Anybody ever attend Mass in the dark?

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We went to church last night and there were major storms passing through the area with strong winds, massive rain, branches flying off of trees, etc.

As the priest was walking down the aisle [sp], the lights suddenly went out. We have battery powered emergency lights which automaticly kicked in but it was still pretty dark and reminded me of the “Service of Light” that we have on the Saturday before Easter.

However, about midway through the mass those emergency lights ran out of power as well. The two altar servers stood with candles next to Father at the altar providing light for the rest of the mass and for the distribution of communion.

Interestingly enough, due to the darkness, the candles, etc.; the mass felt very peaceful, very spiritual, very moving. And I’m sure that he is going to think that I am off my rocker but I am going to suggest to our pastor that we have more of these type of “dark” masses intentionally.

Just curious if anyone ever attended a mass in the dark and what your thoughts were / are regarding it.
 
We’ve had some storms do that during Mass. Maybe we just got a taste of what the early church Masses were like. 🙂 👍
 
Since electric power is a relatively new invention, it would seem to me that the vast majority of Catholic Masses in history have been said by candlelight.

I like the idea of having a candlelight Mass once in a while. I agree, it would be very peaceful.
 
I think that one mass a week by candle light (with some light during communion for safety reasons) would be nice.
 
I love the idea of Mass by candlelight - how beautiful! I do love Easter Vigil, but that is a totally different experience. A regular Sunday Mass without the pomp of the Easter Vigil, by candlelight, would be really wonderful. Simple beauty.

~Liza
 
Closest I’ve come besides Easter Vigil or Midnight Mass at Christmas is either having the lights dimmed but not fully off, or having the lights flicker on and off due to weather … Went to a Tenebrae service once but sadly have forgotten all the details.

In one case, Lockport, NY in April of 1993 (or it could have been 1994, either way, it should be in the city’s meteorological records I would hope) at St. John the Baptist at the 12:15 p.m. Mass, I’d say the flickering of lights and the small tornado several blocks away was miraculous, because the flickering occurred at the Words of Consecration accompanied by a long, drawn-out peal of thunder, repeated for both the Bread and Wine becoming the Body and Blood, which was what we noticed inside the church building. Meanwhile, my mother was out driving several blocks away at that time and witnessed a small tornado touch down and uproot a small evergreen tree. The celebrating priest was Father Joe Gullo, who before that time had always just struck me as a regular, ordinary kind of priest … who shortly before the incident had taken a public stand defending the Real Presence and had been publicly humiliated for his trouble.

When it comes to Eucharistic Adoration, I prefer a darkened setting so that I can focus on Jesus Christ as the Light of the World. Of course, the guy who comes in behind me for his hour, first thing he does is turn the lights on as bright as they can go. And I don’t always dim the lights, because I share my hour with another person who likes to read sometimes.

~~ the phoenix
 
The big blackout happened on August 14, 2003. That was the Vigil of the Assumption. I figured that I couldn’t really do much without the electricity, but thought there probably would still be Mass. I guessed correctly. We did have Mass at my parish. The church was lit up with candles. We even had music, since there is a piano in the church; so the organist played the piano instead of the organ. It was a beautiful Mass. Then I walked home and stayed outside looking at all the stars I usually do not see due to the light pollution in the city. When I saw the stars, I thought of heaven and Mary being assumed into heaven.
 
During Lent in the Eastern Churches, we have the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, usually at least once during each week of Lent. It’s in the evening, and before Daylight Savings Time, usually getting dark. At our chuch the priest has all the lighting to a minimum, only illuminating the altar when he brings in the Eucharist. It’s quite lovely.
 
japhy said:
The Extraordinary Form of Mass includes a tradition known as the Rorate Mass, celebrated exclusively by candlelight.
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I will have to check with the church that has the EF Masses to find out when during Advent they will offer Rorate Masses.
 
You received a blessing from God. 🙂 An illustration, of sorts. That in the darkness, caused by the storm outside… you were all the more aware of the Light of His Presence… in the Holy Mass. Thank you so much for sharing. God bless.
 
We had a power outage recently and attended Mass with many candles. It was lovely. I felt connected to worshippers of the past who had no electricity. I loved it.😉
 
lak611 said:
When I saw the stars, I thought of heaven and Mary being assumed into heaven.
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I feel for you. My back deck is literally 35 feet froma 600 acre corn field. I guess us country folk talk things for granted. We are experiencing a high pressure system right now which means the air is dry and low humidity. I am going to step outside…its nights like this where the milky way looks like a band of smokey ribbon across the sky…I ride my bike to work at 4:30 Am every day (even in sub zero weather) …somtimes a meteorite will fall in my field of view…and absolutely light the early morning sky up…

anyways I enjoyed your sharing with us your spiritual experience with the night sky…its awesome isn’t it?
 
the_phoenix said:
Closest I’ve come besides Easter Vigil or Midnight Mass at Christmas is either having the lights dimmed but not fully off, or having the lights flicker on and off due to weather
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The closest I’ve come is having the lights go out due to weather during the Easter Vigil some years ago. Once it became obvious that the power wasn’t going to come back on any time soon, the members of the choir replaced the microphones in their mic stands with lit candles (so they could hold their music without also having to juggle their candles). Looked pretty cool from down below 🙂
 
Sir_Knight said:
We went to church last night and there were major storms passing through the area with strong winds, massive rain, branches flying off of trees, etc.

As the priest was walking down the aisle [sp], the lights suddenly went out. We have battery powered emergency lights which automaticly kicked in but it was still pretty dark and reminded me of the “Service of Light” that we have on the Saturday before Easter.

However, about midway through the mass those emergency lights ran out of power as well. The two altar servers stood with candles next to Father at the altar providing light for the rest of the mass and for the distribution of communion.

Interestingly enough, due to the darkness, the candles, etc.; the mass felt very peaceful, very spiritual, very moving. And I’m sure that he is going to think that I am off my rocker but I am going to suggest to our pastor that we have more of these type of “dark” masses intentionally.

Just curious if anyone ever attended a mass in the dark and what your thoughts were / are regarding it.
Click to expand...
We lost power on a Friday several years ago with an Ice storm. It was off for 5 days the first week of December. On the Sunday (3rd day) we had an adult Baptism (special circumstances with the permission of the Bishop) very cold water, I was told by the person later. It was interesting to have Mass without any audio system, electric lights, heat, etc.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
We lost power on a Friday several years ago with an Ice storm. It was off for 5 days the first week of December. On the Sunday (3rd day) we had an adult Baptism (special circumstances with the permission of the Bishop) very cold water, I was told by the person later. It was interesting to have Mass without any audio system, electric lights, heat, etc.
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I hope the Baptism was not a full immersion! :eek:
 
Hello,

As some have noted, there was no electric lights for the first 1900+ years of the Church’s existence. So all Masses had to be lit by either candle or sunlight.

Perhaps that is why there were no Vigil Masses before Vatican II.

I think it would be awesome to have a candlelight Mass in a Crypt Church!!!
 
the_phoenix said:
In one case, Lockport, NY in April of 1993 (or it could have been 1994, either way, it should be in the city’s meteorological records I would hope) at St. John the Baptist at the 12:15 p.m. Mass, I’d say the flickering of lights and the small tornado several blocks away was miraculous, because the flickering occurred at the Words of Consecration accompanied by a long, drawn-out peal of thunder, repeated for both the Bread and Wine becoming the Body and Blood
Click to expand...
This gives me goosebumps thinking about it. What a blessing from God that He would manifest His power in such a simple, yet majestic way! I have always liked thunderstorms, and I often sit at the window and watch the lightning and listen to the thunder. It reminds me of the power and beauty of God that is infinitely greater than nature.

I must admit, these stories of candlelight Masses make me a bit envious. 😃 I would love it if our parish had one this summer.
 
About 12 years ago, our rectory caught fire. It was the day after Thanksgiving and a wedding was scheduled at the Cathedral that evening. The bride had a panic attack. But, our pastor, a very resourceful man and rather ingenious, brought out all of the candelabra and lit just about every candle we had. By some miracle, someone got the organ (at least) powered up and the bride walked in while the limo headlights lit her way (no, the limo wasn’t in the church; it was parked in the esplanade). The candles lit the church rather nicely and there was enough incense to partially block out the smell of burnt wood.

All in all, it was a lovely, and, most unforgettable wedding.
 
I would love to attend Mass by candelight.

I never have, but my RCIA class was held on a weeknight, and before class I once went into the santuary to pray before the Blessed Sacrament. All of the lights were turned off. The only light was from the lamp lighting the Blessed Sacrament and the candles lit before the Blessed Mother. I remember walking into the darkness thinking I was walking in faith, knowing that God was there to hear me in the sancutary. It became a moving experience for me. I had a very real answer to my prayer.
 
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