The first mass of Christmas is the Midnight Mass or the Angel’s Mass. This Mass celebrates, traditionally, the hour that Christ was born, and has a very long history. The Gospel in this mass comes from Luke 2: 1-14. It centres around the announcement of the angels, in glory, to the shepherds in the field, and is a very joyful mass. The darkness of midnight is meant to be a symbolic reminder of the lack of true light in humanity before Jesus was born.
At St. John’s we celebrate the first mass of Christmas at 8pm rather than at midnight. It’s dark and after Evening Prayer so liturgically is the next day.
Please do join us for this peaceful first mass.