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phil19034
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You forgot one Christmas Mass… the one at Dawn. 
My favorite though is the Midnight Mass.
My favorite though is the Midnight Mass.
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phil19034
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@FrDavid96 - do you ever do the Christmas Day at Dawn Mass? Very few parishes I see do that one.
Also, when parishes do “midnight mass” at 9, 10 or 11PM, are they using the Christmas Vigil Mass (which I imagine they SHOULD BE using) or do some of them actually use the Midnight Mass liturgy?
Also, when parishes do “midnight mass” at 9, 10 or 11PM, are they using the Christmas Vigil Mass (which I imagine they SHOULD BE using) or do some of them actually use the Midnight Mass liturgy?
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rondirect
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Actually, Midnight Mass is a custom in parishes. The four sets of readings are:
At the Vigil Mass
Mass During the Night
Mass at Dawn
Mass During the Day
Technically, there is no separate set of readings for “Midnight Mass.” So, the readings used for Midnight Mass would be for “Mass During the Night.” This is where it gets a bit confusing: When do the Vigil Masses end and the Mass During the Night begin? We, like some other local parishes, no longer celebrate “Mass During the Night” at midnight, but at 10:00 pm. We also have 2 so-called “Vigil Masses” around sundown as well. I attend most.
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FrDavid96
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At my current parish, I do the Mass at dawn because the first Mass is on the early side. It’s not literally at sunrise. The last Mass is at 11:00 AM, so I do the “during the day” one for that.
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FrDavid96
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Warning: that may sound like a simple question with a simple answer. It’s not.
Unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot of explaining.
The Christmas Vigil Mass may be used in the evening or even into the night (it can also be earlier).
The actual name of the night Mass is “Mass in the night” which was incorrectly called “Midnight Mass” in the old Sacramentary.
Under the old 1917 Code of Canon Law, all Masses had to be in the morning (exceptions were gradually added over the decades). That meant that the earliest time allowed for the Christmas Mass was Midnight, in the early 20th century.
The Christmas Vigil Mass was actually the Mass of December 24 in the morning. It was originally a Vigil Mass, but all the Vigil Masses were moved to the morning of the day-before. There was also a morning Mass for Dec. 24. So, for example, a parish in 1950 might have had the Mass of Dec. 24 at 7:00 AM on Dec. 24, then the Christmas Vigil Mass at 10:00 AM on Dec. 24 --yes, that’s AM, not PM.
About 1970, the Christmas Vigil Mass was moved back to its proper place—that is, the evening of December 24.
The Mass in the Night is actually a vigil Mass. Remember that’s what “vigil” means, to keep awake at night. To distinguish between the two, we call one “vigil” and the other “in the night.” So technically speaking, Christmas has two vigil Masses.
UNLIKE other Vigil Masses, the Christmas Vigil Mass is limited to the evening. So once evening ends and night begins, the Vigil Mass is not permitted. Exactly when evening ends and night begins is a pastoral decision, so there can be some overlap here. However, a Vigil Mass at 10 PM, or 3 AM, or some other obviously wrong time, would not be allowed.
The night-time Mass can be done anytime during the night. It cannot be done while it’s still light outside (the vigil may be done then), but as long as it is truly night, it can be done anytime (9 PM is OK, so is 2 AM). It does not need to start at Midnight. Remember: there is no actual Mass formula called “Midnight Mass” instead it’s properly called “Mass in the Night.” There’s nothing wrong with calling it Midnight Mass as long as that’s a reference to the time on the clock. A Mass that does begin at Midnight must use the formula “Mass in the Night.”
Personally, it annoys me when priests call a Mass “Midnight Mass” if it’s not at Midnight. If a priest wants to have Mass at 9:00 PM, that’s fine, he can do that. But for Pete’s sake, don’t call it “Midnight Mass at nine o’clock” Just call it the “nine o’clock Mass.”
There’s a rubric for Christmas that very specifically says that the Masses must be done at their proper times. Although proper time can be a bit fluid, it is strictly forbidden to use the “wrong” Mass formula (so using the “Mass at dawn” at 8 PM on Dec. 24 is prohibited). On other holy days, the rules are less strict. This is worth noting.
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FrDavid96
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Personally, I think we should apply the same standard as the Easter Vigil (which is a night-time Mass).
If it is truly dark (after complete sunset and after twilight) then use Mass in the night.
However, I also see some possibility for overlap in the transition from evening to night, so I don’t think we need to be as strict as the Easter Vigil.
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phil19034
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Yes, I know.
It was my understanding that “Mass During the Night” could start no earlier than midnight on 12/25 and can happen at any time at or after midnight, but before Dawn.
It was my understanding that if a mass starts at 10PM or 11PM, it should be the Vigil Mass.
But thanks to @FrDavid96, I now know the correct answer here.
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phil19034
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Thank you Father for that detailed explanation!!!
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FrDavid96
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The Lectionary has not yet been revised to reflect the corrected translations in the Roman Missal. So the Lectionary still says “Midnight Mass” even though the correct translation is “Mass in the Night.”
I just want to repeat that part about the difference between evening and night. It’s a pastoral decision. One that needs to take into account the time of sundown. I won’t sit here and try to tell anyone exactly when night starts. One pastor might choose the evening Mass while another, nearby one might choose the night Mass, even though both happen at the same time. In the extremes, it’s obvious (4 PM vs. 11 PM) but it’s not always so.
I would also add that reason dictates that the Masses be done in sequence. So it would be wrong to have the night Mass before the evening Mass at the same parish.
For the curious, there’s also no rule that all the Masses be celebrated, only that they happen at the correct times. So one parish might have two evening Masses, but no night Mass.
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Canvas
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I deleted the post (oops) I had about the Christmas Eve Masses often having different readings than what is in the Missalette. Often times, the readings from a different Christmas Mass are substituted. The Genealogy first reading is one that often gets replaced.
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FrDavid96
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At the Christmas Masses:
The readings themselves can be moved around at the priest’s discretion (well, with some limits).
By way of example, a priest might choose one Gospel and use that for all the Christmas Masses.
The Mass propers, however, must be done at the named times. The Mass propers are the Collect, Offertory, and Post-Communion prayers (and the antiphons, but those are rarely actually used in the U.S.) I don’t recall if any of the Prefaces are proper to particular Masses (but I think not).
The readings themselves can be moved around at the priest’s discretion (well, with some limits).
By way of example, a priest might choose one Gospel and use that for all the Christmas Masses.
The Mass propers, however, must be done at the named times. The Mass propers are the Collect, Offertory, and Post-Communion prayers (and the antiphons, but those are rarely actually used in the U.S.) I don’t recall if any of the Prefaces are proper to particular Masses (but I think not).
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FrDavid96
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I love doing that Gospel. I chant it.
(at least in times when I’m at a deacon-less parish).
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Canvas
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Thank you, Father.
(The reason I deleted the first post I had was, well, I am a scrupulant and suddenly freaked out that you might say that would invalidate the Mass or is a litugical abuse of the worst kind. I was like—my wife and I don’t have many choices on Christmas Eve because we have a tight schedule and it would be terrible to think we have been going to invalid Masses for years! I assume the Priests when they do substitute readings then or at other Masses, know what they are doing.)
(The reason I deleted the first post I had was, well, I am a scrupulant and suddenly freaked out that you might say that would invalidate the Mass or is a litugical abuse of the worst kind. I was like—my wife and I don’t have many choices on Christmas Eve because we have a tight schedule and it would be terrible to think we have been going to invalid Masses for years! I assume the Priests when they do substitute readings then or at other Masses, know what they are doing.)
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I was in the habit of going to Mass During the Night (at 11:00 not at midnight so technically not one of the four in the list) and I also mid-morning on Christmas morning. Those are the Masses that the adult choir sings at.
Last year I skipped the Christmas morning Mass because we had moved further away from the Church and the travel time was just too much. I’m not sure what I will do this year.
Last year I skipped the Christmas morning Mass because we had moved further away from the Church and the travel time was just too much. I’m not sure what I will do this year.
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rondirect
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That is basically what I said reiterated by Father more descriptively.
Thank you Father for the unabridged version. For us, we call the masses before and around sundown, Vigil Masses. After that, it’s night, so it’s naturally called Mass During the Night. And, yes, I come across a few priests who move the readings around, but usually a complete set together. Basically we have 2 Vigils, 1 Night at 10 pm, no dawn (unless the priest wants that one at 7:30 am), and 2 Day at 9 and 11 (Spanish at Night at 8:30 pm and Day at 1:00 pm). Like so many other churches, the evening Mass offered Sunday night is omitted. Time for all of us to take a well-deserved break!
Every year, the Lector will ask me, “what readings are we doing at our 10 pm Mass.” They see “Midnight” in the Lectionary (as Father stated) and when I say that one, they are puzzled because the term is now Mass During the Night. It still matches up with the missal in the pews however.
Since I write up the Welcoming and before Mass Announcements, I type in a note for the Lector to ask the Priest before each Mass which set of readings he wants to be read. It’s spelled out in on the page I wrote what page to find the readings, so no one has to fumble through the missalette if they need to read along. Basically, it’s based on what Gospel he wants to be read and the first and second readings are not talked about. Most of the time, even the priests at the vigil Masses will want the Mass During the Day readings. But, we always use the Mass during the Night at 10 pm, our “Midnight Mass!” LOL!
Canvas: You might want to suggest that to the staff at your church to add that information to avoid confusion. Just a suggestion.
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rondirect
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Sorry Phil…didn’t mean to offend. Your previous posts repeated “Midnight Mass Liturgy,” so I responded accordingly and Father took the explanation to detail.
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rondirect
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Totally agree. And, as you have read, that is what my parish does. However, as you say, the “standard” should be like the EV. The EV start time is spelled out, but I think because we can have more than one vigil or night Mass, there is no distinction, plus the addition that the priest can choose what set of readings he prefers. As we all know, that is not the case with the EV. It is set apart from ES.
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UpUpAndAway
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Since being appointed head sacristan, I’ve attended all of these Masses every year. I’m stepping down at the end of November, so this year we’ll go back to our usual practice of going to true Midnight Mass. If my parish didn’t offer this, we’d go somewhere else. Our preference is that strong.
I may also attend Mass on Christmas Day just to get my EF on. There is an EF Midnight Mass, but The Husband wants his Christmas Mass in the vernacular.
I may also attend Mass on Christmas Day just to get my EF on. There is an EF Midnight Mass, but The Husband wants his Christmas Mass in the vernacular.
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photoworkinteractive
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Midnight Mass
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phil19034
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No worries, I did not take offense.phil19034:
Sorry Phil…didn’t mean to offend. Your previous posts repeated “Midnight Mass Liturgy,” so I responded accordingly and Father took the explanation to detail.
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