23 December 2026 · Syro-Malabar Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malankara Rite · Latin Rite · മലയാളം
“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
Two days before Christmas the whole Church holds her breath. The long season of announcements, to Zechariah, to Mary, to Joseph, is ending. Isaiah's names for the Child gather all our hopes: Wonderful Counselor for our confusion, Mighty God for our weakness, Everlasting Father for our loneliness, Prince of Peace for our quarrels.
These last days are for quiet preparation: finishing the 25 Days' Fast well, making peace, going to confession, and preparing a place, in the home and in the heart, for the Child who comes.
Theme: “A child has been born for us.”
Isaiah's names for the Messiah on the eve of Christmas Eve. (The day's official readings are pending.)
“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
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”” John 14:6
Apply: Bring one confusing situation to Jesus in prayer.
“His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom.” Isaiah 9:7
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” John 14:27
Apply: Reconcile with someone before Christmas Eve.
“Arise, shine; for your light has come.” Isaiah 60:1
“He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” John 1:11
Apply: Pray before the crib tonight.
The Child is almost here.
Let us make room for him.
Take-home resolution: Finish the 25 Days' Fast with confession and charity.
Dear friends, two days before Christmas the Church holds her breath. Isaiah gives us four names for the Child: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Let us take them as four gifts for our needs.
Wonderful Counsellor, for our confusion. Many of us do not know which way to go: in studies, marriage, work, a family conflict. The Child born in Bethlehem is Wisdom itself. Bring your decisions to him in prayer and in his word.
Mighty God, for our weakness. We fail in the same sins again and again. We feel powerless before illness, debts or addictions. The Child is weak in appearance, but he is almighty God. His power works in our weakness.
Everlasting Father, for our loneliness. Some will spend this Christmas alone: widows, migrants, the sick, the elderly whose children are far away. The Child carries the Father's heart and never leaves us.
Prince of Peace, for our quarrels. Families divided over property, neighbours not speaking, communities in conflict. The Prince of Peace comes to make peace. Before Christmas, let us take one step towards someone we are not at peace with.
These last two days are for quiet preparation: finish the Nombu well, go to confession, make peace, and prepare a place in the home and in the heart. Let us pray today: come, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Amen.
Children, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace. Make peace with your brother or sister today to get ready for Christmas!
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace: come and be born in our hearts and homes. Amen.
The official readings for this day are still awaited from the 2026–27 calendar, so this study takes the verse given for the day: Isaiah 9:6. Two days before Christmas it is a good verse to stay with. Isaiah announces a birth and gives the child four names, and each name says something about what God intends to do through him.
Setting.
Isaiah speaks in a dark time for his people. In about 733–732 BC the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III took Galilee and the land of Naphtali from the northern kingdom (2 Kings 15:29), the very region named at the start of this oracle (9:1). Into that darkness comes a song of light and of broken yokes (9:2–5), and its reason is a birth in the house of David.
In the Hebrew Bible this verse is numbered 9:5. Many scholars hear in it the language of a Davidic king’s birth or enthronement, when a new king received solemn titles. Its first hearers looked for a good king. The Church sees that its words reach further than any king of Judah.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;” (9:6)
“For us”, twice. He is not born for himself. The verbs are in the past tense, as the prophets often speak of what God has already decided. The Church hears this verse at Christmas as now fulfilled.
“authority rests upon his shoulders;” (9:6)
The rod of the oppressor had lain across the people’s shoulders (9:4). Now the burden of rule lies on one shoulder instead, and it is his. Christian readers have long thought also of the wood of the Cross carried on those shoulders.
“and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (9:6)
A name in the Bible says what a person is for. Together these names promise wisdom, strength, lasting care and peace, the four things a people in darkness most needs.
How the Church reads it.
Gabriel’s words to Mary echo the next verse of this oracle: God will give him “the throne of his ancestor David” and “of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32–33). Paul says of Christ, “he is our peace” (Ephesians 2:14). The Catechism teaches that earthly peace is the image and fruit of the peace of Christ, the messianic “Prince of Peace” (CCC 2305).
How can the Son be called “Everlasting Father”?
The title does not confuse the Son with the Father. The Father and the Son are distinct Persons (CCC 254). The Hebrew ’ăbî‘ad means “father for ever”: a king who cares for his people as a father does, without end. It speaks of his care for us, not of his place within the Trinity.