INTROIT Ex. 16:6-7 This day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us; and in the morning you shall see Thy glory. Ps. 23:1. The earth and its fullness is the Lord’s; the world and all those who dwell therein.
“O ineffable mystery! how grand is this apparent littleness! how mighty this divine weakness! But God has still lower to descend than merely coming on our earth. He goes from house to house of His people: not one will receive Him. He must go and seek a crib in the stable of poor dumb beasts. There, until such time as the angels sing to Him their hymn, and the shepherds and the Magi come with their offerings, He will meet “the ox that knoweth its Owner, and the ass that knoweth its Master’s crib!” (Isaias 1:3) O Savior of men, Emmanuel, Jesus! we, too, will go to this stable of Bethlehem. Thy new birth, which is tonight, shall not be without loving and devoted hearts to bless it. At this very hour, Thou art knocking at the doors of Bethlehem, and who is there that will take Thee in? Thou sayest to my soul in the words of the Canticle: “Open to me, my sister, my beloved! for my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the night!” (Song of Soloman 5:2) Ah! sweet Jesus! Thou shalt not be refused here! I beseech Thee, enter my house. I have been watching and longing for Thee. Come, then, Lord Jesus! come! (Revelation 22:20)”
The Liturgical Year, by Dom Prosper Gueranger
https://stlouiscatholic.wordpress.com/2024/12/24/christmas-eve/