The Sunday Readings and Catholic Doctrine for December 2024

The meaning of the Sunday Mass Readings for December 2024 is made clearest by Catholic Doctrine. Catholic doctrines are the essentially unchangeable clarifications of Revelation and Faith that only the Magisterium has the God-given authority to make and that must be accepted as objectively true in order to be Catholic.

Let’s learn the always-true doctrines in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that we can take away from this December’s Readings. However, I will highlight fewer doctrines than usual because the many Readings this month give us even more bulleted references to the Catechism. The reader is especially encouraged to use those references to explore further the Catholic Doctrine related to this month’s Readings.

December 1, First Sunday of Advent

As we see in today’s Second Reading and Gospel, the Season of Advent (which literally means “Coming”) prepares Catholics to celebrate Jesus’ coming back to earth at the end of the world as well as His coming to earth as a baby (CCC 524[1]). “Though already present in his Church, Christ’s reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled ‘with power and great glory’ by the king’s return to earth” (CCC 671). The Catechism cites today’s Gospel to give us one way to prepare: “In prayer (emphasis added) the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes” (CCC 2612). The U. S. bishops provide Advent devotions and activities at https://www.usccb.org/prayer-worship/liturgical-year/advent.

• From the Gospel[2] (Luke 21:25-28, 34-36): Lk 21:27 is cited in CCC 671 and 697; Lk 21:34-36 in CCC 2612.

December 8, Second Sunday of Advent

Citing the Second Reading’s verses on “prayer” and the “day of Christ,” the Catechism teaches “Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ [in the Our Father]” (CCC 2632).

• From the Second Reading (Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11): Phil 1:9-11 is cited in CCC 2632.
• From the Gospel (Luke 3:1-6): Lk 3:3 is cited in CCC 535.

December 9, Immaculate Conception

Mary was “full of grace,” as Gabriel addresses her in today’s Gospel, which means that Mary “was redeemed from the moment of her conception” (CCC 491). Mary was conceived immaculately – without Original Sin – and never committed personal sins (CCC 490-493). Mary is the only-human one to be without sin. Jesus is also without sin, but He is not only-human since he is both human and divine. “To become the mother of the Savior, Mary was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role” (CCC 490).

• From the First Reading (Genesis 3:9-15, 20): Gn 3:9-10 is cited in CCC 399; Gn 3:9 in CCC 410 and 2568; Gn 3:11 in CCC 2515; Gn 3:12 in CCC 1607; Gn 3:13 in CCC 1736 and 2568; Gn 3:15 in CCC 70, 410, and 489; and Gn 3:20 in CCC 489.
• From the Second Reading (Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12): Eph 1:3-6 is cited in CCC 381 and 1077; Eph 1:3 in CCC 492 and 1671; Eph 1:4-5 in CCC 52 and 257; Eph 1:4 in CCC 492, 796, 865, 1426, and 2807; Eph 1:5-6 in CCC 294; Eph 1:6 in CCC 1083; Eph 1:7 in CCC 517 and 2839; Eph 1:9-11 in CCC 2823; and Eph 1:9 in CCC 257, 1066, 2603, and 2807.
• From the Gospel (Luke 1:26-38): Lk 1:26-38 is cited in CCC 497, 706, 723, and 2571; Lk 1:26-27 in CCC 488; Lk 1:26 in CCC 332; Lk 1:28-38 in CCC 494; Lk 1:28 in CCC 490 and 491; Lk 1:31 in CCC 430 and 2812; Lk 1:32-33 in CCC 709; Lk 1:32 in CCC 559; Lk 1:34-35 in CCC 484; Lk 1:34 in CCC 505; Lk 1:35 in CCC 437, 486, and 697; Lk 1:37-38 in CCC 148; Lk 1:37 in CCC 269, 273, and 276; Lk 1:38 in CCC 64, 510, 2617, 2677, 2827, and 2856.

December 15, Third Sunday of Advent

Of all the verses in today’s Readings that support doctrines, the most important of these doctrines might come from the one verse in the Alleluia. “The word ‘Christ’ comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means ‘anointed.’ . . . in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and . . . for prophets. This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively. . . . Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and king” (CCC 436). So Christ is not Jesus’ last name, but His title.

• From the First Reading (Zephaniah 3:14-18a): Zep 3:14 is cited in CCC 722 and 2676; Zep 3:17a in CCC 2676; and Zep 3:17b in CCC 2676.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6): Is 12:3 is cited in CCC 2561.
• From the Second Reading (Philippians 4:4-7): Phil 4:6-7 is cited in CCC
• From the Alleluia (Isaiah 61:1): Is 61:1 is cited in CCC 436, 695, 716, and 1286.
• From the Gospel (Luke 3:10-18): Lk 3:10-14 is cited in CCC 535; Lk 3:11 in CCC 2447; and Lk 3:16 in CCC 696.

December 22, Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today’s Second Reading tells us that God prepared a body for Christ. The Catechism clarifies: “’God sent forth his Son,’ but to prepare a body for him, he wanted the free cooperation of a creature” (CCC 488). That creature was Mary, “the Mother of God” (CCC 495) and “the mother of believers” (CCC 2677).

The Second Reading also means “Jesus’ whole life is an offering to the Father for our sins . . . From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father’s plan of divine salvation” (CCC 606), and “[b]elief in the Incarnation of the Son of God is the distinctive sign of Christian faith” (CCC 462).

• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 10:5-10): Heb 10:5-10 is cited in CCC 606; Heb 10:5-7 in CCC 462, 516, and 2568; Heb 10:5 in CCC 488; Heb 10:7 in CCC 2824; and Heb 10:10 in CCC 614 and 2824.
• From the Alleluia (Luke 1:38): LK 1:38 is cited in CCC 64, 148, 510, 2617, 2677, 2827, and 2856.
• From the Gospel (Luke 1:39-45): Lk 1:41 is cited in CCC 523, 717, and 2676; Lk 1:43 in CCC 448, 495, and 2677; and Lk 1:45 in CCC 148 and 2676.

December 25, The Nativity of the Lord Vigil Mass

King David is prominent in today’s Responsorial Psalm, Second Reading, and Gospel because Jesus was born “into the messianic lineage of David” (CCC 437) as the legal son of Joseph. Christ is the Messiah who fulfills God’s covenant with David that David’s kingdom “shall endure forever” (2 Samuel 7:16) because the Kingdom established by Jesus, the heir of David, “shall have no end” after He has “come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,” as we say in the Nicene Creed.

• From the First Reading (Isaiah 62:1-5): Is 62:4-5 is cited in CCC 219.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29): Ps 89 is cited in CCC 709.
• From the Second Reading (Acts 13:16-17, 22-25): Acts 13:24 is cited in CCC 523.
• From the Gospel (Matthew 1:1-25 or 1:18-25): Mt 1:16 is cited in CCC 437; Mt 1:18-25 in CCC 497; Mt 1:20 in CCC 333, 437, 486, and 497; Mt 1:21 in CCC 430, 437, 452, 1507, 1846, 2666, and 2812; and Mt 1:23 in CCC 497 and 744.

December 25, The Nativity of the Lord Mass during the Night

“A savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” “’Lord’ expresses the divine mystery of Jesus” (CCC 448). “To confess or invoke Jesus as Lord is to believe in his divinity” (CCC 455).

• From the First Reading (Isaiah 9:1-6): Is 9:5 is cited in CCC 2305.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13): Ps 96:2 is cited in CCC 2143.
• From the Second Reading (Titus 2:11-14): Ti 2:12 is cited in CCC 1809; Ti 2:13 in CCC 449, 1041, 1130, 1404, 2760, and 2818; and Ti 2:14 in CCC 802.
• From the Alleluia (Luke 2:10-11): see below.
• From the Gospel (Luke 2:1-14): Lk 2:6-7 is cited in CCC 525; Lk 2:7 in CCC 515; Lk 2:8-14 in CCC 333; Lk 2:10 in CCC 333; Lk 2:11 in CCC 437, 448, and 695; and Lk 2:14 in CCC 333, 559, and 725.

December 25, The Nativity of the Lord Mass at Dawn

Verses from the Second Reading are cited by the Catechism to define Hope, “the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness . . .” (CCC 1817).

• From the Second Reading (Titus 3:4-7): Ti 3:5 is cited in CCC 1215; and Ti 3:6-7 in CCC 1817.
• From the Alleluia (Luke 2:14): Lk 2:14 is cited in CCC 333, 559, and 725.
• From the Gospel (Luke 2:15-20): Lk 2:19 is cited in CCC 2599.

December 25, The Nativity of the Lord Mass during the Day

Today’s Gospel eloquently and powerfully expresses the doctrine that Jesus “is God himself. . . . Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (CCC 454).

• From the Second Reading (Hebrews 1:1-6): Heb 1:1-3 is cited in CCC 102; Heb 1:1-2 in CCC 65; Heb 1:3 in CCC 241, 320, 2502, 2777, and 2795; and Heb 1:6 in CCC 333.
• From the Gospel (John 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14): Jn 1:1-3 is cited in CCC 291; Jn 1:1 in CCC 241, 454, and 2780; Jn 1:3 in CCC 268; Jn 1:4 in CCC 612; Jn 1:6 in CCC 717; and Jn 1:7 in CCC 719.

December 29, Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

The Catechism teaches that the last verse in today’s Gospel, that Jesus advanced in wisdom, means two things. Jesus had “true Human knowledge” which “could not in itself be unlimited: it was exercised in the historical conditions of his existence in space and time” (CCC 472). On the other hand, “Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal” (CCC 474).

The Catechism also quotes today’s Gospel about Jesus’ obedience to Mary and Joseph at the beginning of its section on the Fourth Commandment. “God has willed that, after him, we should honor our parents to whom we owe life and who have handed on to us the knowledge of God” (CCC 2197).

• From the First Reading (Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14): Sir 3:2-6 is cited in CCC 2218; and Sir 3:12-13 in CCC 2218.
• From the Responsorial Psalm (Psalms 128:1-2, 3, 4-5 or Psalms 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9): Ps 105:3 is cited in CCC 30.
• From the Second Reading (Colossians 3:12-21 or 3:12-17 or Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19): Col 3:14 is cited in CCC 815, 1827, and 1844; Col 3:16-17 in CCC 2633; Col 3:16 in CCC 1156; Col 3:18-21 in CCC 2204; Col 3:20 in CCC 2217; and Col 3:21 in CCC 2286; Heb 11:8 in CCC 145; Heb 11:17 in CCC 145 and 2572; and Heb 11:19 in CCC 2572.
• From the Alleluia (Colossians 3:15a, 16a or Hebrews 1:1-2): Heb 1:1-2 is cited in CCC 65.
• From the Gospel (Luke 2:41-52): Lk 2:41-52 is cited in CCC 534; Lk 2:41 in CCC 583; Lk 2:46-49 in CCC 583; Lk 2:48-49 in CCC 503; Lk 2:49 in CCC 2599; Lk 2:51-52 in CCC 531; Lk 2:51 in CCC 517, 2196, and 2599; and Lk 2:52 in CCC 472.

[1] CCC abbreviates Catechism of the Catholic Church. Any number after it is the number of a paragraph in the Catechism. For example, “CCC 524” means paragraph 524 of the Catechism.

[2] If a Reading is not listed, then none of its verses is cited by the CCC.