Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Mass of the Day)

• St. Albert Chmielowski religious, founder (1845-1916)
• St. Peter the Venerable of Cluny (F) abbot (ca. 1094-1156)
• Saint of the day

First Reading

All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

From the book of the prophet Isaiah
Is 52:7-10
 
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news, who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.

Word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

From Ps 98

R. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory. R.
 
The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel. R.
 
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises. R.
 
Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.  R.

Second Reading

God has spoken to us by a Son.

From the letter to the Hebrews
Heb 1:1-6
 
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.
He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to 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; today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Word of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia.

A holy day has dawned upon us:
come, all you nations, and adore the Lord;
for today a great light has come down upon the earth.

Alleluia.

Gospel of the Day – December 25, 2025

The Word became flesh and lived among us.

From the Gospel according to John
Jn 1:1-18
 
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 into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
He came as a witness to testify to the light,
so that all might believe through him.
He himself was not the light,
but he 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 into being through him;
yet the world did not know him.
He came to what was his own,
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood
or of the will of the flesh
or of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word became flesh and lived among us,
and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son,
full of grace and truth.
John testified to him and cried out,
“This was he of whom I said,
‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me
because he was before me.’”
From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace.
The law indeed was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart,
who has made him known.
 
The Gospel of the Lord.

Saint Nerses Shnorhali (1102-1173)

Armenian Patriarch

Second part, § 328-332; SC 203 (transl. cb@evangelizo)

You, only-begotten Son of the Father, were born in our flesh!

First, by your divine Spirit,
the soul of the holy virgin was sanctified,
and the power of your heavenly Father
overshadowed her.

Then, You, only-begotten Son of the Father,
descended into her womb:
you truly became flesh,
God and man, making the two one.

You were born in our human body,
You who were first born of the Father without a body;
you took away the pains of the first man,
covered in leaves, thanks to your swaddling clothes.

You, the Word, in the manger of those without words,
to be food for the one endowed with speech,
You, the Light, revealed by the light of the star,
thanks to which the Magi worshipped you.

The choirs of angels had descended into the cave,
and served You at your holy nativity;
they alerted the shepherds and announced the Good News to them;
and they sang: “Glory in the highest!”

WORDS OF THE POPES

«”The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (Jn 1:9). Jesus is born among us; he is God-with-us. He comes to accompany our daily lives, to share everything with us: our joys and sorrows, our hopes and fears. He comes as a helpless child. He is born in the cold, poor among the poor. Needing everything, he knocks at the door of our hearts to find warmth and shelter. Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us allow ourselves to be enveloped by the light and go to see the sign that God has given us. Let us overcome the torpor of spiritual sleep and the false images of the feast that make us forget who the celebrated one is. Let us leave the noise that numbs the heart and leads us to prepare decorations and gifts rather than contemplate the Event: the Son of God born for us. Brothers and sisters, let us turn toward Bethlehem, where the first cry of the Prince of Peace resounds. Yes, because he himself, Jesus, is our peace: 그 peace that the world cannot give and that God the Father gave to humanity by sending his Son into the world. Saint Leo the Great has an expression that, in the conciseness of the Latin language, sums up the message of this day: “Natalis Domini, Natalis est pacis”, “the Lord’s birth is the birth of peace” (Sermon 26,5). (Pope Francis – Urbi et Orbi Message, December 25, 2022)