Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection December 25, 2025

25th December 2025 (Day Mass)

Psalter: Proper

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.” The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places 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.

Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6. R. (3c)

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

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making 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 to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. A hallowed day has shone upon us: Come O nations, and adore the Lord; for today a great light has come down to earth

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: John 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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Daily Gospel Reflection

Day Mass – The Nativity of the Lord

Main Point: Christmas celebration is not just a commemoration of a past event of the birth of Christ. It is the rebirth of divinity among the humanity

1. Christmas is indeed a feast of joy! But where is that spirit of Christmas? Battered by fears, shattered by afflictions, tormented by temptations, fragmented by divisions, intimidated by the power of Satan and dominated by the force of evil, tested by falsity and dishonesty and exhausted by the fierce struggle against sin, cowed down by corona – many have lost the spirit of Christmas. Precisely it is in this context that we should celebrate Christmas. We should rediscover, recapture and relive the lost spirit of Christmas.

2. First of all, it is a birthday celebration. Our Saviour Lord is born. It is the celebration of a new life: a new babe is born on earth. A new life has erupted. This is the very meaning and purpose of the birth of Christ. It is not merely the birth of another human. Rather it is the birth of a new humanity. In his birth, we see the “rebirth” of humanity tainted and fainted by sin. Therefore, Christ being born would firmly imply that we must be constantly reborn.

3. Usually, any birthday is a matter of that person being born, what he should become, how he should grow, et cetera. But the birth of Christ is a totally different matter. If he is born, the question is: what must happen to others, how others should grow, what they should become. Thus, the birth of Christ is a challenge for the rebirth of all.

4. His birth is a call to live life to the full, to celebrate it with joy. This means we must foster a culture of life. We must insert into it a little more life-sap, energies and gifts, and enthusiasm and assiduity. It is not just remembering that God was born but reminding ourselves that we must be reborn. Christ’s birth will be just another piece of history unless it makes a pass into my own story.

5. Sadly, we are surrounded and tormented by a viral and vicious circle of death. From day to night, we see and experience the evil effects of such a culture of death. This shows itself in all the forces that block, suffocate and harm the value, beauty, energy, and joy of living. The increasing spirit of grudge and revenge, hostility and hatred, aggression and violence, death and destruction makes life devalued, ugly, vulnerable, and burdensome. Life is dying!

6. Christ’s birth then is a new birth of beautification against all disfiguration, a resurgence of dignity and honour, recharging with new vigor and enthusiasm, a refilling of joy against all bouts of pain and suffering. His birth must breathe new life into a life that has lost its rhythm and charm. Therefore, the only way to celebrate Christ’s birth meaningfully and joyfully is to live reborn. The more we live lives with value, beauty, energy, and joy, the more the purpose of Christ’s birth is fulfilled.

My Practice: The whole mystery of incarnation becomes relevant when it is not only a memory of the birth of Christ but the rebirth of everyone. It is the incarnation into our life of the same spirit of incarnate Christ.