MASS READINGS
December 24, 2024 (Readings on USCCB website)
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COLLECT PRAYER
December 24, Christmas Eve: Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus, and do not delay, that those who trust in your compassion may find solace and relief in your coming. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Solemnity of Christmas, Vigil Mass: O God, who gladden us by year as we wait in hope for our redemption, grant that, just as we joyfully welcome your Only Begotten Son as our Redeemer, we may also merit to face him confidently when he comes again as our Judge. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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Christmas Eve marks the end of Advent. The liturgical texts express wholehearted confidence in the imminent coming of the Redeemer. There is much joyous expectation. Most families have their own observances, customs that should be preserved from generation to generation. Today is the last day of our Christmas Novena and last day of the Jesse Tree.
For those following the Jesse Tree, you can either continue through Christmas Eve following Catholic Culture's Jesse Tree, or use symbols based on the “O” Antiphons (see Jesse Tree Instructions and O Antiphons).
Jesse Tree, Day 24 ~ St. John the Baptist
Jesse Tree Overview
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Christmas Eve at Church
The certitude of His coming is made clear in two images. The first is that of the closed gate of paradise. Since our first parents were cast forth from the earthly paradise the gate has been closed and a cherubim stands guard with flaming sword. The Redeemer alone is able to open this door and enter in. On Christmas Eve we stand before the gate of paradise, and it is for this reason that Psalm 23 is the theme of the vigil: Lift up your gates, O princes, Christmas Eve at Home
Christmas Eve is an appropriate time for the exchange of gifts, after the Christ-Child has been placed in the manger, and the special prayers before the crib — and a round of Christmas carols — are over. If the gifts are given out before the Midnight Mass, the children can concentrate more easily on the great mystery which is celebrated, when the Greatest Gift is given to all alike, even those who have received no material expression of Christmas love. And then, too, Christmas Day with its two additional Masses can be devoted more to the contemplation of the Christmas mystery and the demands of Christmas hospitality. Vigil of Christmas Reflection: The Lord is Nigh
2. Tomorrow you shall see His glory with your bodily eyes, in reality and truth. "You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger" (Luke 2:12). Near His crib, in silent prayer and adoration, you will find His virgin mother. There, too, you will find, silent and absorbed in prayer, the blessed Joseph. Silent night, holy nightl! There you will find the child, nestling in the forbidding straw, deprived of all comforts which an ungrateful people might have given Him. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (John 1: 11).
We shall see Him also with the eyes of faith. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14). In this child in the manger are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally" (Col. 2:9). He is the one "who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature. For in Him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and in Him. And He is before all; and by Him all things consist.
And He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; that in all things He may hold the primacy. Because in Him it hath well pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell; and through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, making peace through the blood of His cross, both as to the things that are on earth, and the things that are in heaven" (Col. 1: 15-23).
We behold the child. His human soul is completely immersed in the majesty and glory of the Godhead. Since He is in continual possession of the vision of God, He has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. His soul possesses the vision of the future; it is continually concerned with my salvation, and offers itself up for me and prays for me continually. In the hands of this child is placed the government of the heavens and the earth; His power extends over angels and men, over spirits and hearts. "All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28:18).
3. This is He "who was made to Him of the seed of David according to the flesh; who was predestinated the Son of God in power according to the spirit of sanctification by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead; by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith in all nations for His name, among whom are you also the called of Jesus Christ our Lord." We rejoice in the honor that is bestowed on us in our election to the faith in Jesus Christ. With our whole soul we believe in Him who has become true man and our brother in the flesh. We believe, too, that He is the Son of God, for He convincingly proved His divinity by His resurrection from the dead.
The King of Glory will come to mankind, to the family of nations, and to the hearts of all men, in order to bring them salvation. "Be ye lifted up, O eternal gates"; be opened to Him in faith and longing that you may receive His rule. For it is a rule of grace, of love, and of peace-peace for man with God and with himself. Today we prepare ourselves for His blessed rule by purifying our hearts, our souls, and our thoughts. We shall make our hearts a crib in which He may rest secure.
"The King of Glory shall enter in." He comes now in the lowliness of suffering in order to overcome death; He will one day come in glory as Judge and Ruler of the world. Christmas is the complement of the coming of the Lord on the last day. Blessed are they who now share His lowliness, for they may look forward to His coming as Master and Judge with confidence and hope.
Vigil Mass, Christmas Eve For more on Santa Maria Maggiore, see: For further information on the Station Churches, see The Stational Church.
The entire liturgy of Christmas Eve is consecrated to the anticipation of the certain and sure arrival of the Savior: "Today you shall know that the Lord shall come and tomorrow you shall see His glory" (Invitatory of Matins for the Vigil of the Nativity). Throughout Advent we have seen how the preparation for Jesus' coming became more and more precise. Isaiah, John the Baptist and the Virgin Mother appeared throughout the season announcing and foretelling the coming of the King. We learn today that Christ according to His human nature is born at Bethlehem of the House of David of the Virgin Mary, and that according to His divine nature He is conceived of the Spirit of holiness, the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity.
Open wide, eternal gates,
That the King of Glory may enter in. . . .
It must be so that the grown-ups may devote themselves with a quiet mind, unhindered by any commotion, to these great mysteries of the Holy Night, that in most Catholic countries the giving of gifts has been advanced to Christmas Eve. 
The opening of the eternal gates through which the King of Glory may enter is indicated by the wreath on the door of our homes at Christmastide. The Advent wreath, which accompanied the family throughout the season of preparation may be taken down. The violet ribbons are removed, and it is gloriously decorated with white and gold. It is then placed upon the door as a symbol of the welcome of Christ into our city, our home and our hearts. On Christmas Eve the whole house should be strewn with garlands and made ready for the Light of the World. The crib is set in a special place of honor, for tonight the central figure of the Nativity scene is to arrive.
1. "This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us, and in the morning you shall see His glory." The motif of the liturgy of the day is expectation. Tomorrow is to be the day of fulfillment.
—Excerpted from The Light of the World, Volume One by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
Today is Day Nine of the Christmas Novena. 
Station with Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major):
The station church for the Vigil Mass of Christmas, and also for the Midnight Mass (at the Crib) and the Christmas Mass during the day is the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. St. Mary Major is considered "Bethlehem" to the Romans. It is the Savior of the world Himself who is promised to us the next day, as the Alleluia verse and Communion Antiphon tells us.
