A Catholic guide for saints, prayer, and practical devotional reading.
Holy Innocents. Christmas. A clean reading layout for church, prayer, or preparation.
The Roman Catholic readings for this date are shown below on-site. Use plain reading mode if you want clearer modern wording, or switch back to the original Douay-Rheims wording at any time.
On-site scripture text: Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. Plain mode is a built-in reading aid that modernizes older wording for easier understanding while keeping the same Roman Catholic reading references for the day.
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Read this as the first big movement of the day. Notice what God is doing, who is speaking, and what part of the story or teaching should stay with you.
Full on-site text is not available for this reference yet, so use the reference above and the official link below.
Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
The psalm is meant to be prayed, not rushed. If the wording feels older, focus on the main movement of the prayer: trust, praise, sorrow, gratitude, or hope.
1Unless the Lord build the house, they work in vain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watcheth in vain that keepeth it.
2It is vain for you to rise before light, rise you after you have sitten, you that eat the bread of sorrow. When he shall give sleep to his beloved,
3look the gift of the Lord are children: the reward, the fruit of the womb.
4As arrows in the hand of the mighty, so the children of them that have been shaken.
5Blessed is the person who has satisfied the desire with them; he shall not be put to shame when he shall speak to his enemies in the gate.
Colossians 3:12-21
This reading often teaches Christians how to live with steadiness, charity, and faith. Look for one clear encouragement or warning you can carry into the day.
12Put you on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience:
13Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also.
14But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection:
15And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, in which also you are called in one body: and be you thankful.
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God.
17All whatever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
18Wives, be subject to your husbands, as it behoveth in the Lord.
19Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter towards them.
20Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord.
21Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged.
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
The Gospel is the center of the reading set. Pay close attention to what Jesus says, what Jesus does, and what response he is asking for.
13And after they were departed, look an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell you. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.
14Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod:
15That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son.
19But when Herod was dead, look an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt,
20Saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child.
21Who arose, and took the child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22But hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in the room of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there: and being warned in sleep retired into the quarters of Galilee.
23And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was said by prophets: That he shall be called a Nazarene.
This page uses the Catholic Readings API for the day's references and liturgical celebration data, while the on-site scripture text is rendered from the public-domain Douay-Rheims Bible distributed through the Open Bibles project.