About Today
Wednesday 24 December 2025
24 December
Know today that the Lord will come: in the morning you will see his glory.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 4. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited his people
Gospel: Luke 1:67-79
At that time: Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
Reflection on the painting
Today’s Gospel reading gives us one of the great prayers of the Christian tradition: the Benedictus, the prayer of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. It has become a cornerstone of the Church’s daily rhythm, prayed every morning in monasteries, convents, parishes, and countless homes throughout the world. The prayer opens with the astonishing proclamation that “God has visited his people,” and it closes with the radiant promise of “the rising Sun from on high.”When we hear the word visitation, we often think first of Mary visiting Elizabeth, but Zechariah points us to an even deeper divine visitation: God visiting humanity in the person of His Son. In this short hymn, Zechariah expresses the whole mystery of the Incarnation: God bending toward us, stepping into our world.
It is a beautiful reading to have today, for tonight we step into the quiet wonder of Christmas Eve: that sacred threshold where anticipation becomes fulfilment! The long Advent changes into the radiance of Christ’s birth. Christmas Eve has a stillness unlike any other night of the year: a hush falls upon the world, lights glow softly in windows across the whole world, families come together, presents are exchanged, children's laughter fills rooms,... It is a night when we feel that heaven truly touches earth and for a moment things feel different, at peace.
Our painting by Giorgione, 1505-1510, draws us into a softly lit, deeply atmospheric Nativity scene where humility and wonder meet outside a half dark grotto. On the right, the Holy Family kneels near a rocky cave; the newborn Christ Child lies simply on the ground wrapped in a thin cloth. To the left, two shepherds, dressed in humble, tattered garments, bow in reverent adoration, bridging the gap between the sacred and the ordinary. Above them, winged angel heads float over the scene. In the top left corner a full angelic host is hovering. Meanwhile the pastoral landscape beyond opens into gentle hills, a winding river and distant buildings, a Venetian countryside (where Giorgione was from) bathed in gentle daylight.
As we step into tonight's holy night, I wish each of you a Christmas Eve filled with quiet wonder, gentle light, and the deep peace that only Christ can give. May the beauty of Bethlehem touch your homes, and may the newborn Saviour draw you ever closer to His love. A blessed and grace-filled Christmas Eve to you.
The Adoration of the Shepherds,
Painting by Giorgione (1477/1478 - 1510),
Painted between 1505-1510,
Oil on panel
© National Gallery of Art, Washington
24 December
Know today that the Lord will come: in the morning you will see his glory.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 4. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited his people
Gospel: Luke 1:67-79
At that time: Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’
Reflection on the painting
Today’s Gospel reading gives us one of the great prayers of the Christian tradition: the Benedictus, the prayer of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist. It has become a cornerstone of the Church’s daily rhythm, prayed every morning in monasteries, convents, parishes, and countless homes throughout the world. The prayer opens with the astonishing proclamation that “God has visited his people,” and it closes with the radiant promise of “the rising Sun from on high.”When we hear the word visitation, we often think first of Mary visiting Elizabeth, but Zechariah points us to an even deeper divine visitation: God visiting humanity in the person of His Son. In this short hymn, Zechariah expresses the whole mystery of the Incarnation: God bending toward us, stepping into our world.
It is a beautiful reading to have today, for tonight we step into the quiet wonder of Christmas Eve: that sacred threshold where anticipation becomes fulfilment! The long Advent changes into the radiance of Christ’s birth. Christmas Eve has a stillness unlike any other night of the year: a hush falls upon the world, lights glow softly in windows across the whole world, families come together, presents are exchanged, children's laughter fills rooms,... It is a night when we feel that heaven truly touches earth and for a moment things feel different, at peace.
Our painting by Giorgione, 1505-1510, draws us into a softly lit, deeply atmospheric Nativity scene where humility and wonder meet outside a half dark grotto. On the right, the Holy Family kneels near a rocky cave; the newborn Christ Child lies simply on the ground wrapped in a thin cloth. To the left, two shepherds, dressed in humble, tattered garments, bow in reverent adoration, bridging the gap between the sacred and the ordinary. Above them, winged angel heads float over the scene. In the top left corner a full angelic host is hovering. Meanwhile the pastoral landscape beyond opens into gentle hills, a winding river and distant buildings, a Venetian countryside (where Giorgione was from) bathed in gentle daylight.
As we step into tonight's holy night, I wish each of you a Christmas Eve filled with quiet wonder, gentle light, and the deep peace that only Christ can give. May the beauty of Bethlehem touch your homes, and may the newborn Saviour draw you ever closer to His love. A blessed and grace-filled Christmas Eve to you.
The Adoration of the Shepherds,
Painting by Giorgione (1477/1478 - 1510),
Painted between 1505-1510,
Oil on panel
© National Gallery of Art, Washington