The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Mass at Dawn
Lectionary: 15
Mass at Dawn
Lectionary: 15
See, the LORD proclaims
to the ends of the earth:
say to daughter Zion,
your savior comes!
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
They shall be called the holy people,
the redeemed of the LORD,
and you shall be called “Frequented,”
a city that is not forsaken.
to the ends of the earth:
say to daughter Zion,
your savior comes!
Here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
They shall be called the holy people,
the redeemed of the LORD,
and you shall be called “Frequented,”
a city that is not forsaken.
R. A light
will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.
Beloved:
When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to those
on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to those
on whom his favor rests.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
the shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.
Have you read the news today - the "good
news" of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and son of Mary who was born for us
and for our salvation. The word gospel literally means good
news! Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah
would descend from David and be born in David's city, Bethlehem (Isaiah 9:6-7,
11:1-2; Micah 5:2-4).
The first to hear the good news of the savior's birth
were not the rulers and religious leaders of Israel who were robed in riches
and power. The angels first came to those who were humble and ready to
receive the newborn king who was born in poverty and was now lying in a manger
made for animals. Just as God had chosen and anointed David, a lowly shepherd
of Bethlehem to become the shepherd king of Israel, so Jesus, likewise chose
the path of humility and lowliness in coming to Israel as the good shepherd
king who would lay down his life for their sake and salvation. After the angels
had sung their hymn of glory in the presence of the shepherds, the shepherds
made haste to adore the newborn king and sing their hymn of glory as well.
Many of the early church fathers have written hymns and
homilies in praise of the Incarnation. John the Monk, an 8th century writer, in
his Hymn of the Nativity, sings of the great exchange in the
mystery and wonder of the Incarnation - God becoming man in order to bring man
to heaven:
Heaven and earth are united today, for
Christ is born! Today God has come upon earth, and humankind gone up to heaven.
Today, for the sake of humankind, the invisible one is seen in the flesh.
Therefore let us glorify him and cry aloud: glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace bestowed by your coming, Savior: glory to you! Today in Bethlehem,
I hear the angels: glory to God in the highest! Glory to him whose good
pleasure it was that there be peace on earth! The Virgin is now more spacious
than the heavens. Light has shone on those in darkness, exalting the lowly who
sing like the angels: Glory to God in the highest! Beholding him [Adam] who was
in God’s image and likeness fallen through transgression, Jesus bowed the
heavens and came down, without change taking up his dwelling in a virgin womb,
that he might refashion Adam fallen in corruption, and crying out: glory to
your epiphany, my Savior and my God! [Stichera
(hymn) of the Nativity of the Lord]
Why was it necessary
for the Word of God to become flesh? We needed a savior who could reconcile us
with God. Throughout the ages Christians have professed the ancient Nicene
Creed: "He became man for our sake and for the sake of our
salvation." The eternal Word became flesh for us so he could offer his
life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world through the shedding of
his blood on the cross. The Word became flesh to show us the infinite love and
tender mercy of God for us sinners.
In the feast of Christmas we celebrate present realities - Jesus Christ our redeemer who reigns in heaven and who also lives and reigns in our hearts through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. And we commemorate past events - the birth of the newborn Messiah King and his manifestation to Israel and to the gentile nations. We thank and bless God for the way in which he has saved us from the power of sin and the curse of death and destruction by sending his son to ransom us and give us pardon and abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. Today we celebrate the birthday of our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the feast of Christmas we celebrate present realities - Jesus Christ our redeemer who reigns in heaven and who also lives and reigns in our hearts through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. And we commemorate past events - the birth of the newborn Messiah King and his manifestation to Israel and to the gentile nations. We thank and bless God for the way in which he has saved us from the power of sin and the curse of death and destruction by sending his son to ransom us and give us pardon and abundant life through the gift and working of the Holy Spirit. Today we celebrate the birthday of our King and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
God wants to fill our hearts anew with joy and
gratitude for the greatest gift he could possibly give us - his beloved Son
Jesus. What can we give thanks for in this great feast of the Incarnation? We
can praise and thank God our Father for the fact that the Son of God freely and
joyfully assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it.
Jesus came to release the captives from slavery to sin and to open the gates of
paradise once again. This day the Holy Spirit invites us to make haste - as the
shepherds of Bethlehem did - to adore Jesus our King and Messiah. The Lord
Jesus Christ is our eternal good shepherd who guides and cares for us
unceasingly and who gives us abundant everlasting life and union with the
triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This day the whole community of heaven joins with all
believers of good will on earth in a jubilant song of praise for the good news
proclaimed by the angels on Christmas eve: Behold, I bring you good
news of a great joy which will come to all the people, for to you is born this
day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).
The joy of Christmas is not for a day or a season. It
is an eternal joy, a joy that no one can take from us because it is the joy of
Jesus Christ himself made present in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who
dwells within us (see Romans 5:2-5). The Lord gives us a supernatural joy which
no pain nor sorrow can diminish, and which neither life nor death can take
away. Do you know the joy of your salvation in Jesus Christ?
"Lord our God, with the birth of your Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, your glory breaks on the world. As we celebrate his first
coming, give us a foretaste of the joy that you will grant us when the fulness
of his glory has filled the earth."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The shepherds are the first proclaimers of
the Gospel, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735
A.D.
"The shepherds did not keep silent about the
hidden mysteries that they had come to know by divine influence. They told
whomever they could. Spiritual shepherds in the church are appointed especially
for this, that they may proclaim the mysteries of the Word of God and that they
may show to their listeners that the marvels which they have learned in the
Scriptures are to be marveled at." (excerpt
from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.7)
The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
Mass During the Day
Lectionary: 16
Mass During the Day
Lectionary: 16
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
“Your God is King!”
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.
are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
announcing peace, bearing good news,
announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
“Your God is King!”
Hark! Your sentinels raise a cry,
together they shout for joy,
for they see directly, before their eyes,
the LORD restoring Zion.
Break out together in song,
O ruins of Jerusalem!
For the LORD comforts his people,
he redeems Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations;
all the ends of the earth will behold
the salvation of our God.
R. (3c) All the
ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
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.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
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.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Brothers and sisters:
In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways
to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son,
whom he made heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him.
In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways
to our ancestors through the prophets;
in these last days, he has spoken to us through the Son,
whom he made heir of all things
and through whom he created the universe,
who is the refulgence of his glory,
the very imprint of his being,
and who sustains all things by his mighty word.
When he had accomplished purification from sins,
he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
as far superior to the angels
as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
For to which of the angels did God ever say:
You are my son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me?
And again, when he leads the firstborn into the world, he says:
Let all the angels of God worship him.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
For today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
For today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side,
has revealed him.
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God.
He came for testimony, to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He was not the light,
but came to testify to the light.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out, saying,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace in place of grace,
because while the law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side,
has revealed him.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
All things came to be through him,
and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world came to be through him,
but the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
but his own people did not accept him.
But to those who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name,
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision
but of God.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
Meditation: "The Word became flesh and
dwelt among us"
Why does John the Evangelist begin his Gospel account
with a description of the Word of God and the creation of the universe and
humankind? How might the beginning of John's Gospel be linked with the
beginning of the first book of Genesis (John 1:1-3 and Genesis 1:1-3)? The
“word of God” was a common expression among the Jews. God’s word in the Old
Testament is an active, creative, and dynamic word. “By the word of the Lord
the heavens were made” (Psalm 33:6). “He sends forth his commands to the earth;
his word runs swiftly” (Psalm 147:15). “Is not my word like fire, says the
Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces” (Jeremiah 23:29)? The
writer of the Book of Wisdom addresses God as the one who “made all things by
your word” (Wisdom 9:1).
The eternal Word leaped down from heaven
God’s word is also equated with his wisdom. “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19).The Book of Wisdom describes “wisdom” as God’s eternal, creative, and illuminating power. Both “word” and “wisdom” are seen as one and the same. “For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command” (Book of Wisdom 18:14-16).
God’s word is also equated with his wisdom. “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19).The Book of Wisdom describes “wisdom” as God’s eternal, creative, and illuminating power. Both “word” and “wisdom” are seen as one and the same. “For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command” (Book of Wisdom 18:14-16).
Truly man and truly God
John describes Jesus as God’s creative, life-giving and light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and sustains it who assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God. “What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed” (from an early church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother. From the time of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God’s Son “who has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2)
.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
John describes Jesus as God’s creative, life-giving and light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and sustains it who assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God. “What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed” (from an early church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother. From the time of the Apostles the Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God’s Son “who has come in the flesh” (1 John 4:2)
.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395 AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant? Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it, since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
Christians never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of
the Incarnation. The Son of God assumed a human nature in order to
accomplish our salvation in it. The Son of God ...worked with human hands; he
thought with a human mind. He acted with a human will, and with a human heart
he loved. Born of the Virgin Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like
to us in all things except sin (Gaudium et Spes).
We become partakers of Christ's divine nature
If we are going to behold the glory of God we will do it through Jesus Christ. Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so we could be partakers of his divinity (2 Peter 1:4). God's purpose for us, even from the beginning of his creation, is that we would be fully united with Him. When Jesus comes God is made known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By our being united in Jesus, God becomes our Father and we become his sons and daughters. Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten Son to redeem you and to share with you his glory?
If we are going to behold the glory of God we will do it through Jesus Christ. Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so we could be partakers of his divinity (2 Peter 1:4). God's purpose for us, even from the beginning of his creation, is that we would be fully united with Him. When Jesus comes God is made known as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By our being united in Jesus, God becomes our Father and we become his sons and daughters. Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten Son to redeem you and to share with you his glory?
"Almighty God and Father of light, your eternal
Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night. Open our
hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn,
that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace.”
SOLEMNITY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
(CHRISTMAS)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, JOHN 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14
(Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 25, JOHN 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14
(Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6)
KEY VERSE: "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth" (v 14).
TO KNOW: John did not record the nativity of our Lord in his gospel. Instead, he began with a mystical hymn to Christ (compare Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:6-11; and 1 Timothy 3:16, an early creed). John takes us back to the "beginning" (Gn 1:1), to the preexistent Christ, the eternal Word (Greek, Logos). The Word of God had been expressed in the creation of the universe, in divine wisdom, in the law revealed on Sinai, and in the word spoken through the prophets. Now God's Word was manifested in the Incarnation of Christ. In his flesh, Jesus embodies and reveals God's Word; he is divine wisdom personified. Through Christ's creative word all things are brought to life (Jn 1:3). He is the great liberator, like Moses, who sets men and women free from the restraints of sin (8:32). He is the divine "light" that casts out darkness by the light of truth (12:46). John the Baptist was the herald of God's Word. He came to testify to its truth so that all who believe in Christ might find life through him. Jesus came into our world so that we can come into his world.
TO LOVE: How can I share the gift of Jesus on this Christmas day?
TO SERVE: Thank you Heavenly Father for revealing your Word through your Son, Jesus.
NOTE: The Octave of Christmas lasts for eight days (octave means eight), beginning with Christmas day and ending with the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (January 1).
Sunday 25 December 2016
Sun 25th. Midnight Mass.
Isaiah 9:1-7. Today is born our Saviour, Christ the
Lord—Ps 95(96):1-3, 11-13. Titus 2:11-14. Luke 2:1-14.
A Great Mystery.
The birth of Christ. A union of extremes.
A mysterious and unexpected meeting of omnipotence and impotence, divinity and
infancy. In his incarnation, God humbly shares with us the fragility of the
human condition, a vulnerable child born to the lowliest of parents. For
centuries, Christians have marvelled at this great mystery, awed by the God who
'emptied himself, taking the form of a servant' (Phil 2:7). As we celebrate the
day with our loved ones, we must not forget to turn our minds towards that
little family, to the wondrous means of our salvation, and contemplate with
author G.K. Chesterton, 'that the hands that had made the sun and stars were
too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle'.
THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD – CHRISTMAS
The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes
Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131; in
Latin Dies Natalis.
Early Celebration
Early Celebration
Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the
Church. Sts. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts,
and Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia,
asserts that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their
birthday. Arnobius can still ridicule the "birthdays" of the gods.
The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. About A.D.
200, Clement of Alexandria says that certain Egyptian theologians "over
curiously" assign, not the year alone, but the day of Christ's birth,
placing it on 25 Pachon (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus. The
December feast therefore reached Egypt between 427 and 433.
In Rome the earliest evidence is in the Philocalian
Calendar, compiled in 354, which contains three important entries. In the civil
calendar December 25 is marked "Natalis Invicti." In the
"Depositio Martyrum" a list of Roman or early and universally
venerated martyrs, under December 25 is found "VIII kal. ian. natus
Christus in Betleem Iudæ."
De Santi (L'Orig. delle Fest. Nat., in Civiltæ Cattolica,
1907), following Erbes, argues that Rome took over the Eastern Epiphany, now
with a definite Nativity colouring, and, with as increasing number of Eastern
Churches, placed it on December 25. Later, both the East and West divided their
feast, leaving Ephiphany on January 6, and Nativity on December 25,
respectively, and placing Christmas on December 25 and Epiphany on January
6. The earlier hypothesis still seems preferable.
Origin of Date
Concerning the date of Christ's birth the Gospels give no
help; upon their data contradictory arguments are based. The census would have
been impossible in winter: a whole population could not then be put in motion.
Again, in winter it must have been; then only field labour was suspended, but
Rome was not thus considerate. Authorities moreover differ as to whether
shepherds could or would keep flocks exposed during the nights of the rainy
season.
Natalis Invicti
The well-known solar feast, however, of Natalis Invicti,
celebrated on December 25, has a strong claim on the responsibility for our
December date. For the history of the solar cult, its position in the Roman
Empire, and syncretism with Mithraism, see Cumont's epoch-making "Textes
et Monuments" etc., I, ii, 4, 6, p. 355. Mommsen (Corpus Inscriptionum
Latinarum, 12, p. 338) has collected the evidence for the feast, which reached
its climax of popularity under Aurelian in 274. Filippo del Torre in 1700 first
saw its importance. It is marked, as has been said, without addition in
Philocalus' Calendar. It would be impossible here even to outline the history
of solar symbolism and language as applied to God, the Messiah, and Christ in
Jewish or Chrisian canonical, patristic, or devotional works. Hymns and
Christmas offices abound in instances; the texts are well arranged by Cumont.
Liturgy and Custom
The fixing of this date fixed those too of Circumcision and
Presentation, of Expectation and, perhaps, Annunciation B.V.M., and of Nativity
and Conception of the Baptist (cf. Thurston in Amer. Eccl. Rev., December,
1898). Till the tenth century Christmas counted, in papal reckoning, as the
beginning of the ecclesiastical year, as it still does in Bulls. Boniface VIII
(1294-1303) restored temporarily this usage, to which Germany held longest.
The Crib (creche) or Nativity Scene
Saint Francis of Assisi in 1223 originated the crib of today
by laicizing a hitherto ecclesiastical custom, henceforward extra-liturgical
and popular. The presence of ox and ass is due to a misinterpretation of Isaias
1:3, and Habakkuk 3:2 ("Itala" version), though they appear in the
unique fourth-century "Nativity" discovered in the Saint Sebastian
catacombs in 1877. The ass on which Balaam rode in the Reims mystery won for
the feast the title Festum Asinorum (Ducange, op. cit., s.v. Festum).
Hymns and Carols
The degeneration of these plays in part occasioned the
diffusion of noels, pastorali, and carols, to which was accorded, at times, a
quasi-liturgical position. Prudentius, in the fourth century, is the first (and
in that century alone) to hymn the Nativity, for the "Vox clara"
(hymn for Lauds in Advent) and "Christe Redemptor" (Vespers and
Matins of Christmas) cannot be assigned to Ambrose. "A solis ortu" is
certainly, however, by Sedulius (fifth century). The earliest German
Weihnachtslieder date from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the earliest
noels from the eleventh, the earliest carols from the thirteenth. The famous
"Stabat Mater Speciosa" is attributed to Jacopone da Todi
(1230-1306); "Adeste Fideles" is, at the earliest, of the seventeenth
century. These essentially popular airs, and even words, must, however, have
existed long before they were put down in writing.
LECTIO DIVINA: THE BIRTH OF
THE LORD
Lectio Divina:
Sunday, December 25, 2016
The Prologue of John’s Gospel
John 1:1-18
John 1:1-18
1. OPENING PRAYER
In the darkness of a starless night,
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered, through the attractive radiance of
forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
a night of no sense,
you, the Word of life,
like lightning in the storm of forgetfulness,
entered within the bounds of doubt
under cover of the limits of precariousness
to hide the light.
Words made of silence and of the ordinary,
your human words, heralds of the secrets of the Most High:
like hooks cast into the waters of death
to find man once more, immersed in his anxious follies,
and reclaim him, plundered, through the attractive radiance of
forgiveness.
To you, Ocean of Peace and shadow of eternal Glory,
I render thanks:
Calm waters on my shore that awaits the wave, I wish to seek you!
And may the friendship of the brothers protect me
when night falls on my desire for you. Amen.
2. READING
a) The text:
1 In the beginning was the Word: the
Word was with God and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3
Through him all things came into being, not one thing came into being except
through him. 4 What has come into being in him was life, life that was the
light of men; 5 and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower
it. 6 A man came, sent by God. His name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to
bear witness to the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He was
not the light, he was to bear witness to the light. 9 The Word was the real
light that gives light to everyone; he was coming into the world. 10 He was in
the world that had come into being through him, and the world did not recognise
him. 11 He came to his own and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to
those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who
believed in his name 13 who were born not from human stock or human desire or
human will but from God himself. 14 The Word became flesh, he lived among us,
and we saw his glory, the glory that he has from the Father as only Son of the
Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John witnesses to him. He proclaims: 'This
is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me has passed ahead of me because
he existed before me.' 16 Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us,
received -- one gift replacing another, 17 for the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; it
is the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
b) A moment of silence:
Allow the voice of the Word echo within
us.
3. MEDITATION
a) Some question for reflection:
- God who is light has chosen to dispel
the darkness of man by making himself darkness. Man is born blind (cfr Jn
9:1-41): blindness is his condition of creature. The symbolical gesture of
Jesus in gathering mud to spread over the eyes of the man born blind in John,
signifies the newness of the incarnation: it is a gesture of new creation. The
blind man whose eyes are still covered with the mud of creation is asked to
make not an act of faith but one of obedience: to go to the pool of Siloe,
which means “sent”. The one “sent” is Jesus. Are we able to obey the
Word, which comes to us every day?
- The blind man in the Gospel of John is poor: he has no pretence and asks for nothing. We often live in daily blindness, resigned that we do not deserve better horizons. Can we see ourselves as having nothing so that the gift of God may be ours too, a gift of the redemption of the flesh, but above all a gift of light and faith?
- «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 close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (Jn 1:17-18). The knowledge of what happens in the story of our lives leads us to get out of the blindness of presumption and to contemplate the light that shines on the face of the Son of God. Our eyes, flooded with light, become open to events. When shall we be able to see God in our midst?
- The blind man in the Gospel of John is poor: he has no pretence and asks for nothing. We often live in daily blindness, resigned that we do not deserve better horizons. Can we see ourselves as having nothing so that the gift of God may be ours too, a gift of the redemption of the flesh, but above all a gift of light and faith?
- «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 close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known» (Jn 1:17-18). The knowledge of what happens in the story of our lives leads us to get out of the blindness of presumption and to contemplate the light that shines on the face of the Son of God. Our eyes, flooded with light, become open to events. When shall we be able to see God in our midst?
b) A key to the reading:
John was someone who was able to see the
light shining, who saw, heard and touched the light. In the beginning was the
Word: constantly turned towards the love of the Father, the Word became the
Father’s true explanation, his only exegesis (Jn 1:18), the revelation of his
love. In the logos was life and life was light, but the darkness did not
welcome the light. In the OT the revelation of the Word is the revelation of
light: to this corresponds the fullness of grace, the grace of grace, given to
us in Jesus, the revelation of God’s unlimited love (Jn 1:4-5, 16). The whole
witness of the OT is a witness of light: from Abraham to John the Baptist, God
sends witnesses to his light. John the Baptist is the last of these: he
announces the light that is to come into the world and recognises in Jesus the
long awaited light (Jn 1:6-8;15).
Dabar IHWH is God’s communication with man, which took place with all those whom God has called and to whom the word of the Lord came (cfr Is 55: 10-11). As Augustine says: The Word of God is the true light.
The word comes from the mouth of God, but it keeps its full force, and it is a person who creates and sustains the world. This word that creates and saves is identified with the Torah, which for Israel is the divine revelation in its totality, with Wisdom: The law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh from Jerusalem (Is 2:3).
The memra (aramaic) is the concept used by John to go from the dabar to the logos: in the targum the memra has a creating function, but above all a revealing function that is expressed particularly through the image of light. In the Targum Neophiti, the famous poem of the four nights on Ex 12:42 it is written: «The first night was when IHWH revealed himself above the world to create it: the world was desert and empty and darkness covered the face of the abyss. And the memra of IHWH was the light that shone». In the Targum Jerushalaim manuscript 110 says: «With his word IHWH shone and shed light».
The midrash stresses that the law was before the world, it was life, it was light: «The words of the Torah are light for the world» (Midrash Dt Rabba 7.3). Only daughter of God, the Torah was written with black fire in the white flame and sits on God’s knees while God sits on his throne of glory (cfr Midrash on Psalm 90:3).
The logos-light becomes present in the world. All is life in him: the Word takes the place of the Torah. The signs are transcendent, and more than a substitution we see a fulfilment. If for the Jew the Torah is God’s daughter, John shows that she is the logos that from the beginning is with God, is God. This logos becomes flesh: man, frail, limited, finite, placing his glory in the flesh. He put down his tent, skené, among us, he became the shekinah of God among us, and he showed his glory, the overwhelming presence of God to men. The glory that dwelt in the tent of the exodus (Ex 40:34-38), that dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8: 10), now dwells in the flesh of the Son of God. This is indeed an epiphany. The shekinah is made visible, because the shekinah is Christ, place of the presence and of the divine glory. There is one who has seen the glory of God: the only Son full of grace and truth; he comes to reveal to us the face of the Father, the only one who can do this because he has his existence in the bosom of the Father. From this fullness of life comes the new creation. Moses gave the law. Christ gives grace and truth, love and fidelity. In the Son we can contemplate God without dying because whoever sees the Son sees also the Father: Jesus is the exegesis, the narration of the divine life.
And the place of revelation is his flesh. This is why John says at the time of fulfilment: “We have seen his glory” (Jn 1: 14), when at the “time of glorification” there is only darkness. The light is hidden when it gives its life for love of men, love to the very end, without restriction, respecting the freedom of man to crucify the Author of life. God is glorified at the moment of the passion: a love completed, definitive, unlimited, a love shown even to its extremist consequences. This is the mystery of the light that becomes a way in the darkness, because love likes the darkness of the night when life becomes more intimate and one’s words die to live in the breath of the words of the person loved, the light is in the love that gives light to that hour of expropriation, the hour when one loses oneself to find oneself again in the embrace of life.
Dabar IHWH is God’s communication with man, which took place with all those whom God has called and to whom the word of the Lord came (cfr Is 55: 10-11). As Augustine says: The Word of God is the true light.
The word comes from the mouth of God, but it keeps its full force, and it is a person who creates and sustains the world. This word that creates and saves is identified with the Torah, which for Israel is the divine revelation in its totality, with Wisdom: The law will go out from Zion, and the oracle of Yahweh from Jerusalem (Is 2:3).
The memra (aramaic) is the concept used by John to go from the dabar to the logos: in the targum the memra has a creating function, but above all a revealing function that is expressed particularly through the image of light. In the Targum Neophiti, the famous poem of the four nights on Ex 12:42 it is written: «The first night was when IHWH revealed himself above the world to create it: the world was desert and empty and darkness covered the face of the abyss. And the memra of IHWH was the light that shone». In the Targum Jerushalaim manuscript 110 says: «With his word IHWH shone and shed light».
The midrash stresses that the law was before the world, it was life, it was light: «The words of the Torah are light for the world» (Midrash Dt Rabba 7.3). Only daughter of God, the Torah was written with black fire in the white flame and sits on God’s knees while God sits on his throne of glory (cfr Midrash on Psalm 90:3).
The logos-light becomes present in the world. All is life in him: the Word takes the place of the Torah. The signs are transcendent, and more than a substitution we see a fulfilment. If for the Jew the Torah is God’s daughter, John shows that she is the logos that from the beginning is with God, is God. This logos becomes flesh: man, frail, limited, finite, placing his glory in the flesh. He put down his tent, skené, among us, he became the shekinah of God among us, and he showed his glory, the overwhelming presence of God to men. The glory that dwelt in the tent of the exodus (Ex 40:34-38), that dwelt in the temple (1 Kings 8: 10), now dwells in the flesh of the Son of God. This is indeed an epiphany. The shekinah is made visible, because the shekinah is Christ, place of the presence and of the divine glory. There is one who has seen the glory of God: the only Son full of grace and truth; he comes to reveal to us the face of the Father, the only one who can do this because he has his existence in the bosom of the Father. From this fullness of life comes the new creation. Moses gave the law. Christ gives grace and truth, love and fidelity. In the Son we can contemplate God without dying because whoever sees the Son sees also the Father: Jesus is the exegesis, the narration of the divine life.
And the place of revelation is his flesh. This is why John says at the time of fulfilment: “We have seen his glory” (Jn 1: 14), when at the “time of glorification” there is only darkness. The light is hidden when it gives its life for love of men, love to the very end, without restriction, respecting the freedom of man to crucify the Author of life. God is glorified at the moment of the passion: a love completed, definitive, unlimited, a love shown even to its extremist consequences. This is the mystery of the light that becomes a way in the darkness, because love likes the darkness of the night when life becomes more intimate and one’s words die to live in the breath of the words of the person loved, the light is in the love that gives light to that hour of expropriation, the hour when one loses oneself to find oneself again in the embrace of life.
4. PRAYER
Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow
and distress,
put on the beauty of God's glory for evermore,
wrap the cloak of God's saving justice around you,
put the diadem of the Eternal One's glory on your head,
for God means to show your splendour
to every nation under heaven,
and the name God gives you for evermore will be,
'Peace-through-Justice, and Glory-through-Devotion'.
Arise, Jerusalem,
stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east:
see your children reassembled from west
and east at the Holy One's command,
rejoicing because God has remembered.
Though they left you on foot driven by enemies,
now God brings them back to you,
carried gloriously, like a royal throne.
For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain,
of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk safely in God's glory.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel,
at God's command;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory,
with the mercy and saving justice which come from him.
Baruc 5,1-9
put on the beauty of God's glory for evermore,
wrap the cloak of God's saving justice around you,
put the diadem of the Eternal One's glory on your head,
for God means to show your splendour
to every nation under heaven,
and the name God gives you for evermore will be,
'Peace-through-Justice, and Glory-through-Devotion'.
Arise, Jerusalem,
stand on the heights and turn your eyes to the east:
see your children reassembled from west
and east at the Holy One's command,
rejoicing because God has remembered.
Though they left you on foot driven by enemies,
now God brings them back to you,
carried gloriously, like a royal throne.
For God has decreed the flattening of each high mountain,
of the everlasting hills,
the filling of the valleys to make the ground level
so that Israel can walk safely in God's glory.
And the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade for Israel,
at God's command;
for God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory,
with the mercy and saving justice which come from him.
Baruc 5,1-9
5. CONTEMPLATION
Father of light, I come to you with my
whole being. After going through times of goodness and times of slipping into
evil I finally understand, because of my experience, that alone I only exist in
shadow and darkness. Without your light I cannot see anything. Indeed, you are
the source of life; you, Sun of justice, who opens my eyes, you the way that
leads to the Father. Today you have come among us, eternal Word, as light that
goes on crossing the pages of history to offer humankind the gifts of grace and
joy in the desert of famine and emptiness: the bread and wine of your holy
Name, which at the hour of the cross will become visible signs of consummated
love, give us birth with you from that fertile side that is the Church, the
cradle of your life for us. Like Mary, we wish to stay by your side to
learn to be like her, full of grace from the Most High. And when our tents will
welcome the cloud of the Spirit in the radiance of one more word, we shall
understand the Glory of your Face and we shall bless in an adoring silence
without any further hesitation the Beauty of being one with you, living Word of
God.
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