Midnight Mass

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

So, I went to Midnight Mass tonight.

No, it wasn’t one of your namby-pamby wishy-washy modern Midnight Mass at 8 or 10 pm. (Honestly, I once went to a Catholic church a few Christmasses ago, only to find out their Midnight Mass was at 8 pm.) No. This Mass started at midnight. And it ended at 2 am. Actually, it kinda started at 11 pm - there was an hour of music before the actual Mass. The church was packed. Full. People in everything from suit and tie to jeans. Families, old couples, kids, teens, young men and women. And this wasn’t some newfangled rock Mass. Oh, no. It was a Latin Mass. A Tridentine High Mass. With cool robes, candles, incense, and a choir (with instruments). Very, very, very cool. Almost made me want to become a Catholic.

(Of course, there were plenty of very good-looking men to check out. And does it mean I’m destined to Hell if I say I was checking out some of the priests too? Some of them were very, very hot.)

The music was stupendous. Some of the music was to be sung by choir and congregation. When we all stood and sung O, Come all Ye Faithful as there was a procession, it felt so good, so holy. And before that, there was Joy to the World - that was powerful. People began hesitatingly, but then it picked up; the ending brought shivers down my spine. The choir during the Mass was fabulous. They were excellent.

Tridentine (Latin) High Masses, with choir and orchestra, are really worth it. They’re beautiful, powerful, moving, and very spiritual.

WRS/Thû - waiting for Our one-way ticket to Hell for wanting to flirt at church, especially with one very cute priest. Of course, I’m too shy to even know how to do such a thing.

2

Our Tridentine Latin midnight mass went until just after 2.00am too. However, we didn’t have an orchestra or any other instruments - just us choristers singing the whole thing a capella. Afterwards we had a party until about 4.00am in the church grounds. It was very pleasant in the balmy Canberra night air under an (almost) full moon.

3

I was one of those who went to an earlier Mass. Sorry. This was actually my first year ever attending a Christmas church service. In my church it was also quite a stirring event, though not as elaborate as the one you went to. I have been to church services where I felt like I was just going through the motions, but at this one (especially after the music!) I really felt a true sense of joy and sense of peace in my heart. Gave me a whole different perspective on the holiday (had been feeling sort of bummed out about the holidays, but left the church feeling uplifted).
Next year I will try to make it to the real midnight Mass!

4

We have 1/2 an hour of Christmas music before midnight mass, alternating between sing-along traditional carols and some beautiful choral numbers.

After reading the OP, I understand why people call our church to ask what time midnight mass starts. One of our priests made a joke out of this during the announcements last Sunday. He made it sound like “What color was George Washington’s white horse?”, but I guess it’s not that unreasonable. I don’t think I’ve ever been part of a parish where they had midnight mass at alternate times.

We have a music rotation that makes you really notice the festive music at Christmas. My favorite is the Gloria, which has lots of showy percussion (yep - our liturgy is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Tridentine mass). Despite the percussion, it sounds like our music selection was similar to yours WRS - the entrance hymn was “O Come All Ye Faithful” and the recessional was “Joy to the World,” with other standards in between. Just a different flavor of spirituality.

As for the urge to flirt…let’s file it under “Creation, Appreciation of.” I’m pretty sure the subcategory “At Church” fills several folders. :smiley:

GT

5

We were planning to go to an 11 PM candlelight Mass last night, but due to the ass-knocking cold I’ve had for two days, my husband didn’t want me to go out in the cold, and considering I was practically passed out by 9:30 anyway, it was probably better that way.

I’m sad I missed it, though. Christmas services are my most favorite services of the year.

E.

6

Go directly to http://www.goohf.com/, do not pass GO, do not collect $200. :smiley:

7

Heh, that sounds like the priest at my hometown church–an incorrigible old Irish priest, he used that same joke every Advent season, except for him it wasn’t a joke–he liked to use it as evidence that people are just generally idiots. He was quite the cynic.

Sounds like you witnessed a beautiful mass, WeRSauron. I once enjoyed the opportunity to attend Midnight Mass at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice–it wasn’t a Tridentine Latin mass, but it was magnificent nevertheless. The huge church was packed full of people. The lighting was kept subdued until the mass began–at the stroke of midnight, they turned on the upper lights, and the golden mosaics that line the domes blazed in all their glory. I’d never seen them so perfectly illuminated before. And with the bells ringing out joyous tones, it was a complete aesthetic and sensory overload.

8

Hooray for the Tridentine mass! Why the Catholics abandoned it (mostly), I shall never understand.

Alas, this Christmas eve I made my once-a-year visit to a Catholic church with my family, to the youth mass. I was slightly impressed – they are actually following the new rubrics regarding metal chalices, and they did cense the altar, but somebody needs to tell the drummer that he’s not John Bonham. I tried to convince my family to attend the Anglican-use Catholic church for Christmas this year, but to no avail. Pity; they do really good high masses over there.

9

So, I finally knew I had won the battle when my parents quit *forcing *me to go to midnight Mass.

Which, given that they were High Church Episcopal, didn’t necessarily mean a church service that started at midnight.

But the day I was finally allowed to stay home and quit being a nonbelieving Christmas-and-Easter-Christian was one of the best days of my life. I think my mom is still convinced I’m going to hell, but if I do, I’ll be in good company. Not even Jesus went to midnight Mass.

10

I was just about to ask you where you managed to find a Tridentine Mass in Sydney until I read on and discovered it was in Canberra. :frowning:

11

jabiru, there’s an episcopally approved Tridentine Latin mass every Sunday in Sydney at 10.00am at the chapel of the Maternal Heart of Mary, at Lewisham. It’s the chapel of the old Lewisham hospital.

12

I know that, back in the Seventies, a lot of Catholic churches in New York City started making “midnight” Mass a lot earlier because elderly parishioners were afraid to go out so late.

And after a while, the term “midnight mass” was dropped in favor of “Christmas Eve Mass” or “Christmas Vigil Mass.”

13

" Midnight Mass" and the “Christmas Vigil Mass” aren’t the same thing. Unlike any other day of the year (to my knowledge, anyway), Christmas and Easter have different Masses for different times of day. Both Christmas and Easter have Vigil Masses, both have a Mass at Dawn, and both have a Mass during the day. Christmas additionally has a Midnight Mass. Each Mass is diffferent- the Christmas Vigil Mass has different readings and Psalms than the Midnight Mass, which has different ones than the Mass during the day, etc. So the Midnight Mass that parish A has at 8pm is not the same as the Vigil Mass Parish B holds at 6pm. My NYC parish had the Vigil Mass at 5 pm on 12/24. Midnight Mass at midnight, the Mass at Dawn at 8am 12/25 , and the Mass during the day at 9:30.11:15 and 12:30 on 12/25

14

I was told that Midnight Mass began to be earlier because, as astorian said, it was too inconvenient. Made sense to me. But, still, “Midnight Mass at 8 pm” sounds a bit funny to me.

That link was hilarious, dmartin! Thanks for sharing it.

WRS

15

Thank you, Cunctator. It’s 40 years since I’ve been to Lewisham hospital but I’m sure I’ll be able to find my way there.

I had no idea the Tridentine Mass was celebrated anywhere in Oz. You’ve made my Christmas.

16

That’s funny, just this week I was thinking that I’d like to go to a Latin Mass sometime. The turning point was when our church changed the Post-initial-prayer and a few other standard songs yet again, each time making them worse in words and orchestration.

I thought, might as well go back to Latin, most likely they’ll keep them long enough for me to learn 'em and they’ll sound better than the current ones as well.

But I didn’t get to go to the musical Midnight Mass this year :frowning:

17

Seems like Catholics really miss Mass in Latin.

When I was in college, I attended a Mass at the campus Catholic center. The music made it sound like there was a soundtrack to the Mass, with music adding to the drama - you know, how when something climactic is about the happen the music in the background reflects such fact? I remember thinking, “This is Mass, not a movie production.” Plus, without elaborate candles, robes, incense, and stuff it can be a bit bland and boring. The music in Latin Mass, at least the ones I’ve been to, are triumphant and moving and, well, spiritual somehow.

Even though I’m not Catholic, I’m all for Latin Masses! I’m even planning on donating regularly to the church that specializes in Latin Masses here. (And they have an awesome choir.)

WRS

18

jabiru, there are regular Sunday traditional Latin Masses celebrated in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. In many of those cities there are daily masses too. Email me if you want any further details.

19

True Story:
Several years ago, after the traditional Polish Wigilia festivities were over, the hardy ones went off to Midnight Mass, including my sister’s botfriend. We went at 10:30 in order to get a seat. (If you went too late, you ended up standing along the wall for the whole thing.) We filed in to the pew in the darkened church (they didn’t turn on the lights until 11:30) and waited, sister’s BF looking respectable, halds folded and quiet.
After 10-15 minutes he leaned over toward me and spoke out of the corner of his mouth:
“What time does this start, anyway?”
“Midnight,” I answered.

“MIDNIGHT!!!”

Loud voice. Woke up the whole church. I don’t think he ever came to Midnight Mass with us again.