Readings of the 24th December

For Antiphons, Short and First Lessons … scroll down

ANTIPHONS of the Vigil of Christmas

Ant. 1: Oh you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, you are not the least of all towns; for out of you shall come forth the shepherd who will tend my people Israel.

Ant. 2: Raise your heads, for your salvation is at hand.

Ant. 3: Tomorrow you shall see your salvation, says the Lord God of hosts.

Short Lesson

Is. 11, 1-3

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

First Lesson

The Reading is from the Prophet Isaiah

Rouse yourself, rouse yourself! Stand up, oh Jerusalem, you who have drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering. There is no one to guide her among all the children she has borne; there is no one to take her by the hand among all the children she has brought up.

These two things have befallen you: who will grieve with you? Devastation and destruction, famine and sword: who will comfort you? Your children have fainted, they lie at the head of every street like an antelope in a net; they are full of the wrath of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.

Therefore hear this, you who are wounded, who are drunk, but not with wine: Thus says your Sovereign, the Lord, your God who pleads the cause of his people: See, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering; you shall drink no more from the bowl of my wrath. And I will put it into the hand of your tormentors, who have said to you: "Bow down, that we may walk on you." And you have made your back like the ground and like the street for them to walk on.

Awake, awake, put on your strength, oh Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, oh Jerusalem, the holy city; for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall enter you no more.

Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, oh captive Jerusalem; loose the bonds from your neck, oh captive daughter Zion!

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, "Your God reigns." Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the Lord to Zion.

Break forth together into singing, you ruins 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.

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