December 26

St. Stephen, First Martyr, Feast     

Readings:
Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59; Mt 10:17-22

Introduction

From the very beginning of its existence, the Church suffered persecution, like its founder, Jesus. St Stephen was of Greek, pagan origin and highly respected in the young Church of Jerusalem. Like Jesus, he died praying for his persecutors, and entrusted himself, even as he died into the hands of God. He had been one of the seven deacons who assisted the apostles, particularly in the ministry to the poor. He is described in Acts of the Apostles as “filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit” and “full of fortitude.”

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
we honor today St Stephen,
the first martyr of your young Church.
Make us good witnesses like him,
people filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit,
men and women who are full of fortitude,
as we try to live the life of Jesus.
Give us a great trust
that we may live and die in your hands
and make us pray for those who harm us,
that you may forgive them and us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Intentions

–   For faithful witnesses, who testify to God and to the values of the gospel by their life and when necessary by their death, we pray:

–   For zealous and compassionate people, who serve their neighbors in their need, we pray:

–   For people persecuted because of their faith, that they may keep steadfast in their faith and strong in the Holy Spirit, we pray:

–   For deacons in the Church, that God may keep them generous in their ministry of service, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
we bring before you bread and wine,
as we remember how St Stephen
gave food to the hungry.
Make us, too, ministers of your love,
who care for the poor,
that no one in our Christian communities
may suffer any want.
For we try to be one heart and mind
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
as we celebrate the memory of St Stephen,
take away from us all fear
and dispose us to bear witness in all serenity
to the death and resurrection of Jesus.
May we learn from this martyr
to become more like Jesus
in what we say and in the way we live.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

How much Stephen was like Jesus , living in the hands of the Father and dying as he forgave those who were killing him and entrusted himself to God. May God give us such a beautiful faith and bless us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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December 27

ST. JOHN, Evangelist, Feast

Readings:
1 Jn 1:1-4; Jn 20:2-8

Introduction

Close to our Lord, obsessed by love. This may well be the marks of John the Evangelist. He had experienced in his person what it means to be loved by Jesus and to love in return. And Jesus was the Lord, God’s Son! In later life he was driven by this love, as his gospel and his first letter reveal to us. He was the man who preached love; the words he used, the urgency and insistence with which he spoke cannot come but from a man who lived this love deeply and who felt that this should be the mark too of the Christian communities.

Opening Prayer

Lord God, you are love itself.
We know that you loved us first
before we could ever love you.
Let this unforgettable experience
of your “beloved apostle” John
become also our deep and lasting experience.
May the love you have shown us
in your Son Jesus Christ
move us to love you very deeply in return
and overflow on all those we meet in life.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Intentions

–   Lord Jesus, make us understand and put into practice that the core of the gospel is love for you and for one another, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, may our words and actions bear witness that we believe and rejoice in you as our risen Lord, we pray:

–   Lord Jesus, make us happy people, who feel secure because we know that we live in your presence, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Father,
bread and wine are the signs
in which your Son gives himself to us today.
May these gifts be at the same time
the signs in which we place ourselves
at your disposal
and of the concrete you
who are our neighbors far and near,
our brothers and sisters whom you love
and whom we love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Our living and loving God,
who can nourish our love better
than he who spoke of it to us,
your Son Jesus Christ?
Like him, and strengthened by his body and blood,
may we respond to the warmth of your love
by caring for our brothers and sisters,
even at the expense of ourselves.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Blessing

John is the apostle who insists that we should love one another as Jesus loves us. Jesus asks us to live in him as he lives in us. May we remain and grow in this love, with the blessing of almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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December 28

HOLY INNOCENTS, Feast

Readings:
1 Jn 1:5-2:2; Mt 2:13-18

Introduction

Today’s celebration shocks us into the realization that the birth of Christ was not all peace and joy. The coming of Jesus was the beginning of a struggle-to-death between the powers of evil and the kingdom of light, a struggle that would have its climax in the passion and death of Jesus. Herod stands here for the forces of evil. Even innocent children are often the victims of this enmity.

The story of the Innocents may very well be a theological illustration of Matthew on this climactic clash between good and evil that began with the birth of Jesus. Often the innocents have to suffer on account of so much evil in the world caused by people.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
today’s innocent martyrs
bore witness to you
not by proclaiming your name in words
but by laying down their lives for you,
even though they were not aware of it.
We pray to you on their feast
that we may bear witness to you
both by the words we speak
and the way we live what we believe in.
May we do so in the full awareness
of what we are doing.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Intentions

–   That especially children may be spared from suffering, malnutrition and maltreatment, we pray to God our merciful Father:

–   That children may not become the victims of unloving parents who do not want them, abandon them or desert them as they separate from each other, we pray:

–   That children may have caring parents who help them to grow toward a generous and rich adulthood, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

We bring these our gifts before you, Lord God;
accept them from your faithful people,
that we may be strengthened in our faith.
May they also bring your salvation
to those whom we sometimes call anonymous Christians,
those who do not know you,
yet who seek you with a sincere heart
by trying to do what is right and good.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Lord, God of eternal light,
we all share in the struggle-to-death
between light and darkness.
Let the light of your love and peace
shine among people all over the world,
that our solidarity in the evil of sin
may be changed into a new solidarity
of justice, forgiveness and community
by the coming among us of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

We ask the Lord today that he may bless especially our children, that they may grow up as God’s children, as good Christians and good citizens. May almighty God bless them and you all, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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December 29

A LIGHT FOR ALL THE NATIONS

Readings:
1 Jn 2:3-11; Lk 2:22-35

Introduction

God comes to his temple today as if incognito, as a child carried in the arms of its mother. Simeon, the old man in the Temple, took Jesus in his arms and recognized this child as the Savior expected by the Jews in the Old Testament but also as the salvation of all people. In him the old Israel can fade away in peace.

This child was to be the glory of Israel, yes, but also the light to enlighten pagans, everyone. He comes to us now not merely to be the light of us Christians. He does not belong to us alone but to all. St John tells us how to reflect the light of Christ: all those who love their neighbor are living in the light.

Opening Prayer

God, Father of light,
the old man Simeon recognized your Son
as the light that would shine on all.
May we too recognize Jesus,
even if he comes to us in a humble way,
in the shape and person of children,
of old people, of the poor and the little ones.
Make us receive him too
as the light not only of our lives
but as the bright dawn for all nations.
For you are the Father of all
and Jesus belongs to all as their Savior and Lord,
now and for ever.

Intentions

–   For all parents who take their children to church for baptism, that God may bless them and their children, we pray:

–   For all parents who suffer when their children bring sorrow on them, that they may keep trusting in the Lord, we pray:

–   For all peoples who come to know Christ, that they may accept him as their joy and life, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Loving God,
a humble piece of bread and a little wine
are enough to let Jesus come among us.
Enliven these simple gifts with your Spirit,
that we may welcome among us
him who enlightens all nations
with his joy and the bright morning
of true justice and deep commitment
of loving service, a sense of compassion
and a boundless generosity,
Jesus, the Savior of all and our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God of light,
we have sat at the festive table
of him who came to unite all peoples far and near
as brothers and sisters
who can love and accept one another,
notwithstanding all their differences
of race and culture,
of social standing and personality.
Make us believe and practice
that this is only possible
in him who became one of us all
and who laid down his life for all,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Blessing

May the Holy Spirit rest also on us, that we accept and recognize Jesus as the Lord and Savior of everyone and the light that brightens the lives of all. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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December 30

Open to God's Mystery

Readings:
1 Jn 2:12-17; Lk 2:36-40

Introduction

To thank God for the liberation he brings us in and through his Son Jesus is the core of every eucharistic celebration. There we say: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” With the prophetess Anna, let us express our thanks for our liberation to the Lord our God and praise him wholeheartedly.

Too easily, as St John says, we lose our heart to the world; we follow its ways of thinking and acting. Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.

Opening Prayer

Almighty Father,
you let humble, faithful people
recognize your Son
and welcome him as the Savior
who brought freedom and life to his people.
May we too recognize and welcome Jesus
in all that is little and humble
and with him grow up in wisdom and grace
to the maturity of your sons and daughters,
so that we attain the full stature of Jesus.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Intentions

–   For fathers and mothers, that they may give their children the freedom to be themselves and to grow up as mature, responsible Christians, we pray:

–   For all young people, that they may come to love Christ deeply and let his word take roots and grow in them, we pray:

–   For small children, that they may come to love God through their experience of their parent’s love, we pray:

–   For all of us, God’s children, that we may seek God’s will in all we do and form communities where we care for one another, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
through the food and drink of the eucharist
appease our hunger
and quench our thirst
for all that is good in your sight.
We offer ourselves
together with your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
here in this eucharist
your Son Jesus has offered us
his liberation and victory
to overcome in this world
evil in us and around us.
Dispose us to receive always with gratitude
the life and the light of Jesus
and to follow in his footsteps,
for he is our Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing

Old people, Anna as well as Simeon, women as well as men, often see with eyes the mysteries of God with a perspicacity that puts to shame theologians and holders of degrees. That is what they learn through prayer and reflection. May God bless these wise people, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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December 31

Last Day of the Year

Readings:
1 Jn 2:18-21; Jn 1:1-18

Introduction

Today the liturgy fits in very well with the celebration of New Year’s Eve: it both looks forward to the end of time (1^st Reading) and back to the beginning: to the Word that created all and came among people as the living Word, Jesus, to make a new beginning with us. And that’s life: the end of what is past, a new beginning to be made ever anew. It was a mixture of joys shared together and miseries that were lighter when they too were borne together. And a time for which, after all, we are grateful to one another and to God.

A turning point is also a time of hope. The past is gone; we look forward. We say goodbye and we welcome what is coming with hope, for the Lord is with us; we resume our journey together as God’s pilgrim people.

Opening Prayer

Loving Father,
You gave us your Son Jesus Christ
and let him share our poverty.
He brought us grace upon grace,
for all that comes from you is a free gift.
Accept our thanks for the moments
when we accepted your gifts
and shared them with one another.
Accept our thanks for the times
we listened attentively to your Son’s words
and put them into practice.
Help us go forward with hope and joy
with joy and mutual encouragement.
with the companion in life you have given us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Intentions

In gratitude to our generous Father for all his blessings and graces received in the past year, we pray:

–   For all those with whom we are united in one common friendship and concern, that he may keep us all in his love, we pray:

–   For all whom we have disappointed in the past, for those whom we have hurt or neglected, and for those who have pained and irritated us, we pray:

–   For those who have lost someone dear to them, that their hope in Christ may give them strength; for those who have died this year, that they may live in the Lord’s peace, we pray:

–   And for all of us here, that we may be grateful for life, for all the joys we have experienced, and for one another, we pray:

God, let your Son speak his word among us and live among us, now and for ever.

Prayer over the Gifts

Loving Father,
it is easy for us here to break this bread
and to share it with one another,
to drink this cup and offer it to one another.
As we offer you these gifts
we pray you for strength,
for it is difficult for us the whole year long,
to keep sharing ourselves with one another
to offer our hand to give and receive help
and to forget ourselves for the sake of others.
Let us be always each other’s food and drink
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
in this celebration we have looked back
to the past, to what is done and gone.
With Jesus in our midst
we look now forward to the future.
Let neither the past nor the present, nor the future,
neither joys nor sorrows
ever separate us from him.
Let you Son be the center of our lives
and the bond that binds us to you
and to one another,
in faith, hope and lasting love.
Go with us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing

Let us go in the peace of the Lord. May the Lord be with you wherever you go. May he bless your coming and your going, your work and your care, your joys and your suffering. As he blessed you the past year, may he bless you even more in the new year: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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