Christmas Eve Vigil and Christmas Day Mass

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that’s true

i have no intention of not meeting the obligations…
 
We had the collection for the priests’ retirement fund a few weeks ago, we were invited to either bring flowers or give money to buy some, and there has always been a Christmas envelope in our packet of envelopes for the year.

When I was growing up that Christmas collection went to the priest but I know that, at least in our diocese, that is no longer the case.
 
They are hitting up for so many donations on the basis that some people only go to church around major holidays, and people also supposedly get more “generous” at holiday time, resulting in every single charity on earth launching the big appeal in December also.

I should think if you’re a regular attendee the rest of the year, you can space your donations out over time. Half the people at the Christmas Mass won’t be in the pews by mid-January, sadly. But you and I still will be.
 
Yeah, we wouldn’t want to miss a Holy Day. It’s a revenue-generating opportunity! It’s either that or add more “special collections.”

I have always thought that “twice a year Catholics” are some of the ultimate hypocrites. And then there are the folks who don’t go to Church, but still have their family Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals in the Church. But hey, they bring in money too.
 
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TheLittleLady said:
I will bet you a ham sandwich that there will be no one in the parish office tomorrow, that the bulletins have all been printed.
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Yes, they have all been printed for this week. The information would be for the person’s reference in the future. Because yes, looking at our Bulletin for the Masses, it is confusing. Not everyone is up on which obligations are fulfilled by which Masses attended. My poor mother is still learning everything.
 
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jfz178 said:
I have always thought that “twice a year Catholics” are some of the ultimate hypocrites.
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I never liked “Christmas and Easter Catholics” either, but then I suddenly found myself among them for a few years.
I didn’t like myself much during that time. I distinctly remember looking upon myself with contempt and saying, “Well, congrats, now you’ve become the exact type of person you used to make fun of.”

But staying connected by a tiny thread is better than losing the connection entirely. They may come back to being weekly Catholics, given time. I heard a homily a few months ago from a priest who was talking about his mom being a twice-a-year Catholic…but she somehow managed to contribute a priest to the Church. So now I try to be more patient with all those people who are clogging the parking lot twice a year.
 
Technically, the Christmas Vigil (not the midnight Mass) can fulfill either, but it can’t fulfill both. You have to go to two Masses.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
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jfz178:
I have always thought that “twice a year Catholics” are some of the ultimate hypocrites.
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I never liked “Christmas and Easter Catholics” either, but then I suddenly found myself among them for a few years.
I didn’t like myself much during that time. I distinctly remember looking upon myself with contempt and saying, “Well, congrats, now you’ve become the exact type of person you used to make fun of.”

But staying connected by a tiny thread is better than losing the connection entirely. They may come back to being weekly Catholics, given time. I heard a homily a few months ago from a priest who was talking about his mom being a twice-a-year Catholic…but she somehow managed to contribute a priest to the Church. So now I try to be more patient with all those people who are clogging the parking lot twice a year.
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Also, remember that you don’t know their circumstances. They may not all be “twice a year Catholics” by choice. I’ll use myself as an example. I used to attend Mass daily and on Sundays. If my parish wasn’t having Mass that day, I would find another parish that was having it or go to a Catholic hospital so that I could attend Mass. That is how much I love Mass. I love being there with Jesus.

In 2012, my mother had revision hip surgery and I had to miss Mass most of that year to care for her as well as renovate the house so that it would be safer for her to live in. (You see things from a different perspective when you have to do adapt your home for a senior.) I was lucky to make one or two Masses a year because my duty was to her. I didn’t want anyone else having to come in. She was my mother and it was my responsibility to look after her.

The day came when she was finally well enough to be left alone in the house. She had recovered enough that she had resumed doing her own cooking and cleaning but still wasn’t to the point where she could attend Mass with me. I took the opportunity to go to Mass on her dr appt days since our parish is next door to the dr’s office. We arrived at the dr’s office extra early so I could do that.

This year, my mother fell twice, the first time on Holy Thursday (now known as “Let’s see if we can put a hole in the floor Thursday”) and again, the day after surgery to repair her broken elbow and arm. (They let her go home too early and didn’t tell us she’d also broken her knee and ankle.)

Again, I’ve had to miss many Masses while taking care of her. Most likely, I will not make Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve and Day Masses. Right now, she can’t be left alone. She won’t be able to be left alone until her elbow and arm heal so that she can resume doing things for herself.

There are people who would call me a “twice a year Catholic” or think that because I can’t get to any Masses right now, that I have fallen away from the Catholic faith I hold so dear. But God knows I haven’t fallen away. He has blessed me with this time with my mother even in the toughest of circumstances.
 
But you have to know your are an exception. Most of the people who clog the parking lot and the pews on Christmas and Easter don’t have that kind of circumstance.
 
Yes, I am an exception. I am excused because I am caring for an elderly relative who cannot do things for herself at this time.

The point I was trying to make is that looks can be deceiving. We can look at those who only attend once or twice a year and think that they’re only there because it’s Christmas or Easter when actually, many of them may be in similar circumstances. Unless you know the person or you ask, you don’t know whether they are merely there for appearances sake or not.
 
jfz178 said:
I have always thought that “twice a year Catholics” are some of the ultimate hypocrites. And then there are the folks who don’t go to Church, but still have their family Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals in the Church. But hey, they bring in money too.
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Would you suggest that these people be discouraged from showing up on Christmas and Easter, if they aren’t in attendance on a regular basis throughout the year?
 
This comes up in 2 out of each 7 years (when Christmas is on Saturday or Monday), has for hundreds of years. I can see how converts would find this confusing for a few rounds, but, cradle Catholic adults this seems to be common knowledge.

Most surely the staff and pastors would understand the way mass obligations are filled. Unless the parish is cut off from all communication, I promise that the Bishop sent a reminder to every parish way before Advent began.
 
As my friend says, if you keep showing up at the barbershop you will eventually get a haircut. Twice a year is a start!!
 
jfz178 said:
But you have to know your are an exception. Most of the people who clog the parking lot and the pews on Christmas and Easter don’t have that kind of circumstance.
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Hmmm…

Well, my son and I have been some of the people clogging your parking lot and pews when we travel to visit family in another state.

Again, just because you never see these people any other Sunday of the year, doesn’t mean they aren’t attending mass regularly somewhere else.

Just saying…
 
No, I’m saying that if they think it’s important to come twice a year, it doesn’t make sense that they don’t come more often.
 
jfz178 said:
No, I’m saying that if they think it’s important to come twice a year, it doesn’t make sense that they don’t come more often.
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Different people have different viewpoints on this, and part of it is due to the fact that a lot of people have a hard time getting up and getting dressed for church on Sunday. A lot of people get nervous with large crowds
 
Augustinian said:
Different people have different viewpoints on this, and part of it is due to the fact that a lot of people have a hard time getting up and getting dressed for church on Sunday. A lot of people get nervous with large crowds
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Yes! My sister has some tremendous health problems, both mental and physical, that prevent her from attending Mass every week. In spite of these, she makes a tremendous effort to get there on Christmas and Easter. She probably won’t be able to make it this year, but she wishes that she could.
 
jfz178 said:
But shouldn’t the person who approves the church bulletin know Canon Law better than the congregation, especially when the bulletin is only passing on what the diocese says on stuff like that? Do we need to check Canon Law every time our parish makes an announcement?
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But they don’t always do that.

For example: my parish bulletin says NOTHING about the fact that you cannot attend Christmas Eve mass to satisfy both the Sunday Obligation and Christmas Obligation.

So not everyone can depend on their local bulletin for anything other than knowing the Christmas Mass times.
 
Augustinian said:
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jfz178:
No, I’m saying that if they think it’s important to come twice a year, it doesn’t make sense that they don’t come more often.
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Different people have different viewpoints on this, and part of it is due to the fact that a lot of people have a hard time getting up and getting dressed for church on Sunday. A lot of people get nervous with large crowds
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I’m sorry, but while this might be true for a few; it is not true for the vast majority who only attend on Christmas and Easter. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be coming to Christmas & Easter because those are the largest crowds of all.
 
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But statistically that should even out. There should either be be a similar number of people absent as there are visiting at any given parish, or there should be some churches almost empty while others are packed. But I have been in about 20 parishes in my life and I hardly recall ever seeing anything but packed houses at Masses on Christmas or Easter.

The only exception was a Marianist parish I belonged to. They added a special Mass at 6:30 AM on those holidays. A lot of parishoners went to it to avoid the crowds and it worked. It was only about 1/3 full.
 
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