25 December 2026 · Latin Rite
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“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Christmas has three Masses, and together they tell the whole mystery. At night, Luke's Gospel: the census, Bethlehem, the manger, the angels' “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” At dawn, the shepherds who go with haste and find the child, and Mary who “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”. In the day, John's Prologue lifts our eyes from the manger to eternity: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
The child in the manger is not a man who became God, nor God pretending to be human. He is the eternal Son, true God from true God, who “for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man”. The Church teaches that he is one Person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion or division (Council of Chalcedon, 451; CCC 464–469). He “emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7) without ceasing to be God.
Why did he come? Hebrews says: God, who once spoke “in many and various ways by the prophets”, has now spoken “to us by a Son”. Christmas is God's final word, and the word is a child. He came to save us from sin, to make us “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4; CCC 460), to show us the Father, and to give us a model of holiness. “To all who received him… he gave power to become children of God.” St Leo the Great's Christmas sermon gives the response: “Christian, remember your dignity.”
Isaiah sings of the messenger's beautiful feet on the mountains announcing peace, and of watchmen shouting for joy. Tonight the shepherds are those watchmen, and we are invited to join them. The manger points to the altar: born in Bethlehem, “House of Bread”, laid in a feeding trough, the Child will give himself as the Bread of Life.
Theme: “The Word became flesh.”
God's final word is a Child; the eternal Son became man to make us children of God.
“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Apply: Kneel at the crib with your family.
“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.”” Isaiah 52:7
“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.” Hebrews 1:1–2
Apply: Read the Christmas Gospel slowly today.
“But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” John 1:11–12
Apply: Invite someone lonely to your Christmas meal.
God became what we are so that we might share what he is.
Christian, remember your dignity.
Take-home resolution: Visit the crib in church during the Christmas octave.
Dear brothers and sisters, a happy and holy Christmas to you all!
Tonight and today the Church tells the story three ways. At night, Luke tells us of the census, the journey to Bethlehem, no room in the inn, the manger, the shepherds and the angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest.” In the day, John lifts our eyes to eternity: “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh and lived among us.”
Who is this child? Not just a good man, not an angel, but God himself. The eternal Son, through whom everything was made, now lies in a manger, needing his mother's milk. St Augustine marvelled: the Bread was hungry, the Fountain was thirsty, the Light slept. God became small so that we would not be afraid to come close.
Why did he come? The letter to the Hebrews says: long ago God spoke through the prophets, but now he has spoken to us by a Son. Christmas is God's final word to us, and that word is love in the form of a child. He came to forgive our sins, to show us the Father, and to make us God's own children. St John says: “To all who received him, he gave power to become children of God.”
But there was no room in the inn. Is there room in ours? In our busy celebrations, our shopping, our food and decorations, is there room for the Child? And is there room for the poor, the lonely, the migrant, those for whom this Christmas is sad?
Bethlehem means “House of Bread”. The Child was laid in a manger, where animals eat. From the beginning he was preparing to give himself as our food. Today at this altar he comes to us again. Let us receive him with joy, and, as St Leo said, “Christian, remember your dignity.” A blessed Christmas to you and your families!
Bethlehem means house of bread. The Child born there was laid in a manger, a feeding trough. From the first day, He offered Himself as food.
📖 Micah 5:2–4
📖 Luke 2:4–7
Apply: At Communion today, remember Bethlehem.
📖 Isaiah 1:3
📖 John 6:35, 51
Apply: Kneel at the crib and then at the altar with the same faith.
📖 Isaiah 58:7
📖 Luke 2:15–20
Apply: Share a meal or a gift with a poor family.
The Child of Bethlehem continues to give Himself as Bread on our altars.
Christmas is fulfilled when we receive Him and share Him.
Take-home resolution: This Christmas I will receive Communion with the faith of the shepherds and share my bread with someone in need.
Dear brothers and sisters, a joyful and blessed Christmas to all of you! Tonight let us go in spirit to a small town in Judea. Its name was Bethlehem. In Hebrew, Bethlehem means house of bread. It was there, and nowhere else, that God chose to be born.
The prophet Micah had foretold it: from you, Bethlehem, small among the clans of Judah, shall come forth one who is to rule in Israel (Micah 5:2). God plans with care. The One who would say I am the bread of life (John 6:35) was born in the house of bread.
And where did Mary lay Him? In a manger (Luke 2:7). We have made the crib beautiful with lights and decorations, but a manger was a feeding trough, the place where animals came to eat. The prophet Isaiah had said that the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not understand (Isaiah 1:3). The Son of God was placed where food is placed. From His first night on earth He was saying: I have come to be your food.
That is why Christmas leads us to the altar. In a few moments, on this altar, the same Christ born in Bethlehem will become present under the appearance of bread. The shepherds knelt at the manger; we kneel before the Lord in the Holy Mass. They saw a child; we see bread. In both cases faith sees God hidden in humility. Receive Him tonight with the faith of the shepherds.
And the shepherds did not keep the good news to themselves. They told everyone what they had heard (Luke 2:17). Bread is meant to be shared. This Christmas, share your bread with someone who is hungry, lonely or forgotten: a meal, a visit, a phone call. Then Christmas will not end tonight. It will continue in every house where Christ, the Bread of Life, is received and shared.
Christmas is not only a sweet story. It is the heart of our faith: God became man.
📖 Isaiah 7:14; 9:6
📖 John 1:1–14
Apply: Bow deeply at the words of the Creed: and became man.
📖 Isaiah 9:6–7
📖 Philippians 2:5–11
Apply: Call Mary Mother of God with faith in the Hail Mary.
📖 Exodus 34:6
📖 2 Peter 1:4
Apply: Thank God that He came to make you His child.
The Incarnation is the greatest proof of God's love.
God became man so that we might share His divine life.
Take-home resolution: This Christmas I will bow at the words of the Creed and thank God for becoming man.
Dear brothers and sisters, a blessed Christmas to you all! We have heard the familiar story again: the journey, the manger, the shepherds. But behind the story is the most astonishing truth ever proclaimed: God became man. Tonight let us look at this mystery as the Church teaches it.
St John writes: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; and the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1, 14). The Child in the manger is not a good man whom God later adopted, nor a god who only seemed human. He is the eternal Son of God who took to Himself a full human nature, body and soul, in the womb of the Virgin Mary. That is why, in the Creed, at the words and became man, we bow; on Christmas day, we kneel.
The early Church had to defend this truth against many errors. The Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus and Chalcedon taught that Jesus Christ is one divine Person in two natures, divine and human, without confusion and without separation (CCC 464–469). Because the Child is God, the Council of Ephesus proclaimed Mary Theotokos, Mother of God (CCC 495). This is not an exaggeration about Mary; it is a protection of the truth about Jesus.
Why did God become man? The Catechism gives four reasons. To save us by reconciling us with God. So that we might know God's love. To be our model of holiness. And to make us partakers of the divine nature (CCC 457–460; 2 Peter 1:4). The Fathers of the Church summed it up: the Son of God became a son of man so that we might become children of God.
So Christmas is not only for children; it is the foundation of our whole faith. At this Holy Mass the same Word made flesh comes to us. Let us receive Him with wonder, and let His love, so humble and so close, change the way we live.
On the night of the Nativity the sky over Bethlehem was filled with an army of angels singing glory to God and peace on earth (Luke 2:13–14). Two thousand years later the world still longs for that peace: in the Holy Land where Christ was born, in every land torn by war or communal conflict, and in many of our own homes.
Tonight the Prince of Peace is born. He does not bring peace by force, but by coming close to us, small and defenceless.
📖 Isaiah 9:6–7
📖 Luke 2:13–14
Apply: Ask the Child tonight for the gift of an inner peace that does not depend on circumstances.
📖 Genesis 33:4
📖 Matthew 5:23–24
Apply: Before the Christmas meal is over, take one step towards someone you are not at peace with.
📖 Micah 4:3
📖 Matthew 5:9
Apply: Pray each day of the Christmas season for one country at war.
The angels sang peace on earth among those whom God favours. God's favour rests on all who receive his Son. At this Holy Mass, let us exchange the sign of peace with sincerity, and carry it home.
Take-home resolution: This Christmas I will make peace with one person, and pray daily for one nation at war.
Dear friends, on the night of the Nativity the shepherds heard the angels sing: glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours (Luke 2:14). Glory to God and peace on earth go together. When God is given his glory, peace follows.
Isaiah had called the Child the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Strange prince: born in a stable, laid in a manger, threatened by a king. Yet he brings what no army can bring. St Paul says: he is our peace; in his flesh he has broken down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14).
The world longs for peace. Tonight we pray for the land where Jesus was born, for all places torn by war, and for our own country wherever communities are divided. Christmas is not a holiday from the world's pain; it is God entering it.
But peace begins closer. In many families tonight there is an empty chair, not because of death, but because of a quarrel. Brothers who do not speak, sisters divided over property, a son estranged from his father. The Child in the manger asks: will you let me bring peace into your home?
Jacob, after twenty years of fear, ran to meet his brother Esau, and Esau embraced him (Genesis 33:4). Jesus taught: if your brother has something against you, go first and be reconciled (Matthew 5:24). Christmas is the best time to take that first step: a phone call, a visit, a slice of cake carried across the road.
At this Holy Mass, when we offer one another the sign of peace, let it be real. And let us go home as peacemakers, for blessed are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). A blessed and peaceful Christmas to all. Amen.
The first to hear the news of Christmas were not kings or priests, but shepherds: poor, rough, often despised, working through the night. God chose them as the first witnesses of his Son (Luke 2:8–12).
Christmas is good news for all who live at the edges: migrant workers, night-shift nurses, fishermen, farmers, the homeless and the forgotten.
📖 Ezekiel 34:11–16
📖 Luke 2:8–12
Apply: Remember that God's first messengers went to those the world overlooks.
📖 Isaiah 61:1
📖 Luke 2:12, 16
Apply: Look for Christ this Christmas in a poor person near you.
📖 Isaiah 52:7
📖 Luke 2:17–20
Apply: Share the joy of Christmas with someone who has no one to celebrate with.
The Child who came first to shepherds comes now to us at this Holy Mass. Let us welcome him with simple hearts, and go out like the shepherds to tell others what we have seen.
Take-home resolution: This Christmas I will share a meal or a gift with a migrant worker, a night worker or a poor family.
Dear friends, on that first Christmas night, while Bethlehem slept, shepherds were keeping watch over their flocks in the fields. To them, not to the powerful in Jerusalem or Rome, an angel appeared and said: do not be afraid; I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people (Luke 2:10).
Shepherds in those days were poor and often looked down upon. Their work kept them away from the Temple and from respectable company. Yet God chose them. The prophet Ezekiel had promised that God himself would shepherd his people, seek the lost and bind up the injured (Ezekiel 34:11–16). The Good Shepherd announces himself first to shepherds.
The sign they were given was not a palace or a crown, but a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger (Luke 2:12). The poor recognised him because he was poor like them. God did not come to the world from above, but from below.
Think of the shepherds of our time: the migrant worker from another state who builds our houses, the nurse on night duty in a hospital abroad, the fisherman at sea on Christmas night, the security guard at the gate, the family in a rented room. Christmas is first their feast.
The shepherds went with haste, found Mary and Joseph and the child, and then made known what had been told them. They returned glorifying and praising God (Luke 2:16–20). The poor became the first evangelists. They had nothing to give but their joy, and it was enough.
At this Holy Mass, Christ comes to us as he came to the shepherds: simply, humbly. Let us receive him, and then, like them, go out with haste: to share our Christmas food, to visit someone alone, to bring good news to the margins. A joyful Christmas to all. Amen.
This homily is written for a congregation with many children and families. It uses simple words and three images the children can remember: the star, the crib and the gift.
Christmas is a family feast because God chose to be born into a family.
📖 Numbers 24:17
📖 Matthew 2:9–10
Apply: Let each family pray together tonight under the Christmas star.
📖 Isaiah 7:14
📖 Luke 2:7
Apply: Let the children place the Child in the home crib with a prayer.
📖 Isaiah 9:6
📖 John 3:16
Apply: Let each person give one gift of love tomorrow that costs no money.
The star shows the way, the crib shows God's humility, and the gift shows his love. May every family leave this Holy Mass with the Child in their hearts.
Take-home resolution: Our family will pray together before the crib every evening until the end of the Christmas season.
Dear children and dear families, a very happy Christmas to you! Tonight I want to talk about three things you can see around you: the star, the crib and the gift.
First, the star. Look at the stars shining in our homes and in the church. Long ago a star led the wise men to the place where Jesus was (Matthew 2:9–10). Our stars remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. And, dear parents, you are stars for your children: by your prayer and your example, you show them the way to Jesus.
Second, the crib. Look at the crib: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the animals, and the little baby. Isn't it amazing? The great God, who made the sun and the stars and the sea, became a tiny baby. He did not choose a palace; he was laid in a manger because there was no room in the inn (Luke 2:7). Children, Jesus wants a place in your home and in your heart. Will you make room for him?
Third, the gift. Why do we give gifts at Christmas? Because God gave us the best gift: his own Son. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son (John 3:16). So our gifts are a little copy of God's love. But the best gifts do not come from a shop: a hug, helping at home, saying sorry, sharing with a poor child.
And there is one more gift. At this Holy Mass, Jesus gives himself to us again. The baby of Bethlehem comes to us in Holy Communion. Bethlehem means house of bread, and Jesus is the Bread of Life.
So when you go home tonight, look at the star and say: Jesus, you are my light. Look at the crib and say: Jesus, come into my heart. And give one gift of love tomorrow. A happy and holy Christmas to every family. Amen.
Children, Happy Birthday, Jesus!
God loves us so much that he became a tiny baby, born in a stable because there was no room for him.
The angels sang, the shepherds came running, and Mary held baby Jesus close.
What gift can you give Jesus today? A kind heart! Share a sweet, hug your family, and say thank you, Jesus!
O God, who wonderfully created the dignity of human nature and still more wonderfully restored it, grant, we pray, 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, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Mass during the Day does not retell the story of Bethlehem. Luke's shepherds and manger belong to the Masses of the night and of dawn. Now, in full daylight, the Church asks who this child is.
The three readings give one answer in three voices. Isaiah sees a messenger running over the mountains with the news that God has come back to his ruined city. Hebrews says that the God who spoke in fragments through the prophets has now spoken by a Son, the very imprint of his being. John goes back behind creation itself: “In the beginning was the Word”, and ends with the sentence on which all Christian faith rests: “the Word became flesh”. The key words are messenger, Son and Word.
Setting.
This passage belongs to the Book of Consolation (Isaiah 40–55), which speaks to the Jews in exile in Babylon in the years before Cyrus allowed them to return (539 BC). Jerusalem lies in ruins. Chapter 52 opens with a call to the city to wake up and rise from the dust (52:1–2).
The poet imagines the day of return as a scene. Watchmen stand on the broken walls. A runner appears on the mountains. Before anyone can see the returning exiles, they hear the news that the Lord himself is coming home at their head. Directly after this passage comes the song of the Suffering Servant (52:13–53:12), which asks, “to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (53:1).
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“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.”” (52:7)
Feet are not usually called beautiful, least of all feet that have run over mountain paths. They are beautiful because of what they bring. St Paul quotes this verse of those who preach Christ (Romans 10:15).
“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.” (52:8)
“In plain sight” is literally “eye to eye”. The glory that left the Temple (Ezekiel 10) returns, and it can be seen. John will say, “we have seen his glory”.
“Break forth together into singing, you ruins of Jerusalem;” (52:9)
It is the ruins who are told to sing, before any stone has been rebuilt. Comfort has come already, because God has come.
“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.” (52:10)
The news is not only for Israel. The psalm today answers in the past tense: all the ends of the earth have seen it (Psalm 98:3).
How the Church reads it.
The Church hears in this messenger first of all Christ, who “came and proclaimed peace” (Ephesians 2:17), and then everyone who carries him to others. St Paul VI taught that evangelizing is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity (Evangelii Nuntiandi 14). So the messenger's feet are the feet of every catechist and parent who hands on this news.
Setting.
Hebrews calls itself “a word of exhortation” (13:22). It is a sermon to Christians who were growing weary. Its author is not named. These opening verses are among the finest Greek of the New Testament, and they state the theme of the whole work: Christ is God's final word and the one true high priest.
Our reading ends at v. 6, in the middle of a chain of Old Testament quotations (1:5–14) showing that the Son is greater than the angels. Many Jews of the time held that the Law had been delivered through angels (compare Galatians 3:19; Hebrews 2:2), so the comparison is a way of saying that the Son stands above every messenger who has gone before.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets,” (1:1)
The old revelation was true and came from God. The author does not despise it; he calls it God's speech. It was unfinished, not false.
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,” (1:2)
The Greek has no article, literally “in Son”: the point is the kind of messenger. God has no further word to add to this one.
“He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,” (1:3)
Two images side by side, because each alone could mislead. Light and its radiance show that they cannot be separated; a seal and its imprint show that they are distinct.
“When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (1:3)
Already, in the Christmas reading, the Cross and the Ascension. The priests of old stood at their work; this one sits, because the work is finished (10:11–12). The words recall Psalm 110:1.
““Let all God’s angels worship him.”” (1:6)
The wording is close to the Greek Old Testament of Deuteronomy 32:43 (compare Psalm 97:7); the standard Hebrew of Deuteronomy does not have this line. “When he brings the firstborn into the world” has been read of the Incarnation and also of Christ's return in glory. On this day the angels' song at Bethlehem (Luke 2:13–14) comes to mind.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism quotes these verses to teach that Christ is God's one and final Word, and it adds the words of St John of the Cross: in giving us his Son, his only Word, God spoke everything to us at once, and he has no more to say (CCC 65). There will be no new public revelation before the Lord's return in glory (CCC 66). The Catechism also cites Hebrews 1:3 among the texts confessing the divinity of the Son (CCC 241).
St Athanasius used “reflection of God's glory” against the Arians: since a light is never without its radiance, the Father has never been without the Son (in substance). It is the thought behind “Light from Light” in the Creed.
Setting.
The Prologue stands over the whole Fourth Gospel like a title. It opens with the same words as the Greek Book of Genesis: en archē, “in the beginning”. Mark begins with John at the Jordan, Matthew and Luke with the birth; John begins in eternity.
Behind the term “Word” are two lines of the Old Testament: the word of God that creates (“God said”, Genesis 1) and speaks through the prophets, and Wisdom, who is with God from the beginning and pitches her tent in Israel (Proverbs 8:22–31; Sirach 24:8). Greek readers also knew logos as the reason behind the universe. John takes up all of this and says something none of it had said: this Word has a human name.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (1:1)
“Was”, three times: not “came to be”. Nothing here has a start. The last clause has no article before “God” in Greek, so it does not say that the Word is the Father, but that the Word is what God is.
“in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (1:4)
A note on the text: the old manuscripts have no punctuation, so “what has come into being” may close v. 3 or open v. 4. NRSV takes the second course, POC the first. Both are ancient.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (1:5)
The verb can mean both “overcome” and “grasp”: the darkness neither understood the light nor put it out. The tense of “shines” is the present. This is still happening.
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” (1:11)
This is not a verdict on the Jewish people: the first who accepted him, Mary, Joseph, John and the apostles, were Jews, and the Church rejects any blame laid on the Jews as a people (Nostra Aetate 4). It describes every heart that closes its door, ours included.
“But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,” (1:12)
The Son of God by nature makes children of God by grace. A note on v. 13: all Greek manuscripts have the plural “who were born”. A few early Latin witnesses, with Irenaeus and Tertullian, have a singular “who was born”, which would refer to Christ.
“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (1:14)
Not “seemed to be” and not “was changed into”. He remained God and became man. In the desert the glory filled a tent; now it is seen in a man's face. “We have seen”: this is the voice of witnesses.
“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (1:16)
“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” (1:18)
A note on the text: the oldest manuscripts read “only God” or “God the only one”, others “the only Son”. NRSV combines them, and POC also says that the only-begotten is God himself. “Made him known” (Greek exēgēsato) gives us our word “exegesis”: Jesus is the Father's own exegesis.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism teaches that the Word became flesh to save us, so that we might know God's love, to be our model of holiness, and to make us “partakers of the divine nature” (CCC 456–460). It cites St Athanasius: the Son of God became man so that we might become God (CCC 460). The Incarnation does not mean that Jesus is partly God and partly man, nor a mixture: he is truly God and truly man (CCC 464).
St Augustine says in his Confessions that he found in the books of the Platonists something like “the Word was God”, but not “the Word became flesh” (in substance). St Leo the Great, in a Christmas sermon, tells the Christian to recognize his dignity, now that he shares in God's own nature (CCC 1691). The Church turns this verse into daily prayer in the Angelus.
Was Jesus really born on 25 December?
The Gospels do not give the date. The Church's oldest clear witness to the feast on this day is a Roman calendar in a collection of the year 354. Scholars still debate why this day was chosen: some link it with a Roman festival of the sun, others with an old calculation from 25 March. What the Church celebrates is the fact of the birth, not an exact date in the calendar. On the mystery of Christmas, see CCC 525–526.
“The Word was God”: some translate it “a god”. Is that right?
No. In Greek, a noun placed before the verb without an article commonly describes what someone is, here God's own nature. The Prologue also says that all things were made through him (1:3), which excludes his being a creature. The Council of Nicaea (325) confessed him “true God from true God”. And since the Word is “with God”, he is not the Father: the divine Persons are really distinct (CCC 253–254).
If God has said everything in his Son, why do we still need the Church's teaching?
Revelation is complete, but “it has not been made completely explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the course of the centuries” (CCC 66). The Church does not add to it; she goes on understanding and handing it on.
The Latin Church has four Masses of Christmas with their own readings: the Vigil, the Mass during the Night, at Dawn, and during the Day. These are the readings of the last, and they are the same every year. At the Creed today all genuflect at the words “and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man”, as also on the Annunciation (General Instruction of the Roman Missal 137). On other days we bow.
For centuries before the reform after the Council, the Prologue was read at the end of nearly every Roman Mass, and all genuflected at “the Word became flesh”. Today the Church hears it on this day above all. The liturgy calls this feast a wonderful exchange: the Creator becomes man, and we are made sharers in his divinity (CCC 526).