, and such like. Christ teaches us to renounce these by the poverty,
patience, fasting, and innumerable privations of His life.
How do we live soberly,
justly, and piously?
We live
soberly when we use temporal goods according to the intention and will of God,
and to supply our necessary wants; we live justly when we desire for, and
render to, our neighbor what, by the example of Christ, we are bound to; we
live piously when we give God His due honor, love Him above all things, and
love all men, in Christ, for His sake.
GOSPEL. Luke ii. 1-14.
At
that time there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world
should be enrolled. This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus the governor of
Syria: And all went to be enrolled, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also
went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of
David, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child. And it
came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she
should be delivered. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapped Him
up in swaddling-clothes, and laid Him in a manger: because there was no room
for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and
keeping the night-watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord
stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them, and they
feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not: for behold I
bring you 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, in the city of David. And
this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant wrapped in
swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the
highest: and on earth peace to men of good will.
Why did Caesar Augustus publish a decree that all
the Roman subjects should be enrolled?
The immediate reasons of Caesar
are not known to us, but the result shows that it was done by the special providence
of God, for Joseph and Mary were thus obliged to go to Bethlehem, and so the
prophecy of Micheas, that the Messias should be born there, was fulfilled.
Why is Christ called the first-born Son of Mary?
Because she had no child before Him; and, moreover,
having no other after Him, He is also the only begotten of His blessed Mother,
as He was the first-born and only begotten of His heavenly Father (Heb. i. 6).
Why was the Savior of the world born in a stable?
To show, from His very birth, that He had not come
to establish a splendid worldly kingdom, but a kingdom of grace, justice, and
peace, and to lead us to imitate His example of poverty, humility, and contempt
of the world.
Why was the birth of Christ first announced to the
poor shepherds, and not to the high priests?
To show that God does not distribute His graces
through respect for persons: He exalts the humble and humbles those who exalt
themselves. The angels for joy praised God, and sang, “Glory to God in the
highest,” that is, “Praise and thanks to our heavenly Father for sending His
only-begotten Son for the salvation of men, “and on earth peace” that is,
prosperity, happiness, salvation, and blessing “to men of good will.” Learn
from the angels to be thankful for all the benefits which God bestows upon thy
neighbor, and then you also will partake of them. In particular, thank God
to-day for the inexpressible benefit of the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
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