Which Christmas Mass are you attending? [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]

OSVDailyTake.com ^ | Tuesday, December 6, 2011 | OSV

[Salvation]

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Which Christmas Mass are you attending?

A little more than a year ago, we moved across town and joined a new parish, much larger than our last one. It has been a great community to get plugged into and get to know.

I'm always interested to see how things are done there. One interesting change this year for the parish has been some modifications to the Christmas liturgy schedule.

• The Christmas Vigil Mass is a children's Mass held at 5 p.m. By all accounts, this is by far the best-attended liturgy.
• Midnight Mass has been moved up to 10 p.m. (hoping to draw more families frightened by the late hour)
• Only one Mass on Christmas Day, at 10 a.m. 

From our days in Rome as a young family, we've always attended Midnight Mass. Our four kids (the oldest is now 13) probably couldn't imagine Christmas otherwise -- the anticipation, setting out Christmas clothes before being made to lie down for a few hours of sleep (yeah, right) before getting up in the middle of the night to go to church.

But I want to ask about the Christmas Day experience in your parish. Are you, like us, seeing fewer and fewer Catholics forgo Christmas Day Mass in favor of Christmas Eve?

Interestingly, that seems to be a trend in some Protestant communities, too — even in a year like this in which Christmas falls on a Sunday. The Baptist Press reported a few weeks ago that a full 6 percent of Protestant churches plan to have a Christmas Eve service but NO service on Christmas Day. A few years ago, The New York Times ran a story titled, "When Christmas falls on Sunday, megachurches take the day off," and detailed the controversy over the practice.

What are things like where you live? And what Mass will you be attending?

[heartwood]

My youngest is in the children’s choir so the 4 pm vigil mass for us - also that way my older daughter’s boyfriend can go with us because he has to be back to his ship Christmas day.

There will be overflow seating in the church basement and the school gym - I think that second one might be a separate mass. But we will have to be there by 3:15. All the Christmas and Easter Masses are standing room only. Not swearing to 7 am, though.

Here is a plea to be kind to Christmas Catholics: When I was visiting my mother, who is not Catholic, I called the church in town to ask the Christmas mass schedule. The secretary snapped at me, “The same as every week.” Not very welcoming to the visitor, and no way to bring the wandering sheep back to the fold.

[Salvation]

How wonderful of you to share that gift.

[Domestic Church]

Midnight Mass

[Salvation]

That wasn’t too cool. On our church phone system we can put different messages — and one of them will be the Mass times for Christmas. It’s also in the windows of the front doors.

We always have the Mass Times as a selection on our phone system.

[Mad Dawg]

8:00 AM Christmas Day. The “schola” Mass. Gonna be beautiful and it will be the first Christmas in decades that I am not exhausted.

[VermiciousKnid]

We will be attending the 9:00am TLM Mass at our parish on Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas!

[nomorelurker]

5pm on the Texas coast. Normally do the late one but going early with some dear friends who do not stay up that late.

[Salvation]

You mean that they didn’t talk you into helping with something? LOL!

[A Cyrenian]

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Great post.

Our church believes in the older traditions. We kneel when we receive Communion. We don't hold hands and we don't feel the need to offer a sign of peace.

I know it's a little different from other Churches. But it works for us.

(The 11:30 Mass is a Latin Mass). I love it.

[tanuki]

I will attend regular morning mass at 9am.

[Salvation]

Sounds wonderful I don’t hold hands either. I just fold my hands, bow my head, close my eyes and pray to God, Our Father. It’s meant to be a private prayer betwen each personal and God, the Father, not a communal prayer.

If you look up a thread on FR or on the internet about liturgical abuses — Holding hands is one of them.

[FrdmLvr]

From our days in Rome as a young family, we've always attended Midnight Mass. Our four kids (the oldest is now 13) probably couldn't imagine Christmas otherwise -- the anticipation, setting out Christmas clothes before being made to lie down for a few hours of sleep (yeah, right) before getting up in the middle of the night to go to church.

We always went to 7 am mass on Sunday morning every Christmas. We had to walk past our Christmas presents on the way out. The anticipation all during mass was almost unbearable! But when we got home, we opened our presents and played with them and didn't have to leave until we went to our grandma's for dinner in the afternoon. In those days, they didn't have 5 pm mass on Christmas Eve; it was only midnight mass - REAL midnight mass, at midnight!

[FrdmLvr]

From our days in Rome as a young family, we've always attended Midnight Mass. Our four kids (the oldest is now 13) probably couldn't imagine Christmas otherwise -- the anticipation, setting out Christmas clothes before being made to lie down for a few hours of sleep (yeah, right) before getting up in the middle of the night to go to church.

We always went to 7 am mass on Sunday morning every Christmas. We had to walk past our Christmas presents on the way out. The anticipation all during mass was almost unbearable! But when we got home, we opened our presents and played with them and didn't have to leave until we went to our grandma's for dinner in the afternoon. In those days, they didn't have 5 pm mass on Christmas Eve; it was only midnight mass - REAL midnight mass.

[tob2]

I will be watching it on TV. NBC always broadcasts Midnight Mass from the Vatican. Don’t know anybody who will be able to take me to church and don’t have enough for cab fare.

[tob2]

I will be watching it on TV. NBC always broadcasts Midnight Mass from the Vatican. Don’t know anybody who will be able to take me to church and don’t have enough for cab fare.

[Mad Dawg]

Well, I’m hoping to take the Sacred Body to the hospital after the 8:00. I’m waiting to hear from the Tsarina of that ministry.

And, if God wills, I will go on a week long visit/retreat at a priory in Manhattan after Mary the Mother of God.

[lightman]

My community is close enough to the renowned Glen Rock Carolers that it is vitually a law of the Medes and the Persians that Christmas Eve liturgies must conclude in time for people to attend that group's 11:00 PM concert.

So "Angels Mass" at 7:00 PM and "King's Mass" at 10:30 AM Christmas Day.

[Salvation]

Sounds great!

[SuziQ]

Midnight Mass. Hubby, daughter and I are in the choir, so we will be singing “Lessons and Carols” at 11:30, then Mass.

[Straight Vermonter]

I don’t know that I have ever attended a Christmas morning Mass. We’ve always done Christmas Eve, either the children’s Mass or midnight Mass.

My parish has two 4:30 Christmas Eve Masses at the same time. One is in the parish hall gym and the other in the church. Both Masses are quite literally standing room only. It saddens me that we get about 1/4 that many on a regular weekend.