Midnight Mass

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Ooops, wrong holiday.

Leo (the former Catholic school schoolboy, making his first appearance at Mass in years) and I went to midnight Mass tonight at St. Stephen Martyr Catholic Church, just a few blocks from where we live. It was a lovely service, and the parish hosted everyone in the parish hall afterwards for strawberries and champagne.

The church was beautifully decorated. As we walked on the sidewalk to the entry, two of the priests were outside lighting candles in the flower beds. Inside the church, two large green wreaths decorated with four big red bows apiece and lots of miniature white lights flanked the crucifix on the "east" wall. The four corners of the sanctuary each contained a large, live Christmas tree covered in white lights. Red and pink poinsettias surrounded the altar and appeared on top of the low walls in the place that would be the altar rail in older churches. Out in the nave, hurricane lamps with red candles rested on brass stands positioned on every other pew on both sides all the way down the center pace.

Since the parish's organ is out of commission, they added a harpist and the Washington Symphonic Brass (a very good quintet) as the primary musical accompaniment tonight, with the organist playing the electronic piano as a sort of continuo. Everything sounded nice, and even the priest chanted well.

A half hour choral and harp prelude started at 11:30. The harpist began with a three movement Suite to "Santa Lucia" by Michael O'Hanlan. Everyone got to sing Irby (Once in royal David's city), then the harpist played another O'Hanlan work, Swedish Christmas Suite, followed by everyone singing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Then, from Benjamin Britten's A Ceremony of Carols, they did movements IVb. Balulalow, VI. This little babe, and VII. Interlude. At this point, the choir had made its way back to the narthex, where they sang a starkly contemporary but very beautiful newish work by Rodney Lister called "Nativitie," then an Ave Maria setting by David Conte.

Because of the very live acoustics in the nave, the harp was loud! The Lister, sung a capella, was definitely my favorite choral work of the evening.

The Mass opened with a choral introit, "Let Us Rejoice in the Lord," sung to "Plainsong 2002." Later the choir would sing "A Child Is Born in Bethlehem" to Gregorian Mode I during the blessing of the créche. The communion motet was "Hodie Christus Natus Est," by Giovanni Gabrieli, accompanied by the brass. For a postlude, the ensembles played the Final Chorale from J.S. Bach's Christmas Oratorio.

The processional hymn was Adeste Fidelis with full brass accompaniment; the offertory was Mendelssohn (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing), communion included a responsorial hymn with an antiphon based on Greensleeves (What child is this?), and for the recessional was Antioch (Joy to the World). The psalm antiphon setting was "Today is born our Savior," by Richard Proulx.

For the Mass setting, they used the Liturgy of the Assembly of the Faithful for the Confiteor, the simple plainsong for the Kyrie, Calvert Schenk's Modal Mass for the Gloria, an adaptation of Tomas Luis de Victoria's "O Magnum Mysterium" for the Gospel Acclamation (alleluias and verses), Richard Proulx's Mass for the City for the Sanctus, Memorial Acclamation, and Great Amen; David Clark Isele's Holy Cross Mass for the Agnus Dei, and André Gouzes' "Non sum dignus."

Monsignor Filardi, the pastor, was the principal concelebrant. During his homily, he asked the question, do we need a savior? Later in his talk, he told us what had happened at the 7 p.m. Mass earlier tonight. Since it was the first Christmas Eve Mass, they got to put the Baby Jesus in the créche, so they started the Mass with the Baby sculpture up by the altar where everyone could see it. At the appropriate time, Fr. Gurnee, who was celebrating that Mass, got all the altar boys and people organized and off in a procession to the créche to place the sculpture in the manger, and when they were half way there, they realized they'd forgotten the Baby!

The only "interesting" thing that happened at our Mass was during communion, when one of the servers knocked a glass wine decanter off the altar, which shattered with quite a crash.

As is typical for Catholic parishes, there was a full range of fashion statements from the blue jeans and t-shirt set (some adults, too, not just kids) to very dressy suits and dresses. Lots of women were wearing bright red tops, including one of the ushers, who wore a red sequined top so sparkly I couldn't tell if she was catching the light or if she was independently illuminated. Most of the adult men were in suits and ties (which is unusual at this parish, at least on Sunday mornings). I saw a lot of furs on the women tonight, including a lot of fur hats. The hats weren't just cold weather gear; some of them were wearing what I'll call for lack of a better term fur chapel caps, as the fur was so small it couldn't possibly have been intended to keep the wearer's head warm. It was interesting to try to guess all of the different animal pelts sitting on women's heads.

Here's a picture of this year's créche in the Marian side chapel, complete with the forgotten Baby Jesus.



A happy and blessed Christmastide to all of you!