CHRISTMAS (NATIVITY OF THE LORD) NOVENA
Novena starts: December 16-December 24
Feast Day: December 25

Day 1
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: God’s Love Revealed in His Becoming Man
Scripture: John 1:14; Ephesians 5:2; Romans 5:8; Philippians 2:6–8.

Reflection
Because our first parent Adam had rebelled against God, he was driven out of paradise and brought on himself and all his descendants the punishment of eternal death. But the son of God, seeing man thus lost and wishing to save him from death, offered to take upon Himself our human nature and to suffer death Himself, condemned as a criminal on a cross. ‘But, My Son,’ we may imagine the eternal Father saying to Him, ‘think of what a life of humiliations and sufferings Thou wilt have to lead on earth. Thou wilt have to be born in a cold stable and laid in a manger, the feeding trough of beasts.

While still an infant, Thou wilt have to flee into Egypt, to escape the hands of Herod. After Thy return from Egypt, Thou wilt have to live and work in a shop as a lowly servant, poor and despised. And finally, worn out with sufferings, Thou wilt have to give up Thy life on a cross, put to shame and abandoned by everyone.’ ‘Father,’ replies the Son, ‘all this matters not. I will gladly bear it all, if only I can save man.’

What should we say if a prince, out of compassion for a dead worm, were to choose to become a worm himself and give his own life blood in order to restore the worm to life? But the eternal Word has done infinitely more than this for us. Though He is the sovereign Lord of the world, He chose to become like us, who are immeasurably more beneath Him than a worm is beneath a prince, and He was willing to die for us, in order to win back for us the life of divine grace that we had lost by sin.
When He saw that all the other gifts which He had bestowed on us were not sufficient to induce us to pray His love with love, He became man Himself and gave Himself all to us. ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us;’ ‘He loved us and delivered Himself up for us.’

Daily Intention
Today, let us pray for the grace to understand more deeply the love of God revealed in Christ’s Incarnation. May our hearts be moved to respond to His love with greater devotion, gratitude, and surrender.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 2
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: God’s Love Revealed in His Being Born an Infant
Scripture: Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:7; 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 3:16.

Reflection
When the Son of God became man for our sake, He could have come on earth as an adult man from the first moment of His human existence, as Adam did when he was created. But since the sight of little children draws us with an especial attraction to love them, Jesus chose to make His first appearance on earth as a little infant, and indeed as the poorest and most pitiful infant that was ever born. ‘God wished to be born as a little babe,’ wrote Saint Peter Chrysologus, ‘in order that He might teach us to love and not to fear Him.’ The prophet Isaias had long before foretold that the Son of God was to be born as an infant and thus give Himself to us on account of the love, He bore us: ‘A child is born to us, a son is given to us.’

My Jesus, supreme and true God! What has drawn Thee from heaven to be born in a cold stable, if not the love which Thou bearest us men? What has allured Thee from the bosom of Thy Father, to place Thee in a hard manger? What has brought Thee from Thy throne above the stars, to lay Thee down on a little straw? What has led Thee from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, to set Thee between two animals? Thou, who inflamest the seraphim with holy fire, art now shivering with cold in this stable! Thou, who settest the stars in the sky in motion, canst not now move unless others carry Thee in their arms! Thou, who givest men and beasts their food, has need now a little milk to sustain Thy life! Thou, who art the joy of heaven, dost now whimper and cry in suffering! Tell me, who has reduced Thee to such misery? ‘Love has done it,’ says Saint Bernard. The love which Thou bearest us men has brought all this on Thee.

Daily Intention
Today, pray for childlike simplicity, purity, and trust in God. May the humility of the Christ Child purify our hearts from fear and draw us into His tenderness.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 3
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: The Life of Poverty which Jesus Led from His Birth
Scripture: Luke 2:1–7; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Luke 9:58.

Reflection
God so ordained that, at the time when His Son was to be born on this earth, the Roman emperor should issue a decree ordering everyone to go to the place of his origin and there be registered in the census. Thus, it came about that, in obedience to this decree, Joseph went to Bethlehem together with his virgin wife when she was soon to have her Child.

Finding no lodging either in the poor inn or in the other houses of the town, they were forced to spend the night in a cave that was used as a stable for animals, and it was here that Mary gave birth to the King of heaven. If Jesus had been born in Nazareth, He would also, it is true, have been born in poverty; but there He would at least have had a dry room, a little fire, warm clothes and a more comfortable cradle. Yet He chose to be born in this cold, damp cave, and to have a manger for a cradle, with prickly straw for a mattress, in order that He might suffer for us.

Let us enter in spirit into this cave of Bethlehem, but let us enter in a spirit of lively faith. If we go there without faith, we shall see nothing but a poor infant, and the sight of this lovely child shivering and crying on his rough bed of straw may indeed move us to pity. But if we enter with faith and consider that this Babe is the very Son, God, who for love of us has come down on earth and suffers so much to pay the penalty for our sins, how can we help thanking and loving Him in return?

Daily Intention
Today, we pray for detachment from worldly possessions, and for the grace to value spiritual riches above material things. May the poverty of Bethlehem teach us true freedom.

Litany of the nativity of the Lord…

Day 4
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: The Life of Humiliation which Jesus Led from His Birth
Scripture: Luke 2:12; Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 26–27; Philippians 2:7–8.

Reflection
The Sign which the angel gave the shepherds to help them find the newborn Savior, points to His lowliness: ‘This shall be a sign to you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ No other newborn baby who was wrapped in poor swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, a feeding trough for animals, could be found anywhere else but in a stable. Thus, in lowliness the King of heaven, the Son of God, chose to be born, because He came to destroy the pride that had been the cause of man’s ruin.

The prophets had already foretold that our Redeemer was to be treated as the vilest of men on earth and that He was to be overwhelmed with insults. How much contempt had not Jesus indeed to suffer from men! He was called a drunkard, a trickster, a blasphemer and a heretic. What ignominies He endured in His Passion! His own disciples abandoned Him; one of them sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, and another denied having ever known Him.

He was led in bonds through the streets like a criminal; He was scourged like a slave, ridiculed as a fool, crowned with thorns as a mock king, buffeted and spit upon, and finally left to die, hanging on a cross between two thieves, as the worst criminal in the world. ‘The noblest of all,’ says Saint Bernard, ‘is treated as the vilest of all.’ But the Saint adds, ‘The viler Thou are treated, the dearer Thou art to me.’ The more I see Thee, my Jesus, despised and put to shame, the more dear and worthy of my love dost Thou become to me.

Daily Intention
Today, pray for humility and the grace to patiently accept misunderstandings, insults, or humiliations for Christ’s sake. May Jesus’ humility heal our pride.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 5
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: The Life of Sorrow which Jesus Led from His Birth
Scripture: Isaiah 53:3–5; Matthew 2:13–15; Luke 2:7; Hebrews 5:8.

Reflection
Jesus Christ could have saved mankind without suffering and dying. Yet, in order to prove to us how much He loved us, He chose for Himself a life full of tribulations. Therefore, the prophet Isaias called Him ‘a man of sorrows,’ His whole life was filled with suffering. His Passion began, not merely a few hours before His death, but from the first moment of His birth. He was born in a stable where everything served to torment Him. His sense of sight was hurt by seeing nothing but the rough, black walls of the cave; His sense of smell was hurt by the stench of the dung from the beasts in the stable; His sense of touch was hurt by the prickling straw on which He lay. Shortly after His birth He was forced to flee into Egypt, where He spent several years of His childhood in poverty and misery. His boyhood and early manhood in Nazareth were passed in hard work and obscurity. And finally, in Jerusalem, He died on a cross, exhausted with pain and anguish.

Thus, then, was the life of Jesus but one unbroken series of sufferings, which were doubly painful because He had ever before His eyes all the sufferings He would have to endure till His death. Yet, since our Lord had voluntarily chosen to bear these tribulations for our sake, they did not afflict Him as much as did the sight of our sins, by which we have so ungratefully repaid Him for His love towards us. When the confessor of Saint Margaret of Cortona saw that she never seemed satisfied with all the tears she had already shed for her past sins, he said to her, ‘Margaret, stop crying and cease your lamenting, for God has surely forgiven you your offenses against Him.’ But she replied, ‘Father, how can I cease to weep, since I know that my sins kept my Lord Jesus in pain and suffering during all His life?’

Daily Intention
Today, pray for all who suffer—spiritually, physically, emotionally. Offer this day for those carrying heavy crosses, that they may find strength in Christ, the Man of Sorrows.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 6
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: God’s Mercy Revealed in His Coming down from Heaven to Save Us
Scripture: Titus 3:4–5; John 3:16–17; Isaiah 53:4–6; John 15:13.

Reflection
Saint Paul says, ‘The goodness and kindness of God, our Savior, has appeared.’ When the Son of God made Man appear on earth, then was it seen how great is God’s goodness towards us. Saint Bernard says that first God’s power was manifested in the creation of the world and His wisdom in its conservation, but His merciful goodness was especially manifested later in His taking human nature on Himself, in order to save fallen mankind by His sufferings and death. For what greater proof of His kindness towards us could the Son of God show us than in taking on Himself the punishment we had deserved?
See Him as a weak, newborn infant, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Unable to move or feed Himself, He has need of Mary to give Him a little milk to sustain His life.

Or see Him again in Pilate’s courtyard, tied with fast bonds to a column and there scourged from head to foot. Behold Him on the way to Calvary, falling down from weakness under weight of the cross that He must carry. Finally behold Him nailed to this tree of shame, on which He breathes His last amid pain and anguish. Because Jesus Christ wished that His love for us should win all the love of our hearts for Himself, He would not send an angel to redeem us, but chose to come Himself, to save us by His Passion and death. Had an angel been our redeemer, men would have had to divide their hearts in loving God as their Creator and an angel as their redeemer; but God, who desires men’s whole hearts, as He was already their Creator, wished also to be their Redeemer.

Daily Intention
Today, pray for a deeper experience of God’s mercy in your life. Pray also for sinners, especially those farthest from God’s love and grace.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 7
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: Flight of the Child Jesus into Egypt
Scripture: Matthew 2:13–15; Hosea 11:1; Psalm 91:11–12.

Reflection
Although the Son of God came from heaven to save men, scarcely was He born when men began to persecute Him to death. Herod, fearing that this Child would deprive Him of his kingdom, seeks to destroy His life. But St. Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream to take the Infant and His Mother and flee into Egypt. Joseph obeys at once, and tells Mary about it.

He takes the few tools of his trade, that he may use them to gain a livelihood in Egypt for himself and his poor family. Mary wraps up a small bundle of clothes for the use of her little Son, and then, going to the crib, she says with tears in her eyes to her sleeping Child, ‘O my Son and my God! Thou hast come from heaven to save men; but hardly art Thou born when they seek to take Thy life.’ Lifting Him meanwhile in her arms and continuing to weep, she sets out that same night with Joseph on the road to Egypt.

Let us consider how much these holy wanderers must have suffered in making so long a journey, deprived of every comfort. The divine Child was not yet able to walk, and so Mary and Joseph had to take turns in carrying Him in their arms. During their journey through the desert towards Egypt they had to spend several nights in the open air, with the bare ground for their bed. The cold makes the Infant cry, and Mary and Joseph weep in pity for Him. And who would not weep at thus seeing the Son of God poor and persecuted, a fugitive on earth, that he might not be killed by His enemies!

Daily Intention
Today, pray for all families in danger, refugees, the persecuted, and those forced from their homes. May the Holy Family protect and strengthen them.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

Day 8
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: The Life of the Child Jesus in Egypt and in Nazareth
Scripture: Matthew 2:19–23; Luke 2:39–40; Luke 2:51; Philippians 2:6–7.

Reflection
Our Blessed Redeemer spent the first part of His childhood in Egypt, leading there for several years a life of poverty and humiliation. In that land Joseph and Mary were foreigners and strangers, having there neither relatives nor friends. Only with difficulty could they earn their daily bread by the labor of their hands. Their home was poor, their bed was poor, their food was poor. Here Mary weaned Jesus; dipping a piece of bread in water, she would put it in the sacred mouth of her Son. Here she made His first little garments and clothed Him with them. Here the Child Jesus took His first steps, stumbling and falling as other children first do. Here too He spoke His first words, but stammeringly. O wonder of wonders! To what has not God lowered Himself for love of us! A God stumbling and falling as He walks! A God stammering in His speech!

Not unlike this was the poor and humble life that Jesus led in Nazareth after His return from Egypt. There, until He was thirty years old, He lived as a simple servant or workman in a carpenter shop, taking orders form Joseph and Mary. ‘And He was subject to them.’ Jesus went to fetch the water; He opened and closed the shop; He swept the house, gathered the fragments of wood for the fire, and toiled all day long, helping Joseph in his work. Yet who is this? God Himself, serving as a apprentice! The omnipotent God, who with less than a flick of His finger created the whole universe, here sweating at the task of planing a piece of work! Should not the mere thought of this move us to love Him?

Daily Intention
Today, pray for families everywhere, especially for peace, unity, love, and holiness within homes. Pray also for grace to imitate Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in daily living.

Litany of the nativity of the Lord…

Day 9
Hail, and blessed be the hour and moment
At which the Son of God was born
Of a most pure Virgin
At a stable at midnight in Bethlehem
In the piercing cold
At that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee,
To hear my prayers and grant my desires
(mention request here)
Through Jesus Christ and His most Blessed Mother.

Theme: The Birth of Jesus in the Stable of Bethlehem
Scripture: Luke 2:1–7; Micah 5:2; 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 1:9–12.

Reflection
When the edict was issued by the emperor of Rome that everyone should go to his own city to be enrolled, Joseph and Mary went to be enrolled in Bethlehem. How much the Holy Virgin must have suffered on this journey of four days, over mountainous road and in the wintertime, with its cold rain and wind! When they arrived in Bethlehem, the time of Mary’s delivery was near. Joseph, therefore, sought some lodging where she might give birth to her Child. But because they were so poor, they were driven away from the houses and even from the public inn, where other poor people had found shelter.

So in that night they went a short way out of the town and there found a cave that was used as a stable, and here Mary entered. But Joseph said to his virgin wife, ‘Mary, how can you spend the night in this cold, damp cave and here give birth to your Child?’ Mary however replied, ‘Dear Joseph, this cave is the royal palace in which the King of kings, the Son of God, wishes to be born.’
When the hour of her delivery had arrived, the holy Virgin, as she knelt in prayer, all at once saw the cave illumined with a dazzling light. She lowered her eyes to the ground and there saw before her the Son of God now born on earth, a poor little Babe, crying and shivering in the cold. Adoring Him as her God, she took Him to…

Daily Intention
Today, pray for the rebirth of Christ in your heart. Ask that this Christmas bring about a new outpouring of grace, restoration, healing, and spiritual renewal in your life.

Litany of the Nativity of the Lord…

LITANY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy
Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us

God the Father of Heaven— Have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world— Have mercy on us
God the Holy Spirit— Have mercy on us
Holy Trinity, One God— Have mercy on us

Jesus, Eternal Word made Flesh— Have mercy on us
Jesus, Son of the Living God— Have mercy on us
Jesus, born in the fullness of time— Have mercy on us
Jesus, manifested in the flesh— Have mercy on us
Jesus, splendor of the Father— Have mercy on us
Jesus, brightness of eternal light— Have mercy on us

Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary— Have mercy on us
Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit— Have mercy on us
Jesus, adored by the angels— Have mercy on us
Jesus, welcomed by shepherds— Have mercy on us
Jesus, worshipped by the Magi— Have mercy on us
Jesus, lying in a manger— Have mercy on us
Jesus, poor and humble at Your birth— Have mercy on us

Jesus, our Emmanuel (God-with-us)— Have mercy on us
Jesus, our peace and reconciliation— Have mercy on us
Jesus, lover of souls— Have mercy on us
Jesus, Savior of the world— Have mercy on us
Jesus, Light of the nations— Have mercy on us

Jesus, Word made flesh who dwelt among us— Have mercy on us
Jesus, God of infinite majesty made an infant— Have mercy on us
Jesus, Lord of Heaven and earth wrapped in swaddling clothes— Have mercy on us
Jesus, Creator of all resting in a manger— Have mercy on us

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world— Spare us, O Lord
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world— Graciously hear us, O Lord
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world— Have mercy on us

V. The Word became flesh
R. And dwelt among us

Let us pray:
O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and more wonderfully restored it, grant that we may share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity; who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.