Midnight Mass returns to St. Mary’s in Medina

By Chris Busch, a parishioner and trustee at Holy Trinity Parish in Medina

Photos courtesy of Chris Busch: The sanctuary high altar at St. Mary’s in Medina is ready for Midnight Mass.

MEDINA – As is the case in communities throughout WNY and all over the world, stained-glass church windows will be aglow on Christmas Eve as the faithful prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Fr. Michael Rennier of St. Louis, Missouri reflects on Christmas Eve, stating on aleteia.com: “On Christmas Eve the atmosphere is charged with a rare sense of aliveness, as if on this night the entire world is enchanted and creation strains in anticipation.”

This year on Christmas Eve, the windows at St. Mary’s Church in Medina will glow at the midnight hour– later than they have in recent years. An age-old Christmas tradition is returning to St. Mary’s – the celebration of Midnight Mass.

In recent years, due to Covid and other mitigating circumstances, Midnight Mass has not been celebrated as it traditionally has been.

This year however, when the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve heralding the arrival of Christmas Day, the Catholic faithful will joyfully gather for Midnight Mass at St. Mary’s. It is the only worship site in the newly formed Orleans-Niagara East Catholic Community (known as ONE Catholic) that will be offering this unique and treasured liturgy.

During his long pastorate at St. Mary, former pastor Fr. Daniel Fawls always began his midnight homily: “There’s always something very special about coming out at this dark hour of the night to gather in this place and welcome the newborn Savior.”

Many of the parishioners agreed and annually attended the late-night liturgy as a matter of family custom and tradition. It is the only liturgy celebrated during the year at the midnight hour and for many, it is a singular spiritual and liturgical experience.

How did this unusual late-night tradition start? The story is quite actually interesting. The celebration of Midnight Mass finds its origins long ago during the Medieval period.

According to “Christmas 2021: What Is Midnight Mass? Know All About Its History & Significance”, ABP News Bureau, December 2021:

It is said that Midnight Mass services was started in the Western World from about 430 AD under Pope Sixtus III in the Basilica of St Mary Major. Midnight Mass became widely popular by the twelfth century.

The tradition was first initiated by a German woman Egeria who, during her pilgrimage to the Hold Land, noticed how in Bethlehem, the early Catholics of Jerusalem celebrated the Christmas mystery with a vigil during midnight.

The tradition was then picked by the Western World in 440 under Pope St. Sixtus III who, because of the long-standing Christian belief that Christ was born at midnight, celebrated Mass at midnight that year – a custom that he followed year after year.

As the celebration of Christmas traditions continued to evolve, the custom of celebrating three Masses for Christmas took root, with Midnight Mass becoming known as “The Angel’s Mass.”

Gretchen Filz, author of “The Symbolism of The Three Christmas Masses” December 2020, catholiccompany.com, writes:

Christmas is the holiest day of the year. Just as we celebrate Easter with a triduum of liturgies (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil), Christmas is celebrated with a “triduum” of Masses.

There are three Masses celebrated on Christmas Day: one at midnight, one at dawn, and one during the day. Each Mass is distinct and highlights a different aspect of the Christmas story.

According to tradition, Jesus was born in Bethlehem at midnight.

The Church celebrates the first Christmas Mass at midnight to honor the very hour that our Savior came into the world to save us. The darkness of midnight also parallels humanity’s condition of spiritual darkness as the world awaited the radiant birth of the promised Messiah.

The Responsorial Psalm for this Mass proclaims the joyful tidings of the Angel: “Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.”

The Gospel reading for this Mass tells the first part of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, when Baby Jesus is born and the Angels herald the Good News to the shepherds tending their flocks. That’s why the Midnight Mass is traditionally referred to as “The Angel’s Mass.”

The Roman Missal officially refers to Midnight Mass as “Mass During the Night.”

By the twelfth century, the of offering these three Christmas Masses spread and became the widely practiced custom for the Catholic faithful throughout the world.

Today, the Roman Missal officially refers to Midnight Mass as “Mass During the Night,” and as such may be celebrated over a range of times.

So, why would anyone want to venture out into the cold, dark night to attend Midnight Mass when there are other seemingly more convenient daylight options readily available?

There are many reasons why one might choose this Mass above others. Fr. Michael Rennier reflects on his own personal experience with Midnight Mass. He writes in “Why all parents should let their kids experience Midnight Mass”, December 2018, aleteia.com, and sums it up nicely:

As if you needed another reason to skip the crowds at the vigil, here’s why Midnight Mass is worth the effort.

Years ago, before I became Catholic, I heard about their funny habit of staying awake and attending midnight Mass. I was intrigued by the mystery of why seemingly sensible people would choose to go to so much inconvenience instead of attending church earlier in the day. Out of curiosity, I stayed up late and went. This was the first Mass I went to as an adult. The memory lingers. At that midnight Mass, the incense soaked into my skin and became a part of me, forever cementing the emotions that came with that night, a physical reminder that, even if we enter the Mass as strangers, we are all intimately connected to each other through prayer. On Christmas, God comes not for a select few but to reveal His love to the whole world.

The chance to return this love is the reason so many crowd into the church. Who knows how God touches each individual soul, but for me, it’s enough to simply be in the presence of a love so strong that it exerts a gravitational pull on shepherds and kings alike. The feeling of being awake and praying while the rest of the world is asleep is a loosely kept secret shared by those who have journeyed to what is essentially a living manger scene. These are people who have heard the angels exulting and made haste to discover the reason why. Inside is light and candles and warmth, outside is cold and snow. Midnight Mass draws us to our spiritual home and is the perfect way to wait through the night and allow Christmas day to reveal itself.

There are times for all of us when life isn’t going well and even holidays can be stressful, or we find ourselves in a dark place spiritually, or simply struggle to make it through each day. Midnight Mass is a light in the dark, a beacon of hope that there is a love so strong that even in our darkest moments God is with us. And so, like shepherds bundled up against the chill of the fields, we arrive as pilgrims to an unknown destination. Whatever it is a person thinks will be found at midnight Mass, we know that we will find the God who has made His home in each of our hearts.

“The feeling of being awake and praying while the rest of the world is asleep.”

I believe this is what Fr. Fawls was getting at when he annually declared, there is indeed something very special about gathering at the midnight hour to welcome the newborn king.

Fr. Rennier seems to agree as do many of the local faithful. By local tradition, the midnight hour has long been cherished for Christmas Mass and has been so for time immemorial.

Come midnight on December 24, the magnificent stained glass windows of St. Mary Church will be aglow beneath a cold, star-lit winter sky, and this joyful tradition will again be celebrated here and all over the world.

One final thought from Fr. Rennier: “If the Savior of the universe can be born under a sky such as this, who knows what other miracles are possible in my life or yours?”

Perhaps we’ll find out at Midnight Mass.