Recommend church for children's Christmas Eve mass

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Charles Borromeo in Clarendon. 5:00 PM Mass. Be sure the kids behave. Warn them that the lights will be dimmed to almost darkness until the Celebrant enters, at which point the lights will be raised and all may pray collectively to commemorate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is this a service geared toward children?

It's a MASS that EDUCATES the children. Father Planty does not suffer fools, be they "lapsed", "Cafeteria", or "social justice" so-called "Catholics". He's not going to tolerate your kids' books, snacks, toys, and whatever entertainment you think you need.

Father establishes Holiness, the Miracle of Christ as embodied in the Celebrant. That's why the lights are dimmed until the Celebrant enters. That's why the focus is on the Festival of the Nativity, not the vulgar silliness of Xmas.

If you're a good and holy parent, you will attend. Otherwise you're not welcome.

Merry Christmas, PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. Charles Borromeo in Clarendon. 5:00 PM Mass. Be sure the kids behave. Warn them that the lights will be dimmed to almost darkness until the Celebrant enters, at which point the lights will be raised and all may pray collectively to commemorate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Is this a service geared toward children?

It's a MASS that EDUCATES the children. Father Planty does not suffer fools, be they "lapsed", "Cafeteria", or "social justice" so-called "Catholics". He's not going to tolerate your kids' books, snacks, toys, and whatever entertainment you think you need.

Father establishes Holiness, the Miracle of Christ as embodied in the Celebrant. That's why the lights are dimmed until the Celebrant enters. That's why the focus is on the Festival of the Nativity, not the vulgar silliness of Xmas.

If you're a good and holy parent, you will attend. Otherwise you're not welcome.

Yikes.

[Anonymous]

Last year I thought I was going to have a panic attack in church it was so crowded. It was not safe. Every exit and aisle was completely jammed. I had never seen at least 90% of the people in church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year I thought I was going to have a panic attack in church it was so crowded. It was not safe. Every exit and aisle was completely jammed. I had never seen at least 90% of the people in church.

Our priests have now warned for the last month that they will be respecting firecodes, and once the church reaches capacity as deemed safe, which is not the same as however many people in theory can be crammed in, they will be turning people away and encouraging them to come back for a later Mass.

[Anonymous]

OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

In my experience, there are a TON of people not receiving communion at Christmas mass. Because families like to be together on Christmas, and there are many, many people with interfaith marriages, it's common for some portion of the family not to be Catholic. I think the "lapsed" or "Ch-Easter" Catholics probably split 50-50 on whether they go to Communion, but that's just a guesstimate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

Your laziness takes away from the Holiness of the moment. Too bad your children are the victims. At least you're not going up there and fraudulently receiving the Body and Blood, so good for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

Your laziness takes away from the Holiness of the moment. Too bad your children are the victims. At least you're not going up there and fraudulently receiving the Body and Blood, so good for that.

Ignore this very rude and un-Christian poster, OP. I'm the PP that said "Please don't just come for the show --- or if you do, pay like you're going to the Kennedy Center." I was mostly just joking, and in response to the poster that implied that the church should put on a good show, for his benefit, which I found a little offensive and tiresome. I think 99.9% of Catholics, including priests, believe that the church is a space for all, including those with doubts and those that are maybe not perfect in their practice. Someone famous (a bishop?) once said "If I only sat down with saints, I'd eat every meal alone." Similarly, if the church doors were closed to everyone except "perfect" Catholic, the pews would be very empty indeed (and probably filled only with crying newborn babies).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

Your laziness takes away from the Holiness of the moment. Too bad your children are the victims. At least you're not going up there and fraudulently receiving the Body and Blood, so good for that.

Ignore this very rude and un-Christian poster, OP. I'm the PP that said "Please don't just come for the show --- or if you do, pay like you're going to the Kennedy Center." I was mostly just joking, and in response to the poster that implied that the church should put on a good show, for his benefit, which I found a little offensive and tiresome. I think 99.9% of Catholics, including priests, believe that the church is a space for all, including those with doubts and those that are maybe not perfect in their practice. Someone famous (a bishop?) once said "If I only sat down with saints, I'd eat every meal alone." Similarly, if the church doors were closed to everyone except "perfect" Catholic, the pews would be very empty indeed (and probably filled only with crying newborn babies).

Theatre has been an important element in Catholic worship for centuries. In any cathedral or parish, you can hear the beautiful music written specifically for the mass and see the priestly vestments purchased from offerings by parish members. Ever been to the Vatican? All that gilt and those marble statues by the masters? Even been to the sistine chapel with Da Vinci's painting on the Creation on the ceiling? Seriously, it's over the top.

And what's with the swinging of incense?

Theatre is not just for Christmas and Easter visitors -- it's well established in the church and part of what keeps the faithful coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

Previous All Saints poster here: OP, I hope you find a lovely place to celebrate Christmas Eve this year. Our associate rector preached this past Sunday on Immanuel - God 'with' us. It's the 'with' that's important at Christmas, not the doing. Even if you're not a regular attender, it's wonderful to be 'with' other Christians during Advent and Christmas and I hope you feel welcome wherever you attend. I confess that our family can get a bit grumpy too at how difficult Christmas services can feel with full pews of visitors, and have to remind myself that we're all exactly where we should be - happy, expectant, crowded in, and being grateful for the gift God gave us at Christmas. Come be 'with' the church and your family on Saturday. Merry Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, since you and your husband don't practice, do you plan on skipping communion? Are you going to confession before? If not, then you will need to explain all that to your kids as everyone traipses over you in the pew for communion.

OP here.

We always skip communion, every Christmas and other masses we go to. Our children know.

Maybe one day we will be in a space where we can do this, maybe not. It does not take away from the spirituality of the moment, although I understand if you don't agree with that.

Previous All Saints poster here: OP, I hope you find a lovely place to celebrate Christmas Eve this year. Our associate rector preached this past Sunday on Immanuel - God 'with' us. It's the 'with' that's important at Christmas, not the doing. Even if you're not a regular attender, it's wonderful to be 'with' other Christians during Advent and Christmas and I hope you feel welcome wherever you attend. I confess that our family can get a bit grumpy too at how difficult Christmas services can feel with full pews of visitors, and have to remind myself that we're all exactly where we should be - happy, expectant, crowded in, and being grateful for the gift God gave us at Christmas. Come be 'with' the church and your family on Saturday. Merry Christmas.

+1000
Last week our Pastor encouraged everyone to invite a friend to Christmas mass. He said yes, it will be crowded, but we'll find space for everyone who wants to celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ.

I mean, getting to a building that's crowded and having to be someplace uncomfortable.... that sounds sort of familiar, right?