| 24 December |
• yesterday • tomorrow |
| Vigil of the Nativity of Christ |
A commemoration of all the holy ancestors of Jeus Christ.
The New Testament has preserved two different genealogies of Our Lord, in Matthew 1; and Luke 3.
Saint Matthew's list is divided artificially into three equal parts of 14 names each, with several intentional omissions: from Abraham the father of the chosen people to David the king, to whose family the promise was made (2 Kings 7); David and the royal line after him to the Babylonian captivity; the descendants of the royal line from the captivity to Joseph, the legal father of Our Lord.
Saint Luke proceeds in reverse order; he starts from Joseph and goes, beyond Abraham, back to Adam the father of the human race, in accord with the character of his Gospel; and he merely enumerates the names without grouping them according to a thesis or point, as is the case in Saint Matthew.
Few names are common to both lists: viz., those between Abraham and David, then Salathiel and Zorobabel after the captivity, and Joseph the foster-father of Christ; the others are absent from Matthew's list, or the persons are different. To account for these differences several explanations have been advanced, but no decisive evidence is extant. Not a few authors hold that Saint Luke gives Mary's genealogy; but this view is more generally considered improbable, so that both lists are taken as giving Joseph's ancestry. Only it must be supposed that at several points, instead of the actual descent, the one or the other of the lists gives the legal relationship based on adoption in some manner. Our Lord was considered to belong to the family of David; this seems to be taken for granted in the New Testament, where we find no difficulty raised against Him on the ground of His descent. The genealogies show His relationship to the royal family of Juda through Joseph, as it was only through the father, legal or natural, that the rights could be transmitted, and Joseph was the legal father of Jesus. To trace Our Lord's ancestry through His mother would not have served the purpose of the Evangelists.
Matthew 1:1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Luke 3:23-38
When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son, as was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
https://catholicsaints.info/all-the-holy-ancestors-of-christ/
First woman. Married to Adam. Mother of Cain, Abel and Seth.
tailors
• apple
• serpent
• with Adam
The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame. Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad." The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me-she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel." To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master." To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return." The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. - Genesis 2:20-3:20
https://catholicsaints.info/eve-the-matriarch/
• Constanse Honorata Cerioli
• Constantia Honorata
• Costanza Cerioli Buzecchi-Tasis
• Costanza Onorata
• Paula Elisabeth
Born to Italian nobility, the youngest of 16 children of Francesco Cerioli and Francesca Corniani; she was born with a heart condition and slight spinal deformity that gave her a lifetime of frail health. Educated in Bergamo, Italy. On 30 April 1835, at age 19, she entered into an arranged marriage with 59 year old Gaetano Busecchi; he was a difficult man with poor health, and their 19 year marriage was a bit of a trial. Mother of three - one of died in infancy, one at age one, and her son Carlo died in 1854 at age 16; her husband died a few months later. A wealthy widow alone, Paola began sharing her wealth with poor and caring for orphans and neglected children, sometimes taking them into her own home. Feeling a call to religious life, she took a vow of chastity on 25 December 1856, vows of povery and obedience on 8 February 1857. Founded the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Family in Comonte di Seriate, Bergamo, Italy in December 1867, taking taking the name Paola Elisabetta; it's mission is to help abandoned children and work with new parents. She founded a corresponding men's Congregation of the Holy Family on 4 November 1863.
28 January 1816 in Soncino, Cremona, Italy as Constanse Honorata Cerioli
24 December 1865 in Comonte di Seriate, Bergamo, Italy of natural causes
16 May 2004 by Pope John Paul II
Paola Elisabetta understood that families remain strong when the bonds among their members are sustained and kept together by sharing the values of faith and a Christian way of life. - from the canonization homily by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-paola-elisabetta-cerioli/
• Irmina of Trier
• Irmina of Treves
• Irma, Ermina, Hermione, Ymena
• 3 January in Luxembourg
• 30 January in the diocese of Trier, Germany
Daughter of Saint Dagobert II and the Anglo-Saxon princess Matilda. Sister of Saint Adela of Pfalzel. Grand-daughter of Saint Sigebert III of Austrasia. Princess. Betrothed at age 15 to Count Herman, but he died on their wedding day. Irmina became a nun and founded a Benedictine convent in the old castle of Honrien at Trier, Germany, given to her by her father. Generous benefactor to Celtic and Saxon monks. At one point, an epidemic threatened to wipe out her community, but they were saved through the intercessory prayers of Saint Willibrord of Echternach. In gratitude, Irmina gave Willibrord the land at Echternach where he later established the great abbey that bore his name.
c.716 at monastery of Weissenburg, Germany
crowned abbess giving alms with the Christ Child above her
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-irmina-of-oehren/
Addula, Athela, Adolena, Adula, Adolana
Daughter of Saint Dagobert II, King of the Franks, and the Anglo-Saxon princess Matilda. Sister of Saint Irmina of Oehren. Grand-daughter of Saint Sigebert III, king of Austrasia. Princess. Married to a man named Alberic. Mother of one son. Widowed in 700. Her wealth, position, and beauty brought her many suitors, but she turned them all down and became a nun. Founded the convent of Palatiolum of Pfalzel near Trier, Germany, and served as its first abbess. Spiritual student of Saint Boniface.
24 December 735 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-adela-of-pfalzel/
Tarsilla, Tharsilla, Thrasilla
Sister of Saint Sylvia of Rome and Saint Emiliana. Aunt of Pope Saint Gregory the Great. Lived as a religious sister without joining any order, taking private vows. Received a vision of Pope Saint Felix III, an ancestor, who encouraged her to leave this vale of tears; she died a few days later on Christmas Eve. A few days after her death, she appeared to Emiliana with the same message; Emiliana died on Epiphany eve.
Roman citizen
• 24 December, year unknown
• relics at the Oratory of Saint Andrew, Celian Hill, Rome, Italy
single laywomen
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-trasilla/
25 November (translation of relics)
Benedictine lay-brother at Ottobeuren Abbey, Bavaria (modern Germany).
• c.1050 at the Ottobeuren Abbey, Bavaria, Germany of natural causes
• miracles reported at his grave
• relics enshrined in the choir of Saint Michael's Chapel, Augsberg, Germany on 25 November 1189 by Bishop Udalschalk
• relics enshrined in the chapter hall at Ottobeuren Abbey in 1553
• relics enshrined in the side chapel of Saint John Nepomuk in the Ottobeuren Abbey in 1772
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bruno-of-ottobeuren/
First human being. Lived in the Garden of Eden until expelled by God. Married to Eve. Father of Cain, Abel, Seth and other children. Old Testament Patriarch.
• gardeners
• tailors
• apple
• receiving life from God
• serpent
• with Eve
https://catholicsaints.info/adam-the-patriarch/
Caranus
Missionary bishop in the east of Scotland. Commemorated in the Aberdeen Breviary.
in eastern Scotland
669
Jewel of the northern kingdom and most virtuous hierarch, O Father Caran, thou dost remind us that we are all missionaries and husbandmen in Christ's vineyard. Therefore, O Saint, pray for us all that we may shine as beacons of Orthodoxy guiding many souls to salvation. - Orthodox Dismissal Hymn
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-caran-of-scotland/
20 September (Benedictines; Worms)
Benedictine monk in the monastery of Saint Maximin in Trier, Germany. First abbot of the monastery of Saint Mauritius of Magdeburg, Saxony, (in modern Germany) in 937. Bishop of Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate (in modern Germany) in 950. Attended the provincial synod in Mainz, Germany in c.954.
10th century Hesse, Germany
24 December 978 in Worms, Germany of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-hanno-of-worms/
Euthymios
• 28 December as one of the 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia
• 3 September - Eastern calendar
During the persecutions of Diocletian, Euthymius encouraged Christians to hold onto their faith, and gave Christian burial to martyrs. For this he was executed. Martyr.
303 in Nicomedia, Asia Minor
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-euthymius-of-nicomedia/
Son of Lonan. Soldier. Monk as a young man. Founded a monastery in Derenish, County Laois, Ireland. Founded the monastery of Timahoe (Teach Mochua / House of Mochua) in County Cavan, Ireland. Some monasteries in Scotland claim Mochua as their founder.
Achonry district of Connaught, Ireland
c.657 in the monastery in Derenish, County Laois, Ireland of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-mochua-of-timahoe/
Delfinus, Delphin
Friend of Saint Ambrose of Milan and Saint Venerius of Milan. Instrumental in converting Saint Paulinus of Nola. Bishop of Bordeaux, France. Ordained Saint Amandus. Assisted at the Council of Saragossa in 380, and fought the Priscillianist heresy.
24 December 403 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-delphinus-of-bordeaux/
Juan Crisóstomo of Gata de Gorgos
Franciscan Capuchin priest. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
18 November 1874 in Gata de Gorgos, Alicante, Spain
24 December 1936 in Orihuela, Alicante, Spain
13 October 2013 by Pope Francis
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-ignacio-caselles-garcia/
Studied in Paris, France. Friend of Blessed Reginald of Orleans. Joined the Dominicans in Paris on 1 February 1220. Assigned to preach and teach in the Holy Lands where he founded houses in Bethlehem, Nazareth, Damascus and other cities. Prior of the Dominican Province of the Holy Lands.
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-brocard-of-strasbourg/
Married layman in the archdiocese of Valencia, Spain. Martyred in the Spanish Civil War.
6 November 1876 in Valencia, Spain
24 December 1936 in Castellar highway, Valencia, Spain
11 March 2001 by Pope John Paul II
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-pablo-melendez-gonzalo/
Member of a senatorial family. Bishop of Clermont, France from 385 until his death 38 years later. Supported evangelists throughout the region.
Clermont, Auvergne, Gaul (modern France)
423 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-venerandus-of-clermont/
Bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (in modern France) beginning c.412.
4th century
5th century
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-boniface-of-saint-paul-trois-chateaux/
Ninth bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Gaul (in modern France), serving in the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-castorino-of-saint-paul-trois-chateaux/
Adalbert, Adelbert, Albert
Tenth century soldier. Knight. Falsely accused of a crime, he was blinded as punishment. Pilgrim. Benedictine monk at Gladbach, Germany.
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-alberic-of-gladbach/
Soldier. Knight. Mercedarian, receiving the habit from Saint Peter Nolasco.
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-peter-de-solanes/
Priest. Martyred in the persecutions of Maximinian Herculeus.
c.304
with an angel calling him to heaven
https://catholicsaints.info/saint-gregory-of-spoleto/
Apostle of Corsica
Franciscan missionary to Corsica.
1290 of natural causes
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-francesco-dei-maleficii/
Bishop of Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux (in modern France) from 820 to 839.
8th century
9th century
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-boniface-i/
Four Mercedarian friars who worked to free Christians enslaved by Muslims, and to preach Christ along the way to any who would hear.
• Blessed Dionysius Roneo
• Blessed Philip Claro
• Blessed Giulio Pons
• Blessed Peter of Valladolid
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mercedarian-brothers-24-december/
Six cloistered Mercedarian nuns at the convent of Vera Cruz in Berriz, Spain. Noted for their devotion to the rules of the Order and for their deep prayer lives.
• Blessed Anna Maria Prieto
• Blessed Anna de Arrano
• Blessed Orsola de Larisgoizia
• Blessed Maguna Mary
• Blessed Margaret
• Blessed Mary of the Assumption Sarria
https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mercedarian-sisters-24-december/
A group of forty virgins martyred in the persecutions of Decius. None of their names have come down to us.
martyred in 250 in Antioch, Syria
https://catholicsaints.info/martyred-maidens-of-antioch/
A group of Christians martyred together, date unknown. The only details that have surived are six of the names - Drusus, Lucian, Metrobius, Paul, Theotimus and Zenobius.
Tripoli, Libya
https://catholicsaints.info/martyrs-of-tripoli/
• Bartolomeo Maria dal Monte
CatholicSaints.Info Portable Edition