Which EF Christmas Mass to attend?

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Tis_Bearself

Patron
After spending the last couple years attending Midnight Mass in the OF, I am planning this year to attend an EF Mass on Christmas Day.

I have a choice of Low Mass at Dawn or High Mass with the choristers at 11 am (for which I know I’ll have to arrive probably an hour early in order to get in the door).

At first glance it appears that the High Mass with the Choristers will be the more interesting Mass, but I just wondered if there were any interesting aspects of the Low Mass at Dawn on Christmas Day. For one thing, I have never been to a “Mass at Dawn” even in the OF as my parents were not early risers and by the time I got to an age where I could be attending a “Mass at Dawn” myself, it doesn’t seem to exist many places.

(name removed by moderator)ut appreciated especially from those who have attended both of these type Christmas Masses in the EF.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
At first glance it appears that the High Mass with the Choristers will be the more interesting Mass, but I just wondered if there were any interesting aspects of the Low Mass at Dawn on Christmas Day. For one thing, I have never been to a “Mass at Dawn” even in the OF as my parents were not early risers and by the time I got to an age where I could be attending a “Mass at Dawn” myself, it doesn’t seem to exist many places.
Click to expand...
I don’t know if there’s anything particular to the Mass at Dawn in the Old Rite that would make it much different from any other Low Mass, i.e. readings or ceremony being done differently. But house practice might vary; I know of some parishes that have a Mass at Dawn in either form that is candlelit. So you might check and see what they will be doing for it.

-Fr ACEGC
 
Okay, followup:

A quick look at the propers for the day, found on the very handy website www.extraordinaryform.org, which I have used in the past to make printed propers handouts for people coming to Mass, shows that the only rubrical differences are as follows:
  1. The Gospel reading is the Prologue of John, which means two things. First, you will kneel at the words “Et Verbum caro factum est” when it is read at that point in the Mass. Second, the Last Gospel (which is the Prologue of John) will not be read, according to the 1962 rubrics. Before 1962, the Gospel of the Epiphany would have been read as the Last Gospel.
  2. The Communicantes in the Canon is proper to Christmas.
That’s really about it.
 
Yes, that’s the one I’m looking at. Do you attend there? I haven’t been there yet. I have gone to EFs at several other churches in PA, OH and NJ.
 
Last edited:
No, I haven’t gotten that far south. Usually I am at St. Michael’s in Scranton but we get down to St. Stephen’s in Allentown quite a bit too. St. Stephen has a really nice luncheon after the 10:15 Sunday High Mass (free from the parish, although I think generally everyone brings a dessert too, and there is hot food as well), and Fr. Pendergraft gives a short (half-hour) talk on various catechetical or historical topics during the lunch. there is a lot going on at St. Stephen’s.
 
Thanks from me as well—of the EF Masses available to me that day I’ll probably end up at the low Mass at dawn. (I’m going to a midnight OF Mass as well, with The Husband, who could not be convinced to attend the EF Mass at midnight. 😞)
 
Awww, you are going to Fr Gismondi’s parish? Lucky!!! He is my favorite priest, a gifted preacher. I would do the High Mass. Enjoy!
 
The EF Mass at midnight is awesome. Years ago, a friend & I went to EF Midnight Mass for New Year’s Eve. They had 8-12 altar boys processing with lighted candles, the choir sang beautifully - it was magnificent. Hubby doesn’t know what he’s missing out on imo.

And if you want a real treat, go to Holy Transfiguration Ukrainian Catholic Church in Nanticoke. Fr. Walter has Divine Liturgy for the Nativity.
 
Last edited:
No, he doesn’t. But he’s also not Catholic, so I’m happy he even wants to go to Mass at all.
 
Last edited:
I agree that the Mass at dawn could be candlelit. That would be cool.

I haven’t yet been to a Christmas midnight Mass. My family is Lutheran, so I always end up having to compromise for Christmas.
 
No harm, no foul. You didn’t know. 🙂

He’s attended EF Masses, but in my enthusiasm following his positive response to a low Mass I took him to the Easter Vigil. Probably too big of a leap. 😊 He wasn’t left hostile to the EF, but it may be a while before he’ll be open to another Mass celebrated according to this form.
 
High Mass on Christmas Day is lovely too.

Suggestion: Get a Green Scapular(s), hide it in the bedroom, kitchen etc and pray the Green Scapular prayer for his conversion. I’m single but I’d be heartbroken if my husband couldn’t attend Liturgy with me.
 
Margaret_Ann said:
And if you want a real treat, go to Holy Transfiguration Ukrainian Catholic Church in Nanticoke. Fr. Walter has Divine Liturgy for the Nativity.
Click to expand...
Thanks! If I’m ever in the area at the right time, I’ll check it out. (We live in France.)
Margaret_Ann said:
Suggestion: Get a Green Scapular(s), hide it in the bedroom, kitchen etc and pray the Green Scapular prayer for his conversion. I’m single but I’d be heartbroken if my husband couldn’t attend Liturgy with me.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion.

I do pray for him in this regard, but we’ve been married for over seventeen years. I’m used to it.
 
Last edited:
Just for the beauty of the symbology, I would love to attend Mass at Dawn on Christmas. Something so ancient about leaving the house in darkness and going to Mass to welcome the Christ Child. I wish there was one in my area. You could go just for me 🙂
 
I’m probably going to the High Mass this year just because I’ve not been to this particular church before - it’s fairly new as a Latin Mass parish - and would like to see it with all the trimmings. But next year I may do a Mass at Dawn.

Last year I went to a Rorate Mass with candle light and I highly recommend that also. I missed all the Rorate Masses this year as it’s impossible to fit everything I want to do into one month schedule, so I have to change it up each year and do some different things.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top