Ceremonies

3.3. Midnight mass

There are four liturgies of Christmas of the Roman Catholic Church: The Christmas vigil and the mass at midnight, on December the 24th, and the mass at dawn and mass during the day, on December the 25th.

Of those, the Midnight Mass is the most important, as it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. It is traditionally held around midnight, when Christmas Eve becomes Christmas Day, but can also be held at an earlier time, and is then called Mass during the Night.

The Midnight Mass was originally a succession of three masses (from a 7th century tradition). Then, since the 19th century, these masses were regrouped into the Midnight Mass.

We can see the Midnight Mass as the celebration of the passage from the darkness to the light. Indeed, it can be linked to Isaïe 9:1-6 where the birth of the Christ is announced by a light in darkness: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. […] For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”.

Pope Francis commented on this passage on the occasion of his 2013 Midnight Mass as such: “This prophecy of Isaiah never ceases to touch us, especially when we hear it proclaimed in the liturgy of Christmas night. This is not simply an emotional or sentimental matter. It moves us because it states the deep reality of what we are: a people who walk, and all around us – and within us as well – there is darkness and light. In this night, as the spirit of darkness enfolds the world, there takes place anew the event which always amazes and surprises us: the people who walk see a great light. A light which makes us reflect on this mystery: the mystery of walking and seeing.”

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