About Today
Thursday 25 December 2025
Christmas Day Solemnity
Christ has been born for us: come, let us adore him.
Year: A(II). Liturgical Colour: White.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
Gospel: John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.” ’
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Reflection on the painting
Dear friends,
As we gather around the mystery of Christmas once more, I want to thank each of you for being part of the Christian Art community. Every day, across continents and time zones, we pray together, gaze at art together, and dwell together in the beauty of the Gospel. Your presence, your faith, your curiosity, your love of beauty is what makes our mission flourish. Thank you for reading and supporting what we do.
his year, on Christmas Day, I would like to place before you a gem of early Renaissance art: Sandro Botticelli’s “Nativity.” Painted with the luminous delicacy that marks all of Botticelli’s work, the scene is tender and intimate. The Holy Family occupies the centre: Mary kneels in prayer, Joseph rests quietly, a small John the Baptist also kneels... and the Christ Child lies on the bare earth, fragile, yet so present. Behind them, a rustic stable with a donkey and ox, opens onto a warm Tuscan landscape bathed in golden light. Botticelli’s angels, with their flowing robes and serene faces, lean in with reverence, joining heaven to earth in adoration.
And so, as we meditate on this scene, may we feel something of what Botticelli himself wished to convey: that Christ enters our world quietly, humbly, beautifully, to bring us peace, hope, and joy.
From me, writing to you from my desk to your homes, I wish you a very blessed and grace-filled Christmas. Thank you for praying with us, supporting us, and helping us share the Gospel through art.
May the Christ Child be born anew in your homes and in your hearts.
With every blessing,
Father Patrick
The Nativity
Painting by Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510),
Painted between 1473-1475,
Fresco transferred to canvas
© The Columbia Museum of Art, Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Christmas Day Solemnity
Christ has been born for us: come, let us adore him.
Year: A(II). Liturgical Colour: White.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
Gospel: John 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.” ’
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Reflection on the painting
Dear friends,
As we gather around the mystery of Christmas once more, I want to thank each of you for being part of the Christian Art community. Every day, across continents and time zones, we pray together, gaze at art together, and dwell together in the beauty of the Gospel. Your presence, your faith, your curiosity, your love of beauty is what makes our mission flourish. Thank you for reading and supporting what we do.
his year, on Christmas Day, I would like to place before you a gem of early Renaissance art: Sandro Botticelli’s “Nativity.” Painted with the luminous delicacy that marks all of Botticelli’s work, the scene is tender and intimate. The Holy Family occupies the centre: Mary kneels in prayer, Joseph rests quietly, a small John the Baptist also kneels... and the Christ Child lies on the bare earth, fragile, yet so present. Behind them, a rustic stable with a donkey and ox, opens onto a warm Tuscan landscape bathed in golden light. Botticelli’s angels, with their flowing robes and serene faces, lean in with reverence, joining heaven to earth in adoration.
And so, as we meditate on this scene, may we feel something of what Botticelli himself wished to convey: that Christ enters our world quietly, humbly, beautifully, to bring us peace, hope, and joy.
From me, writing to you from my desk to your homes, I wish you a very blessed and grace-filled Christmas. Thank you for praying with us, supporting us, and helping us share the Gospel through art.
May the Christ Child be born anew in your homes and in your hearts.
With every blessing,
Father Patrick
The Nativity
Painting by Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510),
Painted between 1473-1475,
Fresco transferred to canvas
© The Columbia Museum of Art, Gift of Samuel H. Kress Foundation