Catholic TV Mass Online December 21, 2025: Fourth Sunday of Advent

Presider: Fr. Mark Payne
Parish: Chaplain, Heart of the Nation
Choir: Holy Family

Text from the Gospel and Homily

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, o Lord.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.

The gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

As we celebrate this fourth Sunday I want to focus on Emmanuel. God is with us. God has always been with us. When we look through the Old Testament readings, you'll always hear about how God was with moses, with Abraham, with all of the prophets. Right? That's how they were able to proclaim and to stand up for the truth and to live that truth because God was with them. Now I want to focus on this particular gospel and Joseph. There's Joseph. A righteous man. And boy, I'll tell you, I’m sure when he found out the news about Mary that I don't think was a very comfortable spot for Joseph at all. I’m sure as he was pondering, ok now what do I do and I certainly don't want to hurt her, he wanted to quietly divorce her. To avoid shame, to avoid all of the talk to avoid the neighbors and everything else. I mean this was a really serious situation, folks. And I’m sure even a devastating situation for Joseph. Why could he take her into his home? Not just because of the dream but because of the realization that he knew that God was with him. Folks how many phone calls do we get? How many situations do we come upon where we are challenged. Our faith is challenged. Our belief is challenged. We sometimes find ourselves in a terrible spot. Now what do I do? Wrong thing to say. What do I do? No, what do we do. Emmanuel. God is with us. What are we going to do. What we need to do is surrender to God. And let God who is with us, take care of the situation. That's what took place with Joseph. That's how he could say, ok. This is going to be ok. And how many of us have been in a situation where you can say, you know what? It's going to be ok. Not because of us or our doing. Because God is with us. Emmanuel. I want you to remember that the next time we run into a situation, and believe me it could happen tomorrow or in 15 minutes after you leave mass here today. Just think about it. God is always with us. He's been there for all the prophets and those that have gone before us. If he was there for them and there for Joseph, he will be there for us. Remember that. As we echo Emmanuel, I want you to remember God is always with us, in good time and in bad. In sickness and in health. Always with us. Let us stand and let us profess our faith.

Entrance: O Come O Come Emmanuel
Text: LM with refrain; Latin, 9th cent.; verses 1, 3–6, para. in Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum, Cologne, 1710; tr. by John Mason Neale, 1818–1866; verses 2, 7 tr. fr. The Hymnal 1940, alt. Music: Processionale, 15th cent. French; adapt. by Thomas Helmore, 1811–1890; Chant, Mode I.

Psalm 24: Let The Lord Enter
Text: Refrain trans., Lectionary for Mass, © 1969, 1981, 1997, ICEL; verses, New American Bible, © 1970, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Music: Michel Guimont, © 1994, 1998, GIA Publications, Inc.

Preparation: Lo How A Rose E’er Blooming
Text: 76 76 6 76; based on Isaiah 11:1; Trad. German Carol, 15th cent.; tr. by Theodore Baker, 1851–1934, alt. Music: Alte Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesänge, Cologne, 1599.

Communion: O Come Divine Messiah
Text: 78 76 with refrain; Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, 1663–1745; tr. by S. Mary of St. Philip, 1877. Music: Trad. French Carol, 16th cent.

Sending Forth: People Look East
Text: Eleanor Farjeon, 1881–1965 Tune: BESANÇON, 87 98 87; French carol; harm. by Martin Shaw, 1875–1958

Mass Setting: Mass of Renewal
Text © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Music © 2009, Curtis Stephan. Published by OCP. All rights reserved
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this liturgy obtained from ONE LICENSE, License No. A-718591.


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