Wednesday, July 15, 2020 –
Today’s Holy Day of Obligation throwdown is going to be an easy one, at least I hope it is easy. We will be discussing December 25th: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)!
In case nobody has told you: YES, you should always go to Mass on Christmas (December 25th). NO, we do not transfer this solemnity for any reason. Yes, that includes when it falls on a Saturday or Monday, which means YES, you can and will go to Mass two days in a row. It might blow your mind to learn that you can go to Mass every day (and many of us do!), but that is an aside for another day.
What is important is to remember is that Christmas is definitely a Holy Day of Obligation! In fact, after Easter (which takes the #1 spot), Christmas is the second oldest annual celebration in the Church:
32. After the annual celebration of the Paschal Mystery [that is, Easter], the Church has no more ancient custom than celebrating the memorial of the Nativity of the Lord and of his first manifestations, and this takes place in Christmas Time. (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar)
What precisely are we celebrating?
Well, the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ! Actually, this is exactly what the Catechism says in the glossary:
CHRISTMAS: The feast of the Nativity, the birth of Jesus (1171). (CCC, p. 871)
Other than that little note, the Catechism has only nine mentions of the word “Christmas,” and four mentions of the word “Nativity.” Weird, in my opinion, but nobody consulted me when they were compiling it. Anyhoo, here is what the Catechism says about the Mystery of Christmas:
The Christmas Mystery
525 Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Simple shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven’s glory was made manifest. The Church never tires of singing the glory of this night:
The Virgin today brings into the world the Eternal
And the earth offers a cave to the Inaccessible.
The angels and shepherds praise him
And the magi advance with the star,
For you are born for us,
Little Child, God eternal!
There you have it. God became man and was born this day to the Virgin Mary. Easy, right!?
What is the Christmas season?
Good news, everybody! I have a liturgical infographic for that! You can download it HERE. Basically, the birth of Christ is so important that it doesn’t just get a single day. There is a whole season! There is also an octave…all this is in the infographic. Seriously, download it HERE!
But wait! There’s more…Here are some random facts about Christmas:
- There are three different Masses said on Christmas, no you are NOT obligated to attend all three (only one, or you can go to the Vigil Mass, which gives you a fourth choice!)
- The three Masses on Christmas Day are:
- Mass in the Night (usually at Midnight, but not actually required), which recalls the temporal birth of Jesus.
- Mass at Dawn, which recalls the spiritual birth of Jesus in our souls.
- Mass during the Daytime, which recalls the eternal generation of Jesus
- Priests can celebrate three Christmas Masses, provided they say them at the proper times (GIRM, 204c). However, they may get a little bleary-eyed, so do NOT bombard them for any reason. Leave the man in black alone!!
From the slavery of the children of Adam, Infant Jesus, deliver us.
