(This story is updated to include details of Cardinal Gregory’s Mass on Christmas Day at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.)
The Church’s celebration of Christmas, and the thoughts of people at Christmas, begin with family, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said at a Mass of the Nativity of the Lord celebrated on Dec. 24, 2024 on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
Noting how people’s Christmas memories revolve around their families, the cardinal said that “Jesus belonged to a family,” and the list of names of representing Christ’s family lineage at the beginning of St. Matthew’s gospel show how God accomplishes “His divine plan by using ordinary men and women to fulfill his designs.”
The Gospel passages at Christmas “place Jesus as the culmination of a family’s long history of faith,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Gregory then emphasized that “Jesus uniquely improves every family into which He is invited. Jesus also fashions into perfection any family that includes Him within their circle of love. He is more important than gifts or events. He is the foundation of family life.”
The cardinal said that point is important considering “the sad erosion of family life” in recent generations, and he underscored the importance of Jesus for today’s families.
“Recalling the human lineage of Christ is a journey in faith through God’s unshakeable fidelity to His promise of salvation for the entire human family,” Cardinal Gregory said, adding that “also permits us to reflect on Christ’s bond with us as a true human brother with a family history not unlike our own.”
Washington’s archbishop said the “fulfillment of Christmas will be when there shall be only one family united in perfect love and joy in the Father’s house. Until then, we continue to anticipate that moment surrounded by our loved ones and those memories that continue to bring them close to our hearts.”
Concluding his homily at the Christmas Mass, Cardinal Gregory said, “Tonight belongs to families, your family, the family of the Church… Families are the condition that we all begin life in. It was the condition that Christ began as a youngster, born in a family that He loved.”
The joyful Mass, which began at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, opened with the cathedral’s Schola Cantorum choir, directed by Thomas Stehle, leading the congregation in singing “Adeste Fideles” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”), accompanied by the cathedral’s organist, Paul Hardy, and a string quartet.
Cardinal Gregory processed to the cathedral’s St. Anthony of Padua Chapel, where he blessed the nativity scene, sprinkling holy water on it and incensing it.
Before blessing the nativity scene, the cardinal noted how St. Francis of Assisi erected the first nativity scene “as a means to set forth the message of Christmas.”
“When we look upon these figures, the Christmas gospel comes alive, and we are moved to rejoice in the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God,” the cardinal said.
After kneeling before the manger, Cardinal Gregory in a prayer noted that God sent His Son Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary. “To our lives he brings joy and peace, justice and mercy and love,” the cardinal said, and he asked God to bless all who look upon the manger, and that they be reminded of Jesus’s humble birth and lift up their thoughts to Jesus, “who is God with us and Savior of all.”
Two large Christmas trees placed on both sides of the wall behind the altar were strung with white lights, and red and white poinsettias were arranged on the steps of the altar.
Scripture readings and prayers at the Mass were offered in English and Spanish, and a prayer was offered “for peace in the world, especially in the Holy Land and Ukraine,” and in other areas of conflict, and that people will “come to know Christ, the prince of peace.” Cardinal Gregory then asked God “to hear the prayers we make, as we celebrate our most perfect gift, Jesus the Messiah.”
Priest concelebrants at the Mass included Msgr. W. Ronald Jameson, the cathedral’s rector.
The Schola Cantorum choir sang a soaring rendition of Handel’s Messiah during the offertory, and led the congregation in singing the joyful Christmas carols “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Silent Night” during Communion.
The Mass concluded with the Christmas carol, “Joy to the World.”
Celebrating a Solemn Mass of the Nativity of the Lord at noontime on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Gregory in his homily noted how the first words of the Christmas mystery, spoken by the angels to the shepherds, “are words that invite us not to be afraid.”
“The events that we commemorate are awesome indeed. God has deigned to enter human history as one of us. The Infinite has chosen to walk among us as a man. The All-Powerful Lord of the universe has chosen to become a mere Infant. There is cause to be afraid at the sheer mystery that we behold,” the cardinal said.
But Cardinal Gregory added, “The mystery of Christmas, as great and majestic as it is, should not frighten us. Christmas is meant to comfort us, to save us, to encourage us… God has chosen to come close to us. This means that we are changed. We are different.”
Washington’s archbishop noted how many people come to church on Christmas because they are “attracted to the meaning of this experience… Our hearts want to believe that we can reach out to touch Divinity, but we are fearful.”
Cardinal Gregory said that people today, like the shepherds at the Nativity, need to be told the same message, not to be afraid to encounter the newborn Jesus.
“Some of us might be afraid that our sinful pasts will render us unfit for this mystery,” the cardinal said, adding, “Jesus was born into the midst of sinful, work-a-day-world people. Some of us might be afraid that others might notice us as strangers or infrequent visitors to church. In fact, the Church is an assembly of sinners of varying grades.”
As he concluded his homily at the Christmas day Mass, Cardinal Gregory emphasized that, “Because of the events of this day, we will be changed! This feast means that none of us who come close to this Infant will ever be the same again.”
That joyful Christmas Mass at the National Shrine also opened with the cardinal blessing and praying before the Nativity scene. The basilica’s choir led the diverse congregation of people of different ages and backgrounds in singing, “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The Mass was livestreamed and also broadcast on media outlets including the Eternal Word Television Network and the Catholic Channel on Sirius XM Radio.
During the petitions, prayers were offered for the protection of unborn children, immigrants and refugees, for the poor, for peace in the world and religious freedom, for the military and public safety workers, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and that “the celebration of the Lord’s birth will inspire each of us to give joyful witness to the Gospel and share our faith with others.”
People also recited a prayer commemorating the Jubilee Year that began on Christmas Eve, asking that the grace of the jubilee will reawaken in people a yearning for heaven and help them bring the joy and peace of Christ to the world.
The choir and congregation later sang the offertory hymn, “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and during Communion they sang “The First Noel.”
After Communion, Msgr. Walter Rossi, the National Shrine’s rector, thanked Cardinal Gregory for celebrating the Christmas Mass, and noted that the cardinal, as Washington’s archbishop, serves as the chairman of the shrine’s Board of Trustees.
The priest also thanked the congregation at the Mass, saying, “Your presence makes this shrine shine as brightly as the Christmas trees and decorations before you.”
In his remarks, Msgr. Rossi reflected on the holy year, saying, “May this Jubilee Year just begun be a time of hope, in which the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of hope, comes to our aid, sustains us and encourages us to persevere in hope and confident trust in her Son, whose birth brings light and hope to the world.”
The National Shrine – along with the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, and eight parish churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Catholic Student Center at the University in College Park – have been designated as places of sacred pilgrimage during the Jubilee Year 2025.
The National Shrine’s Mass on Christmas Day also ended with the singing of “Joy to the World.”
The livestream link to Cardinal Gregory's Christmas Eve Mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/live/D8UvByFGJs4
The livestream link to Cardinal Gregory's Mass on Christmas Day at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. That Mass can be viewed on livestream at:
