A Catholic guide for saints, prayer, and practical devotional reading.
The Most Holy Name of Jesus. 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.
1 John 2:29–3:6
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 98:1, 3cd-4, 5-6
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.
1A psalm for David himself. Sing you to the Lord anew canticle: because he has done wonderful things. His right hand has wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy.
5Sing praise to the Lord on the harp, on the harp, and with the voice of a psalm:
6with long trumpets, and sound of comet. Make a joyful noise before the Lord our king:
John 1:29-34
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.
29The next day, John saw Jesus coming to him, and he says: Look the Lamb of God, look him who takes away the sin of the world.
30This is he, of whom I said: After me there comes a man, who is preferred before me: because he was before me.
31And I knew him not, but that he may be made clear in Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32And John gave teaching, saying: I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven, and he remained upon him.
33And I knew him not; but he who sent me to baptize with water, said to me: He upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34And I saw, and I gave teaching, that this is the Son of God.
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.