From Gueranger's Liturgical Year

DECEMBER 24.
CHRISTMAS EVE.

'At length,' says St. Peter Damian, in his Sermon for this holy Eve, 'at length we have got from the stormy sea into the tranquil port; hitherto it was the promise, now it is the prize; hitherto labour, now rest; hitherto despair, now hope; hitherto the way, now our home. The heralds of the divine promise came to us; but they gave us nothing but rich promises. Hence, our Psalmist himself grew wearied, 'and slept, and, with a seeming reproachful tone, thus sings his lamentation to God: "But thou hast rejected and despised us; thou hast deferred the coming of thy Christ." [Ps. lxxxviii.]. At another time he assumes a tone of demand, and thus prays: "O thou that sittest upon the Cherubim, show thyself!" [Ibid. lxxix.]. Seated on thy high throne, with myriads of adoring Angels around thee, look down upon the children of men, who are victims of that sin, which was committed indeed by Adam, but permitted by thy justice. Remember what my substance is [Ibid. lxxxviii.]; thou didst make it to the likeness of thine own; for though every living man is vanity, yet inasmuch as he is made to thy Image, he is not a passing vanity [Ibid. xxxviii.]. Bend thy heavens and come down, and turn the eyes of thy mercy upon us thy miserable suppliants, and forget us not unto the end!
'Isaias, also, in the vehemence of his desire, thus spoke: "For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, till her Just One come forth as brightness. Oh! that thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come down!" So, too, all the Prophets, tired of the long delay of the Coming, have prayed to thee, now with supplication, now with lamentation, and now with cries of impatience. We have listened to these their prayers; we have made use of them as our own, and now, nothing can give us joy or gladness, till our Saviour come to us, and, kissing us with the kiss of his lips, say to us: "I have heard and granted your prayers."
'But, what is this that has been said to us: "Sanctify yourselves, ye children of Israel, and be ready; for on the morrow, the Lord will come down"? We are, then, but one half day and night from the grand visit, the admirable Birth of the Infant-God! Hurry on your course, ye fleeting hours, that we may the sooner see the Son of God in his crib, and pay our homage to this world-saving Birth. You, Brethren, are the Children of Israel, that are sanctified, and cleansed from every defilement of soul and body, ready, by your earnest devotion, for to-morrow's mysteries. Such, indeed, you are, if I may judge from the manner in which you have spent these sacred days of preparation for the Coming of your Saviour.  read more...