Veni, Veni Emmanuel
December 22nd, O King of the Gentiles

O Come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid every strife and quarrel cease
And fill the world with heaven's peace.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Christmas Novena
December 22nd

O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations) Isaiah 9:5; 2:4

O King of the Gentiles, yea, and desire thereof! O Corner-stone, that makest of two one, come to save man, whom Thou hast made out of the dust of the earth!

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and obtain my desires through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)

Veni, Veni Emmanuel
December 23rd, O Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel.

Christmas Novena
December 23rd

O Emmanuel (God with us) Isaiah 7:14

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and obtain my desires through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)

HYMN - True Son of God, Eternal Light
Advent

True Son of God, Eternal Light,
Come down to earth, illume the night!
Cancel the curse of Paradise,
Haste Thou to pay Redemption’s price!

Four thousand years was hope delayed,
While devils mocked, and prophets prayed;
Four thousand years a cheerless gloom
Held all the earth in sin and doom.

O Long-Desired of Nations, haste!
Lo, demons lay Thy Kingdom waste:
See hands outstretched for help in vain,
Hear cries of woe, despair, and pain!

O Lord of Hosts, we pray Thee, come!
Put down the pow'rs of heathendom;
Rise up in all Thy matchless might,
Drive back the troops of hell in flight!

God's Kingdom come, His will be done!
May all men serve the Triune One;
Sing hymns of thanks, thou sainted host,
To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

~ Rev. P. J. Cormican, S. J.


Rev. John G. Hacker, S.J., (editor), Catholic Hymnal (1920)

Christmas Novena
December 24th

O Thou that sittest upon the cherubim, God of hosts, come, show Thy face, and we shall be saved.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory be.

Hail and blessed be the hour and the moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God, to hear my prayer and obtain my desires through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)

December 24th ~ Christmas Eve

O GOD, Who dost gladden us year by year with the expectation of our redemption, grant that we, who now with joy receive Thine only begotten Son as our Redeemer, may behold Him also without fear, when He cometh as our judge, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
DEUS, qui nos redemptiónis nostræ ánnua exspectatióne læ tificas: præsta; ut Unigénitum tuum, quem Redemptórem læti suscípimus, veniéntem quoque júdicem secúri videámus, Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum.

Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect, December 24, Christmas Eve

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

December 25th ~ Christmas Day
The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

The First or Midnight Mass

O GOD, Who hast brightened this most holy night with the shining of the true light, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may enjoy in heaven the delights of Him whose mystical light we have known on earth.

Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
DEUS, qui hanc sacratíssimam noctem veri lúminis fecísti illustratióne claréscere: da, quæsumus; ut, cujus lucis mystéria in terra cognóvimus, ejus quoque gáudiis in cælo perfruámur.

Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect, December 25, Christmas (The First or Midnight Mass)

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

Litany of the Divine Nativity*
For private devotion

Glory be to God on high.
And on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise Thee.
We bless Thee.
We adore Thee.
We glorify Thee.
We give thanks Thee for Thy great glory.
Lord God, heavenly King, Father Almighty.
Lord Jesus Christ,
The only-begotten Son.
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, Who takest away the sins of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Who takest away the sins of the world:
Hear our prayers.
Who sittest at the right hand of the Father:
Have mercy on us.
For Thou only art holy.
Thou only art Our Lord.
Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art most high, together with the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father.
℟. Amen.
Blessed Jesus, true God and true Man, born in the form of a helpless infant,
Praise and glory be to Thee for ever.
Blessed Jesus, Who, having the heavens for Thy throne, didst yet choose a poor stable for Thy abode,
Praise and glory be to Thee for ever.

(continued below)

2.
Litany of the Divine Nativity (continued)

Blessed Jesus, Who, being God incomprehensible, wast pleased, in love for us, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger,
Praise and glory be to Thee for ever.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, because He hath visited, and hath wrought the redemption of His people.
And He hath raised up to us a powerful salvation in the family of David His servant.
As He spake by the mouth of His holy Prophets who were from the beginning.
That He would save us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.
To show His mercy toward our fathers, and to be mindful of His holy covenant.
According to the oath which He swore to our father Abraham to grant to us.
That being delivered from the hands of our enemies, we might serve Him without fear.
In holiness and justice before Him all our days.
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, the rising Light hath visited us from on high:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shades of death, to direct our feet in the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Let us pray. O Eternal Father, Who in compassion to lost men, didst send Thy only Son to become our Redeemer from that unhappy state: grant, we beseech Thee, that we, who are assembled to acknowledge the mercy of this time, may find the benefit of it in our souls, in the pardon of all our sins. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee and the Holy Ghost art one God, now and forever, and to ages of ages. ℟. Amen.


*From Garden of the Soul, London (1831), New York (1845) both adapting devotions from the much earlier Paradisus Animae. Litany repeatedly approved for private devotion.

~ Benjamin Francis Musser O.F.M., Kyrie Eleison - Two Hundred Litanies (1944)

Angel Hosts from Realms of Glory
Christmastide

Angel hosts from realms of glory,
Ye who sang creation’s story,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Now proclaim the Saviour’s birth.

Let there rise from ev’ry nation
Hymns of praise and exultation:
Glory to God!
Glory to God!
Glory to God in the highest!

2. From eternal years appointed
As our Prophet, Priest, and King,
Christ is born, the great Anointed!
Unto Him glad tribute bring!
Let there rise, etc.

3. Come ye lofty! Come ye lowly!
Let your songs of welcome ring!
In a stable lies th' All-Holy,
In a manger rests your King!
Let there rise, etc.

4. Lo! on high His star is shining,
And the Wise Men haste from far.
For the world in sorrow pining,
For us all has ris'n His star!
Let there rise, etc.

5. Hasten, mortals, to adore Him,
Learn His Name to magnify,
Till in heav'n ye sing before Him:
“Glory be to God on high!"
Let there rise, etc.


Rev. John G. Hacker, S.J., (editor), Catholic Hymnal (1920)

December 25th ~ Christmas Day
The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Second or Day-Break Mass

GRANT, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we who are filled with the new light of Thine Incarnate Word, may show forth in our deeds that which by faith shineth in our minds.

Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
DA NOBIS, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut, qui nova incarnáti Verbi tui luce perfúndimur; hoc in nostro respléndeat ópere, quod per fidem fulget in mente.

Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat, in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect, December 25, Christmas (The Second or Day-Break Mass)

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

HYMN for CHRISTMAS DAY

Adeste fideles

On, come! all ye faithful!
Triumphantly sing!
Come, see in the Manger
The Angels’ dread King!
To Bethlehem hasten!
With joyful accord;
Oh, hasten! oh, hasten!
To worship the Lord.

True Son of the Father!
He comes from the skies;
The womb of the Virgin
He doth not despise;
To Bethlehem hasten, &c as above.

Hark! to the Angels!
All singing in Heaven,
“To God in the highest
All glory be given."
To Bethlehem hasten, &c as above.

To Thee, then, O Jesu!
This day of Thy birth,
Be glory and honour
Through Heaven and earth;
True Godhead Incarnate!
Omnipotent Word!
Oh, hasten! oh, hasten!
To worship the Lord.


Lyra Catholica: Containing All the Breviary and Missal Hymns. Edward Caswall, M.A., translator. (1849)

December 25th ~ Christmas Day
The Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Third Mass

GRANT, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the new birth in the flesh, of Thine only-begotten Son, may deliver us whom slavery from old doth keep under the yoke of sin.

Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
CONCÉDE, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: ut nos Unigéniti tui nova per carnem Natívitas líberet; quos sub peccáti jugo vetústa sérvitus tenet.

Per eúndem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat, in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.


Collect, December 25, Christmas (The Third Mass)

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

Alma Redemptóris Mater
From First Vespers of Christmas until the Feast of the Presentation
English translation ~ Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878)

Mother of Christ! hear thou thy people’s cry,
Star of the deep, and portal of the sky!
Mother of Him who thee from nothing made,
Sinking we strive, and call to thee for aid:
Oh, by that joy which Gabriel brought to thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.

℣. After childbirth, O Virgin, thou didst remain inviolate.
℟. Intercede for us, O Mother of God.

Let us pray.

O God, Who by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary, hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation: grant, we beseech Thee, that we may experience Her intercession for us, through whom we deserved to receive the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son.

℟. Amen.

Alma Redemptóris Mater
From First Vespers of Christmas until the Feast of the Presentation
(Latin)

Alma Redemptóris Mater, quae pérvia caeli porta manes,
Et stella maris, succúrre cadénti, súrgere qui curat pópulo:
Tu quae genuísti, natúra mirante, tuum sanctum Genitórem:
Virgo príus ac postérius, Gabriélis ab ore sumens illud Ave, peccatórum miserére.

℣. Post Partum Virgo invioláta permansísti.
℟. Dei Génitrix, intercéde pro nobis.

Orémus.

Deus, qui salútis ætérnæ beátæ Maríæ virginitáte fecúnda humáno géneri práemia præstitísti: tríbue, quáesumus, ut ipsam pro nobis intercédere sentiámus, per quam merúimus, Auctórem vitæ suscípere Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum.

℟. Amen.

Litany of the Infant Jesus*
For private devotion

Glory and praise be to Thee, O tender little Jesus. From the utmost depths of my heart I praise and adore Thee, that for love of me and of all mankind it was Thy will to lie in the manger, and to suffer such great poverty and misery. I praise and adore Thy tender limbs, and Thy tender hands and feet, and I magnify the inexpressible love which drew Thee forth from the bosom of the Heavenly Father, down to a poor and miserable stable.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

(continued below)

Litany of the Infant Jesus ~ continued

God the Father of heaven,
Have mercy on us. [This response continues for each line below.]
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God the Holy Ghost,
Holy Trinity, one God,
Infant Jesus,
Infant, very God,
Infant, Son of the living God,
Infant, Son of the Virgin Mary,
Infant, begotten before the morning star,
Infant, Word made flesh,
Infant, wisdom of Thy Father,
Infant, purity of Thy Mother,
Infant, only Son of Thy Father,
Infant, only-born of Thy Mother,
Infant, image of Thy Father,
Infant, Creator of Thy Mother,
Infant, splendor of Thy Father,
Infant, honor of Thy Mother,
Infant, equal to Thy Father,
Infant, subject to Thy Mother,
Infant, joy of Thy Father,
Infant, riches of Thy Mother,
Infant, gift of Thy Father,
Infant, gift of Thy Mother,
Infant, precious fruit of a Virgin,
Infant, Creator of man,
Infant, our God,
Infant, our Brother,
Infant, perfect man from Thy conception,
Infant, father of ages,
Infant, eternal Word, making Thyself dumb,
Infant, weeping in Thy crib,
Infant, joy of paradise,
Infant, exiled from Thy people,
Infant, strong in weakness,
Infant, powerful in abasement,
Infant, treasure of grace,
Infant, fountain of love,
Infant, author of all the blessings of heaven,
Infant, repairer of the evils of earth,
Infant, head of angels,
Infant, expectation of nations,
Infant, joy of the shepherds,
Infant, salvation of children,
Infant, hope of the just,
Infant, teacher of doctors,
Have mercy on us.

Be merciful.
Spare us, O Infant Jesus.
Be merciful.
Graciously hear us, O Infant Jesus.

From the bondage of the children Adam,
Deliver us, O Infant Jesus. [This response continues for each line below.]
From slavery of the devil,
From the corruption of the world,
From the lust of the flesh,
From the blindness of mind,
From our perversity of will,
From our sins,
Through Thy most pure conception,
Through Thy humble birth,
Through Thy tears,
Through Thy painful circumcision,
Through Thy glorious epiphany,
Through Thy devout presentation,
Through Thy most holy life,
Through Thy poverty,
Through Thy sorrows,
Through Thy obedience,
Through Thy labors,
Deliver us, O Infant Jesus.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Infant Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Infant Jesus.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us, O Infant Jesus.
Infant Jesus, hear us.
Infant Jesus, graciously hear us.

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus, Who didst vouchsafe so to annihilate the greatness of Thy Incarnate Divinity and most sacred Humanity, as to be born in time, and become a little child: grant that we may acknowledge infinite wisdom in the silence of a child, power in weakness, majesty in abasement; so that adoring Thy humiliations on earth, we may contemplate Thy glories in heaven. Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, God, forever and ever. Amen.


*Approved for private devotion. Reprinted from the Book of Litanies, ten recommended litanies issued as a booklet by the Pauli’s Press, New York, in 1925, under the imprimatur of Cardinal Hayes. A pleasing variant of this litany, too nearly like however to be added to this collection, is in Orate, “a collection of prayers for the special use at the Motherhouse of the School Sisters de Notre Dame, Milwaukee,” bearing the imprimatur of Archbishop Messmer, 1919.

~ Benjamin Francis Musser O.F.M., Kyrie Eleison - Two Hundred Litanies (1944)

December 26th ~ FEAST of ST. STEPHEN, The First Martyr
(1st Century)

GRANT US, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to imitate what we venerate, that we may learn to love even our enemies; for we celebrate the birth to life everlasting of him who knew how to pray even for his persecutors to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
DA NOBIS, quæsumus, Dómine, imitári quod cólimus: ut díscamus et inimícos dilígere; quia ejus natalítia celebrámus qui novit étiam pro persecutóribus exoráre Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect, December 26, St. Stephen, The First Martyr

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937

December 26th ~ FEAST of ST. STEPHEN the Protomartyr

O quo too dux martyrum
Hymn

O CAPTAIN of the Martyr Host!
O peerless in renown!
Not from the fading flowers of earth
Weave we for thee a crown.

The stones that smote thee, in thy blood
Made glorious and divine,
All in a halo heavenly bright
About thy temples shine.

The scars upon thy sacred brow
Throw beams of glory round;
The splendours of thy bruised face
The very sun confound.

Oh, earliest Victim sacrific’d
To thy dear Victim Lord!
Oh, earliest witness to the Faith
Of thy Incarnate God!

Thou to the heavenly Canaan first
Through the Red Sea didst go,
And to the Martyrs’ countless Host,
Their path of glory shew.

Erewhile a servant of the poor,—
Now at the Lamb’s high Feast,
In blood-empurpled robe array’d,
A welcome nuptial guest!

To Jesus, born of Virgin bright,
Praise with the Father be;
Praise to the Spirit Paraclete,
Through all eternity.

Lyra Catholica: Containing All the Breviary and Missal Hymns. Edward Caswall, M.A., translator. (1849)

December 27th ~ FEAST of ST. JOHN, Apostle and Evangelist
(1st Century)

Of Thy loving-kindness, O Lord, shed light upon Thy Church: that, being enlightened by the teachings of blessed John, Thine apostle and evangelist, it may attain to Thine everlasting gifts.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
~~~~~~
ECCLÉSIAM tuam, Dómine, benígnus illústra: ut beáti Joánnis Apóstoli tui et Evangelístæ illumináta doctrínis, ad dona pervéniat sempitérna.

Per Dóminum nostrum Jesus Christum fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Collect, December 27, St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

~ The New Roman Missal, 1937