The Catholic Lectionary for Mass (1998 USA Edition)
tables compiled by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Readings for the Sundays and Major Feasts of the Christmas Season

Date	#	Sunday or Feast - Year	First Reading	Responsorial Psalm	Second Reading	Alleluia	Gospel
12/24/24	13	The Nativity of the Lord (Solemnity, Christmas): At the Vigil Mass - ABC	Isa 62:1-5	Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27+29	Acts 13:16-17, 22-25	(no bibl. ref.)	Matt 1:1-25 or 1:18-25
12/25/24	14	Christmas: Mass during the Night - ABC	Isa 9:1-6	Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 11-12, 13	Titus 2:11-14	Luke 2:10-11	Luke 2:1-14
12/25/24	15	Christmas: Mass at Dawn - ABC	Isa 62:11-12	Ps 97:1+6, 11-12	Titus 3:4-7	Luke 2:14	Luke 2:15-20
12/25/24	16	Christmas: Mass during the Day - ABC	Isa 52:7-10	Ps 98:1, 2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6	Heb 1:1-6	(no bibl. ref.)	John 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14
12/30/22	17	[Sunday* within the Octave of Christmas]: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (Feast) - ABC	Sir 3:3-7, 14-17a - Vg (diff) = Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 - Gk	Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5	Col 3:12-21 or 3:12-17 (new)	Col 3:15a+16a	Matt 2:13-15, 19-23
12/31/23	17	The Holy Family - B (optional; new)	opt: Gen 15:1-6; 21:1-3 (new)	opt: Ps 105:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (new)	opt: Heb 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 (new)	Heb 1:1-2	Luke 2:22-40 or 2:22, 39-40
12/29/24	17	The Holy Family - C (optional; new)	opt: 1 Sam 1:20-22, 24-28 (new)	opt: Ps 84:2-3, 5-6, 9-10 (new)	opt: 1 John 3:1-2, 21-24 (new)	cf. Acts 16:14b	Luke 2:41-52
1/1/25	18	Jan. 1: The Octave Day of Christmas: Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God - ABC	Num 6:22-27	Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6+8	Gal 4:4-7	Heb 1:1-2	Luke 2:16-21
x	19	[Second Sunday after Christmas - ABC] [Note: In the USA, this Sunday is always Epiphany]	Sir 24:1-4, 12-16 (diff)	Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20	Eph 1:3-6, 15-18	cf. 1 Tim 3:16	John 1:1-18 or 1:1-5, 9-14
1/5/25	20	The Epiphany of the Lord (Solemnity) - ABC [Traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6; in the USA now on the Sunday after Jan. 1]	Isa 60:1-6	Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13	Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6	Matt 2:2	Matt 2:1-12
1/9/23	21	[Sunday after Epiphany*]: The Baptism of the Lord (Feast) - ABC	Isa 42:1-4, 6-7	Ps 29:1-2, 3ac+4, 3b+9b-10 *	Acts 10:34-38	cf. Mark 9:7	Matt 3:13-17
1/8/24	21	The Baptism of the Lord - B (optional; new)	opt: Isa 55:1-11 (new)	opt: Isa 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6 (new)	opt: 1 John 5:1-9 (new)	cf. John 1:29	Mark 1:7-11
1/12/25	21	The Baptism of the Lord - C (optional; new)	opt: Isa 40:1-5, 9-11 (new)	opt: Ps 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29b-30 (new)	opt: Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7 (new)	cf. Luke 3:16	Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

Notes:

Dates in the first column are linked to the full text of the readings provided on the website of the USCCB, if available.
If Christmas falls on a Sunday (as in 2022 and 2033), then the Feast of the Holy Family is celebrated on Friday, Dec. 30, so that the following Sunday, Jan. 1, the Octave of Christmas, can be celebrated as the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
If Epiphany is on Jan. 7 (as in 2024) or Jan. 8 (as in 2023), then the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated on the following Monday (Jan. 8, 2024, and Jan. 9, 2023), rather than waiting until the following Sunday.
Numbers in the second column are the official reading numbers from the Ordo Lectionum Missae, second typical edition, 1981; they are identical to the corresponding numbers from the first edition, 1969.
Readings that are new or different from the 1970 Lectionary are marked in the table above; click on the underlined links (new) or (diff) for detailed explanations.
Printing Suggestion: If you wish to print out these tables, try using "LANDSCAPE" rather than "Portrait" as the paper orientation.

Rationale:

The official "Introduction" to the Lectionary (Second Edition, 1981) briefly explains the rationale for the reading choices for the Solemnities, Feasts, and Sundays of the Christmas Season:

"For the vigil and the three Masses of Christmas both the prophetic readings and the others have been chosen from the Roman tradition. The Gospel on the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, Feast of the Holy Family, is about Jesus' childhood and the other readings are about the virtues of family life. On the Octave Day of Christmas, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, the readings are about the Virgin Mother of God and the giving of the holy Name of Jesus. On the second Sunday after Christmas, the readings are about the mystery of the Incarnation. On the Epiphany of the Lord, the Old Testament reading and the Gospel continue the Roman tradition; the text for the reading from the Letters of the Apostles is about the calling of the nations to salvation. On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the texts chosen are about this mystery." (Lectionary for Mass, "Introduction," 1981, chap. 5, par. 95 - emphasis added)

#Options: A note preceding #13, the readings for the Christmas Vigil Mass, says the following:

"These readings are used at Mass celebrated on the evening of December 24, either before or after Evening Prayer I of Christmas.
The texts that follow may also be used for Masses on Christmas Day, with the option of choosing from one or other of the three sets of readings according to the pastoral needs of each congregation."

Related Resources:

Resources for Liturgy and Prayer during the Advent and Christmas Seasons
Readings for the Weekdays of the Christmas Season
Movable Feasts during the Christmas Season - charts showing the dates on which these occur in particular years.
The Gospel Infancy Narratives - comparing the accounts of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
Luke's Infancy Narrative - even more detail on Luke's account.

1998 USA Lectionary (Main Page)

Season of Advent	Season of Christmas	Season of Lent	Season of Easter
Solemnities of the Lord	Ordinary Time - Year A	Ordinary Time - Year B	Ordinary Time - Year C

Return to the HOME PAGE of Felix Just, S.J.