24 December 2026 · Latin Rite
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“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78–79
On the last morning of Advent the Church sings with Zechariah. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the old priest who had been silent for nine months bursts into the Benedictus, the song the Church prays every morning at Lauds. He blesses God who “has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them” and has “raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David”, the promise of 2 Samuel 7 now fulfilled.
Then he turns to his own child: “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” And the song ends with the image of dawn: “the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness.” Tonight that dawn breaks. Advent ends not with a lecture but with a song of praise and a sunrise.
Theme: “The dawn from on high.”
Zechariah's Benedictus: God keeps his promise, John prepares the way, and the dawn breaks tonight.
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.” 2 Samuel 7:12
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David.” Luke 1:68–69
Apply: Pray the Benedictus this morning.
“A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”” Isaiah 40:3
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” Luke 1:76–77
Apply: Forgive someone before Christmas night.
“But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Luke 1:78–79
Apply: Make one act of peace in your family today.
Advent ends in praise.
The dawn is breaking: Christ is near.
Take-home resolution: Attend Christmas Mass with your whole family.
Dear friends, this morning Mass on Christmas Eve is the last Mass of Advent. The first reading recalls God's promise to David: when your days are fulfilled, I will raise up your offspring after you, and I will establish his kingdom. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your throne shall be established for ever (2 Samuel 7:12–16).
In the Gospel Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, sings the Benedictus: blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favourably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty saviour for us in the house of his servant David (Luke 1:68–69).
The Church sings this song every morning at Lauds. Today it has special meaning. The promise to David is about to be fulfilled tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David.
Zechariah sings that we are saved so that we might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days (Luke 1:74–75). Christmas is not only a feast to enjoy; it is a call to holiness, a life of serving God without fear.
He ends: by the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:78–79). Tonight the dawn breaks.
In the busyness of this day, cooking, cleaning, shopping, travelling, let us keep a moment of quiet. Let us pray the Benedictus, thank God for his faithfulness, and prepare our hearts for the Child who comes tonight. Amen.
Children, tonight Jesus comes like the sunrise after a long night. Get your heart ready with a prayer!
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has visited his people and redeemed them. Let the dawn from on high break upon our home tonight, give light to those in darkness, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Amen.
This morning is the last of Advent. David wants to build God a house, and God answers that he will build David a house instead. In the Gospel an old priest, his voice just restored, sings that the promise has come: God “has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David”. A thousand years of waiting end in one sentence, and at evening the Church begins Christmas.
Setting.
David has taken Jerusalem and brought the ark there (2 Samuel 5–6). The wars are quiet and he lives in a cedar palace. It seems only right that God should have a house too, and the prophet Nathan at first agrees. This chapter, the oracle of Nathan, is one of the foundations of Israel's hope for the Messiah. It is echoed in Psalm 89, today's psalm.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.” (7:2)
A generous thought. Yet the story shows that even a good plan for God can be our plan and not his.
“Are you the one to build me a house to live in?” (7:5)
God is not refusing honour. He is reversing the direction: grace always begins from God's side.
“Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.” (7:11)
This is the turning point of the chapter. The man who wanted to give receives.
“Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” (7:16)
A note on the text: the standard Hebrew text has “before you”; NRSV and POC read “before me”, with the Greek and some Hebrew manuscripts.
How the Church reads it.
The New Testament reads this oracle of Jesus. Gabriel promises Mary that God will give her son “the throne of his ancestor David”, and “of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33), words the Creed repeats. Hebrews 1:5, heard at tomorrow's Mass, applies 7:14 to the Son. The Catechism presents Jesus as the messianic Son of David (CCC 439) and notes that the Temple David wished to build was the work of his son (CCC 2580).
Setting.
Zechariah's mouth has just been opened (1:64). Filled with the Holy Spirit, he speaks the song the Church calls the Benedictus, from its first word in Latin. Like the Magnificat, it is made of Old Testament language. It has the form of a Jewish blessing of God for his saving acts. A priest of the old covenant here stands at the door of the new.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.” (1:68)
Jesus has not been born yet, but Zechariah speaks in the past tense. For faith, God's promise is as sure as what has been done.
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,” (1:76)
An eight-day-old infant receives his life's task. “The Most High” is the title given to Jesus' Father in 1:32; in Luke “the Lord” also points to Jesus (1:43).
“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,” (1:78)
A note on the text: the manuscripts vary between “will break” (which NRSV and POC follow) and “has broken”. Literally “tender mercy” is the “bowels of mercy”, the deep feeling of God. The whole salvation comes out of this.
How the Church reads it.
The Church sings the Benedictus each morning at Morning Prayer, so each day begins with the promise that the dawn is coming. The Catechism calls John “Prophet of the Most High”, the last of the prophets, who goes before Jesus (CCC 523), and says that in him the Holy Spirit concludes his speaking through the prophets (CCC 719).
If God promised a throne forever, what happened when David's line stopped ruling?
The Church's answer is that the promise was greater than a political kingdom. Jesus reigns as the risen Son of David, and his kingdom has no end (Luke 1:33; CCC 439). The Jewish people's long hope for God's anointed is honoured by the Church as part of the same story (CCC 839–840).
This Mass is the last of Advent, in violet, with its own readings. From the evening the Mass of the Vigil of Christmas begins, with the Gospel of the genealogy of Jesus. The title Oriens and the song of Zechariah join here: the dawn this song awaits comes with Christmas.