31 Dec – Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas. St Sylvester I, Pope
Sylvester (d. 335) was pope in the reign of Emperor Constantine I, who built the Lateran and other churches. He sent legates to the First Council of Nicaea, and was involved in the controversy over Arianism. The spurious Donation of Constantine was supposedly [...]
30 Dec – Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
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1 John 2:12-17
I am writing to you, my own children,
whose sins have already been forgiven through his name;
I am writing to you, fathers,
who have come to know the one
who has existed since the beginning;
I am writing to you, young men,
who have already overcome the Evil One;
I have [...]
29 Dec – Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas; St Thomas Becket, Bishop, Martyr
Thomas (1118-1170) was of Norman ancestry. He was educated at Merton Priory, Paris, Bologna, and Auxerre. He was a civil and canon lawyer, a soldier and officer. He was archdeacon of Canterbury, and was a Friend of King Henry II, as [...]
28 Dec – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
We celebrate the Holy Family of Nazareth which is the model for all who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.
- the Sunday Missal
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Genesis 15:1-6, 21:13
The word of the Lord was spoken to Abram in a vision, ‘Have no fear, Abram, I [...]
27 Dec – Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist
St. John, also known as the “beloved disciple” of Jesus’ was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother of St. James the Great, and was called one of the Sons of Thunder. Before becoming Jesus’ disciple, he was already a disciple of St. John the Baptist, [...]
26 Dec – Feast of St. Stephen, protomartyr
St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. A deacon and a preacher, all we know of him is related in the Acts of the Apostles. While preaching the gospel in the streets, angry Jews who believed his message to be blasphemy dragged him outside the city, and stoned [...]
25 Dec – The Nativity Of Our Lord: Mass During The Day
The Word Made Flesh
For us the Word of God is no longer the message spoken by prophets, but the messenger of God in person, the eternal Word begotten of the Father before time began.
- the Sunday Missal
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Isaiah 52:7-10
How beautiful on the mountains,
are the feet [...]
25 Dec – The Nativity Of Our Lord: Mass At Dawn
The First Dawn Of A New Age
We celebrate the marvellous events of the first morning of a new world, when the kindness and love of God our Saviour made us his holy people, the Lord’s Redeemed, his ’sought-after’; and his ‘city-not-forsaken’.
- the Sunday Missal
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Isaiah 62:11-12
This [...]
25 Dec – The Nativity of our Lord: Mass at Midnight
A Saviour Is Born For Us
Tonight we celebrate the birth of a Child who was to bring the joy of God’s saving love to the whole world. And we make our own the jubilant cry of the angels: “Glory to God in the highest.”
- the [...]
24 Dec – Christmas Eve (Morning Mass)
According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one – Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia – the Latin words [...]
