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| “The Nativity” by Willem Benson, 1550s |
Christmas
Mass at Dawn
Reading 1: Isaiah
62:11-12
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.
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Commentary on Is
62:11-12
This selection is the
conclusion of a poem of joy over the salvation brought about through renewed
faith in God and following his holy way.
The New Jerusalem (daughter Zion ), the kingdom of God
“Since the sixth century,
Christian tradition has used this poem in the liturgy of Christmas day. The birth of Jesus has brought about the
joyful union of God and mankind in a way that surpasses that described in terms
of spousal union. A monk of the Middle
Ages makes this beautiful comment: ‘Like
the bridegroom who comes out of his chamber the Lord came down from heaven
to dwell on earth and to become one with the Church through his
incarnation. The Church was gathered
together from among the Gentiles, to whom he gave his dowry and his blessings
–his dowry, when God was made man; his blessings, when he was sacrificed for
their salvation. ‘(Fausto de Riez, Sermo
5 in Epiphania).”[4]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 97:1, 6, 11-12
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.
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Commentary on Ps
97:1, 6, 11-12
This song of thanksgiving rejoices in God’s rule of the earth
from his heavenly throne. His salvation
dawns upon those who are justified in Him, as light dawns upon the earth at
each new day.
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Reading 2: Titus
3:4-7
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.
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Commentary on Ti
3:4-7
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Gospel: Luke
2:15-20
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.
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Commentary on Lk
2:15-20
The message, given to the shepherds
by choirs of angels that they, in turn, brought to Mary was; “For today in the city of David
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Reflection:
This morning I give you not
my words but those of a great leader of our faith, Pope St Leo the Great. His Christmas Sermon provides us with much to
be thankful for:
Dearly beloved, today our
Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of
life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the
promise of eternal happiness.
No one is shut out from this
joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and
death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice
as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives
the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.
In the fullness of time,
chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for
himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came
to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he
had overthrown mankind.
And so at the birth of our
Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim
peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem
Beloved, let us give thanks
to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great
love for us he took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us
to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation. Let us throw
off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ,
let us renounce the works of the flesh.
Christian, remember your
dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to
your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you
are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of
darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.
Through the sacrament of
baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great
a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty
was bought by the blood of Christ.
Merry Christmas!
[2]
The picture is “The Nativity” by Willem Benson, 1550s
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets”,
Scepter Publishers, Princeton ,
NJ
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