Christmas Day 2025

Adoration of the Shepherds

Murillo, painted 1646-50 [Web Gallery of Art]

And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12; Gospel).

The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord has four different Mass formularies, each with its own prayers and readings. Any of the four fulfils our obligation to attend Mass. These are:

Vigil Mass, celebrated 'either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Nativity'; that means starting between 5pm and 7pm.

Mass During the Night, known before as 'Midnight Mass'.

Mass at Dawn.

Mass During the Day.

The readings from the Jerusalem Bible and from the English Standard Version for the four Masses are all on one page but with links to each individual Mass. When you click on 'Readings' below from the New American Bible you will find links to the readings for each of the four Masses.

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: (England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel (Mass During the Night) Luke 2:1-14 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

           ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'

Léachtaí i nGaeilge (Aifreann an Lae)

  

The Census at Bethlehem

Pieter Bruegel the Elder [Web Gallery of Art]

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child (Luke 2:4-5; Gospel).

Linus' Speech from A Charlie Brown Christmas

Linus quotes Luke 2:8-14 (Authorized [King James] Version):

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Charlie Brown finds satisfaction in Linus’ answer. He is made joyful. So why is this television special so enduring? Linus’ answer is the perfect Advent message for Christians awaiting the birth of Christ during a time taken over by commercialism [emphasis added]. That’s what Christians who watch this special take away from it. 

The above is a quotation from an article by Clemente Lisi, Why 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' Remains Beloved by both Christians and Non-believers - an article well worth reading. A very perceptive comment on the article reads: I watched the original airing of the show in 1965 as an 8-year-old. Many, many times since then. It just occurred to me as I read your story that one of the main reasons for the profundity of Linus' speech is the silence before and after he quotes Luke. No piano, no laughter, no groaning. Just silence. It sets in our minds the importance of what is about to be said and subsequently what was said [emphasis added].

Notice how Linus drops his security blanket at the angel's words Fear not.

Adoration of the Shepherds (London)

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, The Infancy Narratives, Pope Benedict XVI writes on pages 66-67 as follows [emphases added].

'And while they were there [Bethlehem], the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:6-7, RSV).

'Let us begin our exegesis with the concluding words of this passage: there was no room for them in the inn. Prayerful reflection over these words has highlighted an inner parallel between this saying and the profoundly moving  verse from St John's Prologue (read in the Mass During the Day): He came to his own home, and his own people received him not (1:11). For the Saviour of the World, for him in whom all things were created (cf Col 1:16), there was no room. Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head (Mt 8:20). He who was crucified outside the city (cf Heb 13:12) also came into the world outside the city.

'This should cause us to reflect - it points toward the reversal of values found in the figure of Jesus Christ and his message. From the moment of his birth, he belongs outside the realms of what is important and powerful in worldly terms. Yet it is this unimportant and powerless child that proves  to be the truly powerful one, the one on whom ultimately everything depends. So one aspect of becoming a Christian is having to leave behind what everyone else thinks and wants, the prevailing standards, in order to enter the light of the truth of our being, and aided by that light to find the right path.'

+++

Both Rembrandt's painting above and Murillo's at the top beautifully show this unimportant and powerless child to be truly the light of the truth of our being.

2025 has been another dark year for many throughout the world, most of us feeling powerless at times in varying degrees. May the words of St John's Gospel be a beacon of hope for all of us:

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).

Agus tá an solas ag taitneamh sa dorchadas, ach níor ghabh an dorchadas é (Eoin 1:5).

Traditional Latin Mass

Christmas Day 

The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-25-2025, if necessary). Click on the circle in front of 'Missa prima', 'Missa secunda' or 'Missa tertia' for the specific Mass texts.

First Mass at Midnight

Epistle: Titus 2:11-15. Gospel: Luke 2:1-14.  

The Second Mass at Dawn

Epistle: Titus 3:4-7. Gospel: 2:15-20.

Third Mass During the Daytime

Epistle: Hebrews 1:1-12. Gospel: John 1:1-14.

Christmas

by John Betjeman (1906-1984)

from Holy Spirit Parish, Stamford, CT, USA

No love in a family dwells,

     No carolling on frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

     Can with this single Truth compare - 

That God was Man in Palestine

And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.

Beannachtaí na Nollag oraibh go léir.

The Blessings of Christmas on all of you.

                                            

Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday of Advent, Year A, 21 December 2025

 

The Dream of St Joseph

Georges de La Tour [Web Gallery of Art]

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife’ (Matthew 1:24).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: (England & Wales, Scotland, India)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Matthew 1:18-24 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife [into his home].

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ Carrying the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7; Second Reading).

Many years ago a young friend of mine in Mindanao on his first day in school was asked by his teacher who his father was. The boy answered, Ang Dios nga Amahan - 'God the Father'. The youngster was correct. Our deepest identity is that through baptism we are sons and daughters of God the Father, brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus Christ declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, as St Paul states in today's Second Reading. 

Not only is that our identity, it is also our mission because through Jesus we have received grace and apostleship . . . among all the nations. In his First Letter to the Corinthians St Paul spells out what this may mean: For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). Being a son or daughter of God the Father, a brother or sister of Jesus and of one another demands that we help carry the Cross of Jesus and that we make him known to others.

St John of the Cross writes: When he [God the Father] gave us, as he did, his Son, who is his one Word, he spoke everything to us, once and for all in that one Word. There is nothing further for him to say.

I highlight some of those words: he spoke everything to us, once and for all in that one Word. There is nothing further for him to say.

Christ in Agony on the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

El Greco's two paintings here show very clearly that we preach Christ crucified. The background of the city of Toledo, Spain, where the artist lived for many years, highlights the truth of the words of St John read at the Mass During the Day on Christmas Day: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). The Risen Lord lived in Toledo in El Greco's time, as he lives there now, as he lives wherever we are.

Advent prepares us to meet Jesus Christ, recalling the moment of his birth at Christmas; prepares us to meet him when he comes again in glory at the end of time, while preparing us to meet him at the moment of our death. And it prepares us to meet him in our daily lives, often in surprising and unexpected ways. All of this is the way of Jesus to draw us into a more intimate relationship with him, to draw us more deeply into our understanding of him as the Father's one Word.

Pope Benedict XVI in his General Audience on 3 September 2008 spoke on what had happened to St Paul on the road to Damascus. He finished with the  following words [emphases added]. 

Turning now to ourselves, let us ask what this means for us. It means that for us too Christianity is not a new philosophy or a new morality. We are only Christians if we encounter Christ. Of course, he does not show himself to us in this overwhelming, luminous way, as he did to Paul to make him the Apostle to all peoples. But we too can encounter Christ in reading Sacred Scripture, in prayer, in the liturgical life of the Church. We can touch Christ's Heart and feel him touching ours. Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One do we truly become Christians. And in this way our reason opens, all Christ's wisdom opens as do all the riches of truth.

Therefore let us pray the Lord to illumine us, to grant us an encounter with his presence in our world, and thus to grant us a lively faith, an open heart and great love for all, which is capable of renewing the world.

May the coming week be a time when we meet the loving Heart of Christ intimately and feel him touching ours.

Gabriel's Message

A traditional Basque carol sung by Voces8 

TEXT The angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame; "All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden, Mary, most highly favored lady," Gloria! "For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be, all generations laud and honour thee, thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold, "most highly favoured lady," Gloria! Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head, "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said. "My soul shall laud and magnify His holy Name." "Most highly favoured lady," Gloria! Of her, Emmanuel, the Christ was born in Bethlehem, all on a Christmas morn, and Christian folk throughout the world will ever say, "most highly favoured lady." Gloria!

The Annunciation

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

Traditional Latin Mass

Fourth Sunday of Advent

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-21-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:1-5. Gospel: Luke 3:1-6.

Every Valley from Messiah by Handel

Tenor: Jon Vickers; conductor: Sir Thomas Beecham

Ev’ry valley shall be exalted, and ev’ry mountain and hill made low; the crooked straight and the rough places plain (Isaiah 40:4) quoted in today’s Gospel (Luke 3:5).

                                             

Memories of my Auntie Madge at Christmas

 

Auntie Madge (Margaret Collins)

Taken by a street photographer, probably Arthur Fields, on O'Connell Bridge, Dublin, late 1940s.

(Please excuse the format of the photo!)

 

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town

Written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie

Arranged by Jim Clements

Sung by Voces8

My Auntie Madge (Margaret Collins) would have been ten or eleven when this song first appeared in 1934 and no doubt heard Santa Claus is Coming to Town many times. But she never heard the marvellous arrangement by Voces8, the British choral ensemble that I often use in Sunday Reflections, here singing a different kind of music from their largely religious repertoire.

Auntie Madge was the youngest of my mother's six sisters Jennie, Nan, Neita, Bridie, Eileen and Madge. I'm not sure where Bridie, who died in infancy, came in the sequence but I often heard my mother, Mary, talking about her. Three boys, Mick, Paddy and Jack, completed the family of my maternal grandparents, William Patrick Collins and Annie Dowd. My grandfather died early in 1945 when I was nearly two but I don't have any memories of him, though I am happy that he knew me, his third grandchild, and that he held me. He was only 59 when he died of lung cancer. Paddy came home f rom England when Madge was dying, stayed for a few months, as I recall, before going back there. However, he didn't keep in touch. Efforts by my mother and later by myself to trace him yielded no results. 

My first experience of the death of someone close to me was that of Auntie Madge at the age of 26 on 3 February 1950. I was a few months short of seven. She had rheumatic fever when she was twelve and it caught up with her in January 1950. I remember my mother and father, John, taking turns, along with my aunts, in spending nights in my grandmother's house when Madge was in her last illness. My father was with her when she died. I heard him say, If Madge doesn't get to heaven there's not much chance for the rest of us. That was his way of saying that she was very loving and caring to those around her.

My mother, God bless her, took me to the wake in my grandmother's home in Blackhall Place, Dublin, where the family had grown up. I still remember that vividly.

Auntie Madge wasn't married but had a boyfriend. Years later I learned from my mother that he also had another girlfriend who died and never married. We often have no idea of the sadness in people's lives.

Blackhall Place, Dublin

My grandmother's house, where Madge lived and died, was a few doors to the right of those in the photo. 

I have many happy memories of my Auntie Madge who was tall and pretty. One I treasure is her taking three of us cousins, Joan Martin, Auntie Neita's eldest, Billy Kiernan who died some years ago, Auntie Nan's first-born and myself, all born in 1943, to Pims department store in South Great George's Street in Dublin to meet Santa Claus. That was either in December 1949, shortly before Madge's death, or the year before that. I don't remember specifically meeting Santa on that occasion but what I recall vividly is riding on a 'train' with Joan and Billy. We were in a carriage, the 'train' rocking and the 'scenery' flashing by on the outside. When I was somewhat older I realised that this was on some kind of large spool. That lovely memory has stayed with me down the years.

My Auntie Eileen, who was my mother's bridesmaid and my godmother, was married the summer after Madge's death. This was my first time to attend a wedding and the reception was in the one-storey terraced house where her husband, Willie Gallagher, had grown up. I was surprised when Auntie Eileen began to cry, as I thought you were supposed to be happy at your own wedding. A child doesn't always put two-and-two together and years later I realised that she was still grieving for her sister  Madge. Willie's sister Mona, who introduced her only brother to my Auntie Eileen, died last year about a month after turning 103, the last of my parents' generation in our wider family circle. 

Mona Gallagher Rogers on her 100th birthday, 2021

A Christmas song I associate with Auntie Madge is one that is unabashedly a tearjerker: The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot, published in England in 1937 and made popular by Vera Lynn. (Nat King Cole had a hit with it in 1953, I think.) I must have heard Auntie Madge sing it or talk about it. It was one of the most popular Christmas songs when I was a child. The little boy wrote a note to Santa for some soldiers and a drum. The soldiers in question were made from lead, were about 7 cms high and many little boys got some from Santa.

In the photo at the top Auntie Madge looks very serious, almost severe, but my memories of her are of her smiles and her kindness. The photo of Very Lynn in the video below reminds me of her, especially the hairstyle from the 1940s.

The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot

Sung by Vera Lynn

Auntie Madge never forgot the 'little boy' who is typing this. And he still remembers her fondly and misses her almost 76 years after her untimely death. And he feels sorry for his younger cousins who never knew their Auntie Madge. One of them is named after her.

Rest in peace, Auntie Madge, and may we meet in heaven.

There we hope to enjoy for ever the fullness of your glory, when you will wipe away every tear from our eyes. For seeing you, our God, as you are, we shall be like you for all the ages and praise you without end (from Eucharistic Prayer III when used at Masses for the dead).

Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A, 14 December 2025

 

St John the Baptist in Prison

Juan Fernández de Navarrete [Web Gallery of Art]

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”'(Matthew 11:2-3; Gospel).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)

Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: (England & Wales, Scotland, India) 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Matthew 11:2-11 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way before you.’

Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

      

Fr Joseph Coyle 

(28 February 1937 - 18 December 1991)

I have used this material before but it fits in with one of the themes in today's readings: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped (Isaiah 35:5; First Reading), It is the Lord . . . who raises up those who are bowed down (Responsorial Psalm), Go and tell John . . . the deaf hear (Matthew 11:5; Gospel). 

Fr Joseph Coyle was a Columban priest from Derry city, Northern Ireland. He died in the Philippines on 18 December 1991, aged 54, and is buried in a Catholic cemetery in Bacolod City. Father Joe and I weren't related - my Coyle ancestors moved centuries ago from the north-west of Ireland, where the surname originated, to Rush, a fishing village north of Dublin city - but we felt a sense of kinship. He was ordained on 21 December 1961 during my first year in the Columban seminary in Ireland.

Father Joe spent most of his life as a priest in the island of Negros. He gradually became aware of persons with disabilities and of how their needs weren't being met. He was able to obtain artificial limbs for some. But he noticed that there was one group in every community that was almost totally isolated because they didn't share a common language with those around them, not even with their own families. These were persons who were profoundly deaf.

More and more Father Joe became involved with deaf people, celebrating Mass in Sign Language in a number of places. In the late 1980s he established Welcome Home in Bacolod City as a residence for out-of-town deaf students so that they could attend special schools in the city. Special Education has spread now to many towns and that particular need is no longer urgent. But Welcome Home Foundation, Inc. continues with a school for young children, deaf and hearing, catechetical programmes in public schools with both deaf and hearing catechists, and other activities.

Father Joe's death was devastating initially to the young deaf people with whom he had worked. But his vision was continued and developed by others, most noticeably by Mrs Salvacion V. Tinsay who died in 2008. Her daughter Mrs Agnes T. Jalandoni, President and CEO, along with her board and staff have enabled the work begun by Father Joe to grow and adapt to current needs.

Fr Mike Depcik preaching in American Sign Language on today's readings 

Fr Mike Depcik OSFS is an Oblate of St Francis de Sales and one of very few profoundly deaf priests in the world. He has his own vlog, Fr. MD's KitchenTable, where, among other things, he posts videos of homilies for Sunday Masses in American Sign Language, such as that above for this Sunday's Mass.

John the Baptist sends his followers to ask Jesus,  Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? Jesus replies, Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news brought to them. 

For Catholics who are profoundly deaf, priests such as Fr Mike Depcik, deaf from birth, and Fr Joe Coyle, who became aware of the isolation of the profoundly deaf, especially within their own families, are included in the response of Jesus to his cousin St John the Baptist: the deaf hear. The deaf aren't isolated to the same degree as before, though I have known of priests and people who consider a signing interpreter at Mass as a 'distraction'. 

And the ministry of priests such as Fr Depcik and Fr Coyle isn't limited to the deaf. Indeed, part of their ministry, and of those who work with them, whether deaf or hearing, is to bring about the change of heart that is central to Advent, not only a turning away from sin but a recognition of the needs of others that we weren't aware of before. It was through having friends who were deaf in varying degrees from birth and through knowing Father Joe that I became aware of the isolation of the deaf within the Church and in society at large. The same can be said to some extent of persons with other disabilities. But profound deafness is the only physical disability that of its nature can totally isolate a person from the community.

There will always be some, for whatever reason, on the margins. The gradual inclusion of those who are profoundly deaf in all activities of the Church and of wider society shown, for example, in the use of signing interpreters at public functions and on television, is one of the signs that Jesus spoke about to assure St John the Baptist that he, Jesus, truly is the one who is to come.

Maria durch ein Dornwald ging

Mary walked through a wood of thorn

Traditional German Advent carol

Arranged by Stefan Claas and sung by Voces 8

Mary walked through a wood of thorn
Kyrie eleison.
Mary walked through a wood of thorn,
Which seven long years no leaf had borne;
Jesus and Mary.

What bore Mary beneath her heart?
Kyrie eleison.
A little child without any smart
Mary bore beneath her heart,
Jesus and Mary.

Then roses sprang from out the thorn;
Kyrie eleison.
As the Christ child through the wood was born,
Roses sprang from out the thorn;
Jesus and Mary.

These are the first three stanzas of seven but have acquired a life of their own. Their context is the Visitation. Wikipedia notes: The dead thorn wood, a symbol of infertility and death, begins to bloom when Mary walks through it with the divine child.

Traditional Latin Mass

Third Sunday of Advent

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-14-2025 if necessary).

Epistle: Philippians 4:4-7. Gospel: John 1:19-28.

A Pair of Shoes

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

John answered them, 'I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie' {John 1:26-27; Gospel).