{"id":12930,"date":"2025-08-31T17:50:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T16:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prayerfulness.com\/?page_id=12930"},"modified":"2025-08-31T21:42:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T20:42:46","slug":"december-2024-sunday-readings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/prayerfulness.com\/index.php\/december-2024-sunday-readings\/","title":{"rendered":"December 2024 Sunday Readings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Scripture\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

December 2024 Sunday Readings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Scripture<\/strong> Readings for Sundays in December 2024<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Follow the Scripture readings for Sundays of the Year. Read and reflect on them as part of your daily prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select Month:<\/strong> January<\/a><\/strong> \/ February<\/strong><\/a> \/ March<\/strong><\/a> \/ April<\/strong><\/a> \/ May<\/strong><\/a> \/ June<\/strong><\/a> \/ July<\/strong><\/a> \/ August<\/strong><\/a> \/ September<\/strong><\/a> \/ October<\/strong><\/a> \/ November<\/strong><\/a> \/ December<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

_________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sunday Mass Readings for<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

December 2024  – Year C<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\nSunday 1st December 2024 – First Sunday of Advent<\/a>
\nSunday 8th December 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent<\/a>
\nSunday 15th December 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent<\/a>
\nSunday 22nd December 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent<\/a>
\nTuesday 24th December 2024 – Christmas Eve<\/a>
\nWednesday 25th December 2024 – Christmas Day<\/a>
\nSunday 29th December 2024 – The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday 1st December 2024 – First Sunay of Advent<\/p> <\/b>\n\n

First Week of Advent<\/p>\n\n\n

\nA reading from the Prophet Jeremiah 33:14-16<\/b>
\n\nI will make a virtuous branch grow for David.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

See, the days are coming \u2013 it is the Lord who speaks \u2013 when I am going to
fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:
\n\u2018In those days and at that time,
\nI will make a virtuous Branch grow for David,
\nwho shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.
\nIn those days Judah shall be saved
\nand Israel shall dwell in confidence.
\nAnd this is the name the city will be called:
\nThe-Lord-our-integrity.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

\nPsalm: 24:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14<\/b>
\n\nLord, make me know your ways.
\nLord, teach me your paths.
\nMake me walk in your truth, and teach me:
\nfor you are God my saviour.<\/p> \n\n

The Lord is good and upright.
\nHe shows the path to those who stray,
\nHe guides the humble in the right path,
\nHe teaches his way to the poor.<\/p> \n\n

His ways are faithfulness and love
\nfor those who keep his covenant and law.
\nThe Lord\u2019s friendship is for those who revere him;
\nto them he reveals his covenant.<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Thesselonians 3:12\u20144:2
<\/b> \n\nMay the Lord confirm your hearts in holiness when Christ comes<\/i><\/p> \n\n

May the Lord be generous in increasing your love and make you love one another and the whole human race as much as we love you. And may he so confirm your hearts in holiness that you may be blameless in the sight of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus Christ comes with all his saints.
\nFinally, brothers, we urge you and appeal to you in the Lord Jesus to make more and more progress in the kind of life that you are meant to live: the life that God wants, as you learnt from us, and as you are already living it. You have not forgotten the instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the Gospel of St Luke 21:25-28,34-36
<\/b> \n\nYour liberation is near at hand.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Jesus said to his disciples: \u201cThere will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
\n\u201cWatch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.\u201d<\/p> \n\n\n\n

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Sunday 8th December 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent<\/p> <\/b>\n\n

Second Week of Advent<\/p>\n\n

\n\nA reading from the Prophet Baruch 5:1-9<\/b>
\n\nGod means to show your splendour to every nation.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Jerusalem, take off your dress of sorrow and distress,
\nput on the beauty of the glory of God for ever,
\nwrap the cloak of the integrity of God around you,
\nput the diadem of the glory of the Eternal on your head:
\nsince God means to show your splendour to every nation under heaven,
\nsince the name God gives you for ever will be,
\n\u2018Peace through integrity, and honour through devotedness.\u2019
\nArise, Jerusalem, stand on the heights
\nand turn your eyes to the east:
\nsee your sons reassembled from west and east
\nat the command of the Holy One, jubilant that God has remembered them.
\nThough they left you on foot,
\nwith enemies for an escort,
\nnow God brings them back to you
\nlike royal princes carried back in glory.
\nFor God has decreed the flattening
\nof each high mountain, of the everlasting hills,
\nthe filling of the valleys to make the ground level
\nso that Israel can walk in safety under the glory of God.
\nAnd the forests and every fragrant tree will provide shade
\nfor Israel at the command of God;
\nfor God will guide Israel in joy by the light of his glory
\nwith his mercy and integrity for escort.<\/p> \n\n

\nPsalm: 125:1-6
<\/b> \n\nWhen the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
\nit seemed like a dream.
\nThen was our mouth filled with laughter,
\non our lips there were songs. <\/p> \n\n

The heathens themselves said: \u2018What marvels
\nthe Lord worked for them!\u2019
\nWhat marvels the Lord worked for us!
\nIndeed we were glad. <\/p> \n\n

Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
\nas streams in dry land.
\nThose who are sowing in tears
\nwill sing when they reap. <\/p> \n\n

They go out, they go out, full of tears,
\ncarrying seed for the sowing:
\nthey come back, they come back, full of song,
\ncarrying their sheaves. <\/p> \n\n\n

\nA reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Philippians 1:4-6,8-11
<\/b> \n\nBe pure and blameless for the day of Christ.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the Gospel of St Luke 3:1-6
<\/b> \n\nAll mankind shall see the salvation of God.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy, remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present. I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes; and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you. My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ, when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sunday 15th December 2024 – Thirty Sunday of Advent<\/p> <\/b>\n\n

Third Week of Advent<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the Prophet Zephaniah 3:14-18<\/b>
\n\nThe Lord will dance with shouts of joy for you as on a day of festival.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

\u201cShout for joy, daughter of Zion,
\nIsrael, shout aloud!
\nRejoice, exult with all your heart,
\ndaughter of Jerusalem!
\nThe Lord has repealed your sentence;
\nhe has driven your enemies away.
\nThe Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
\nyou have no more evil to fear.<\/p> \n\n

When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:
\nZion, have no fear,
\ndo not let your hands fall limp.
\nThe Lord your God is in your midst,
\na victorious warrior.
\nHe will exult with joy over you,
\nhe will renew you by his love;
\nhe will dance with shouts of joy for you
\nas on a day of festival.<\/p>\n\n

\nPsalm: Isaiah 12
<\/b> \n\nTruly, God is my salvation,
\n I trust, I shall not fear.
\nFor the Lord is my strength, my song,
\nhe became my saviour.
\nWith joy you will draw water
\nfrom the wells of salvation.<\/p>\n\n

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!
\nMake his mighty deeds known to the peoples!
\nDeclare the greatness of his name.<\/p>\n\n

Sing a psalm to the Lord
\nfor he has done glorious deeds;
\nmake them known to all the earth!
\nPeople of Zion, sing and shout for joy,
\nfor great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.<\/p> \n\n

\nA reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Philippians 4:4-7
<\/b> \n\nThe Lord is very near.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.
\nThere is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the Gospel of St Luke 3:10-18
<\/b> \n\nWhat must we do?<\/i><\/p> \n\n

When all the people asked John, \u2018What must we do?\u2019 he answered, \u2018If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.\u2019 There were tax collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, \u2018Master, what must we do?\u2019 He said to them, \u2018Exact no more than your rate.\u2019 Some soldiers asked him in their turn, \u2018What about us? What must we do?\u2019 He said to them, \u2018No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!\u2019
\nA feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, \u2018I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.\u2019 As well as this, there were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.<\/p> \n\n\n

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Sunday 22nd December 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent<\/p> <\/b>\n\n\n

Fourth Week of Advent<\/p>\n\n\n

\nA reading from the Prophet Micah 5:1-4<\/b>
\n\nOut of you will be born the one who is to rule over Israel.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

The Lord says this:
\nBut you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
\nthe least of the clans of Judah,
\nout of you will be born for me
\nthe one who is to rule over Israel;
\nhis origin goes back to the distant past,
\nto the days of old.
\nThe Lord is therefore going to abandon them
\ntill the time when she who is to give birth gives birth.
\nThen the remnant of his brothers will come back
\nto the sons of Israel.
\nHe will stand and feed his flock
\nwith the power of the Lord,
\nwith the majesty of the name of his God.
\nThey will live secure, for from then on he will extend his power
\nto the ends of the land.
\nHe himself will be peace.<\/p>\n\n

\nPsalm: 79:2-19
<\/b> \n\nO shepherd of Israel, hear us,
\nshine forth from your cherubim throne.
\nO Lord, rouse up your might,
\nO Lord, come to our help.<\/p> \n\n

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
\nlook down from heaven and see.
\nVisit this vine and protect it,
\nthe vine your right hand has planted.<\/p> \n\n

May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
\nthe man you have given your strength.
\nAnd we shall never forsake you again;
\ngive us life that we may call upon your name<\/p> \n\n

\nA reading from the Letter to the Hebrews 10:5-10
<\/b> \n\nHere I am! I am coming to obey your will.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

This is what Christ said, on coming into the world:<\/p> \n\n

You who wanted no sacrifice or oblation,
\nprepared a body for me.
\nYou took no pleasure in holocausts or sacrifices for sin;
\nthen I said,
\njust as I was commanded in the scroll of the book,
\n\u2018God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.\u2019<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Notice that he says first: You did not want what the Law lays down as the things to be offered, that is: the sacrifices, the oblations, the holocausts and the sacrifices for sin, and you took no pleasure in them; and then he says: Here I am! I am coming to obey your will. He is abolishing the first sort to replace it with the second. And this will was for us to be made holy by the offering of his body made once and for all by Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n

\nA reading from the Gospel of St Luke 1:39-45
<\/b> \n\nWhy should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord!<\/i><\/p> \n\n

Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah\u2019s house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary\u2019s greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, \u2018Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n \n\n

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CHRISTMAS EVE VIGIL<\/p> <\/b>\n

Readings for Tuesday 24th December \u2013 CHRISTMAS EVE \u2013 Vigil Mass (before Midnight)<\/p>\n\n

Christmas<\/p>\n\n

A reading from the Prophet Isaiah 62:1-5<\/b>
\n\nThe Lord takes delight in you.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

About Zion I will not be silent,
\nabout Jerusalem I will not grow weary,
\nuntil her integrity shines out like the dawn
\nand her salvation flames like a torch.<\/p> \n\n

The nations then will see your integrity,
\nall the kings your glory,
\nand you will be called by a new name,
\none which the mouth of the Lord will confer.
\nYou are to be a crown of splendour in the hand of the Lord,
\na princely diadem in the hand of your God;
\nno longer are you to be named \u201cForsaken\u201d,
\nnor your land \u201cAbandoned\u201d,
\nbut you shall be called \u201cMy Delight\u201d
\nand your land \u201cThe Wedded\u201d;
\nfor the Lord takes delight in you
\nand your land will have its wedding.<\/p> \n\n

Like a young man marrying a virgin,
\nso will the one who built you wed you,
\nand as the bridegroom rejoices in his bride,
\nso will your God rejoice in you.<\/p>\n\n \n

Psalm: 88(89):4-5, 16-17, 27, 29<\/b>
\n\n\u201cI have made a covenant with my chosen one;
\nI have sworn to David my servant:
\nI will establish your dynasty for ever
\nand set up your throne through all ages.\u201d<\/p> \n\n

Happy the people who acclaim such a king,
\nwho walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
\nwho find their joy every day in your name,
\nwho make your justice the source of their bliss.<\/p> \n\n

\u201cHe will say to me: \u2018You are my father,
\nmy God, the rock who saves me.\u2019
\nI will keep my love for him always;
\nwith him my covenant shall endure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\nA reading from the Acts of the Apostles 13:16-17, 22-25
<\/b> \n\nPaul\u2019s witness to Christ, the son of David.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia, he stood up in the synagogue, held up a hand for silence and began to speak:
\n\u201cMen of Israel, and fearers of God, listen! The God of our nation Israel chose our ancestors, and made our people great when they were living as foreigners in Egypt; then by divine power he led them out.
\n\u201cThen he made David their king, of whom he approved in these words, \u2018I have selected David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will carry out my whole purpose.\u2019 To keep his promise, God has raised up for Israel one of David\u2019s descendants, Jesus, as Saviour, whose coming was heralded by John when he proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the whole people of Israel. Before John ended his career he said, \u2018I am not the one you imagine me to be; that one is coming after me and I am not fit to undo his sandal.\u2019\u201d<\/p> \n\n

\nA reading from the Gospel of St Matthew 1:18-25
<\/b> \n\nMary will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus.<\/i><\/p> \n\n

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, \u201cJoseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.\u201d Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:<\/p>\n\n