Mass During the Night
Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm
96:1-3, 11-13; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14
Mass At Dawn
Isaiah 62:11-12;
Psalm 97:1, 6, 11-12; Titus 3:4-7; Luke 2:15-20
Mass During the Day
Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm
98:1-6; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18
There are traditionally 3 Masses on Christmas. The first is the Mass during the night,
traditionally known as Midnight Mass and celebrated at that time. The second is the Mass at dawn and the third
is the Mass during the day. Each Mass
uses different readings. All of the
readings carry the joyful message of our Lord’s birth and the dawning of the
day of salvation. Joy and hope are the
themes of this day as the love of God is made manifest in the birth of His Son. Today, I will use the Gospels from each Mass
as the focus for my reflection.
We will begin with John.
This has been know traditionally as the Last Gospel because this portion
is read by the priest at the close of the traditional Mass.
While the other Gospels begin by seeing Jesus in time, John
begins by seeing Him in eternity. Before
He came to us and was given the name Jesus He was the Word from eternity
past. He was with God and was, indeed,
God Himself. This Word became flesh and
dwelt among us. John paints a flowery,
perhaps even idealized, picture of the coming of the Lord. He is approaching it theologically and not
merely historically. We are the
privileged recipients of his divinely inspired reflection.
Two things stand out to me in this Gospel for our purposes
here. First, John says, “What came to be
through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Prior to this there was the grievous death of
sin and the darkness of life apart from God.
It was the result of our first parent’s fall and the descent of humanity
into this sad state. For centuries we
ached for our deliverance from this slavery.
God gave respite as well as the promise of the coming Savior. We did not know that He Himself would be our
Savior. Cast out from God through sin,
we were to be reconciled through His Son.
Light and Life entered the world on that first Christmas morning.
Second, John says, “To those who did accept him he gave
power to become children of God,
to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor
by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.” We enter into this glorious light and life
when we place our faith in Jesus and receive Him into our lives.
This brings us to the two passages from Luke which are a
continuation of one another. The first
part relates the story that has become familiar to us. The Blessed Virgin Mary with her espoused,
St. Joseph, went to Bethlehem for the census.
There, she gave birth to our Lord.
At that time angels appeared to shepherds out in the field
with their flocks. Heaven and earth come
together to rejoice in the birth of our Lord.
The angels cannot contain themselves. “I proclaim to you good news of
great joy that will be for all the people.
For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is
Christ and Lord.” “Glory to God in the
highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
The shepherds go from stark fear to shear exuberance. They rush to Bethlehem to greet the newborn
King. We’re not sure what happened with
the sheep. While we often picture them
with some of the lambs present it is highly unlikely they brought the entire
flock with them. Nevertheless, they came
and they worshiped. They told of the
vision of the angels they had seen. Then
they left and they couldn’t stop talking about all that had happened.
Only Mary is silent.
She ponders it all. But then this
is not news to her. She has been
pondering this for 9 months.
I wonder… if we spent the next several months in reflection
and contemplation would it produce the joyful celebration of the angels and
shepherds in us and those around us? If
we allowed ourselves time to ponder the great truths revealed by St. John and
wondered as we reflected on his reflection would we find ourselves bringing the
joyful news to others?
It is grievous to think that darkness still reigns in the
hearts of so many when light has come into the world. It is even more so to think that many still
choose death in sin rather than life in Christ.
However, there are many captives awaiting the joyful news of their
release. To them, we are sent to bring
the glad tidings. Like the angels, we
have the privilege of announcing that the King is come and redemption awaits
those who will believe.
Stop for a moment and ponder- it really can be Christmas all
year long. For Christ has been born and
He is born in us when we believe in Him.
His light eclipses our darkness, His joy prevails over our grief, and
His life triumphs over death. His love
and mercy know no bounds. To the soul
who is sin sick there is salvation. None
are exempt. If we will believe we will
receive the blessings He has promised.
This is just Day One of our celebration. But what we celebrate need never end. In fact, it is intended to never end. Once we are birthed in the kingdom through
faith and baptism, our life of grace is made to live forever. Heaven begins on earth.
Come with me, dear friends, into the joyful celebration of
Christmas. Let us ponder together the
deep mysteries made known to us today.
Then let us share the joyful message.
If angels could not be silent, how can we? With the shepherds let us ceaselessly
announce all we have seen and heard!
1 comment:
Thanks!
Jim K
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