4 o'clock Vigil service?

[oopsorganist]

Our PP has decided to have a 4 o'clock Vigil service ( and a 6.30 and Midnight).
I think this is a bad idea - have said No to leading any music because of all other services. What do other parishes do?

[HallamPhil]

At St Marie's we have a Vigil Mass at 1730 (Cantor/organ/piano), Night Mass at midnight (Choir/Organ), Dawn Mass at 0830, Morning Prayer at 0945, Day Mass at 1030 (Choir/Organ), 1230 (Organ), 1830.

[JW]

A vigil service or a Vigil Mass? Isn't it early for a Mass?

[kerrezza]

We have the Vigil Mass at 7pm (organ), Midnight Mass (organ/choir), Christmas Day Mass 10am (organ), Polish Mass at 3pm (Polish musicians and singers)

[Southern Comfort]

Our PP has decided to have a 4 o'clock Vigil service ( and a 6.30 and Midnight).
I think this is a bad idea - have said No to leading any music because of all other services. What do other parishes do?

At St Marie's we have a Vigil Mass at 1730 (Cantor/organ/piano), Night Mass at midnight (Choir/Organ), Dawn Mass at 0830, Morning Prayer at 0945, Day Mass at 1030 (Choir/Organ), 1230 (Organ), 1830.

We have the Vigil Mass at 7pm (organ), Midnight Mass (organ/choir), Christmas Day Mass 10am (organ), Polish Mass at 3pm (Polish musicians and singers)

Beware, everyone!

Lots of people are confused about this.

The Christmas Vigil Mass is the one for the morning of 24 December, usable up to about 4pm when it is sufficiently dark for Vespers and the liturgical day changes to the 25th. Any Mass taking place after that is in fact an anticipated Mass of Christmas, and should use the texts of Christmas Midnight/Dawn/Day Mass. I suspect that this is what happens in most places, but calling it the Vigil Mass is a misnomer. The Mass is a replacement for what used to be the Family Mass on Christmas Day, and typically hordes of young families come to it to get their Christmas obligation out of the way early, so that the 25th itself can be devoted to whatever activities and pursuits the families want to do.

So it is not clear from oopsorganist's post whether the 4pm Mass the priest wants to hold is actually the Vigil Mass or an extra anticipated Christmas Mass. If it's the Vigil Mass, the prayers and readings are still Advent-y, not Christmas-y.

[alan29]

We have a tea-time children's Mass, an 8pm "midnight Mass" , and an 11am morning Mass.
The children's Mass seems to have poached lots of people from the morning Mass, which is much more low-key as a result. A pity, in my view.

[John Ainslie]

The Christmas Vigil Mass is the one for the morning of 24 December, usable up to about 4pm when it is sufficiently dark for Vespers and the liturgical day changes to the 25th. Any Mass taking place after that is in fact an anticipated Mass of Christmas, and should use the texts of Christmas Midnight/Dawn/Day Mass. I suspect that this is what happens in most places, but calling it the Vigil Mass is a misnomer. The Mass is a replacement for what used to be the Family Mass on Christmas Day, and typically hordes of young families come to it to get their Christmas obligation out of the way early, so that the 25th itself can be devoted to whatever activities and pursuits the families want to do.

So it is not clear from oopsorganist's post whether the 4pm Mass the priest wants to hold is actually the Vigil Mass or an extra anticipated Christmas Mass. If it's the Vigil Mass, the prayers and readings are still Advent-y, not Christmas-y.

More confusion, I fear!

There is the Morning Mass of December 24: Introit 'Behold, the fullness of time...'; 1st Reading 2 Sam 7:1-5...; Gospel Luke 1:67-79

Then there are four Masses of Christmas, of which the first is called 'At the Vigil Mass' and is headed with the rubric 'This Mass is used on the evening of 24 December, either before or after First Vespers (Evening Prayer I) of the Nativity': Introit 'Today you will know'; 1st Reading Isaiah 62:1-5; 2nd Reading Acts 13, Gospel Matthew 1:1-25 (for experts in Hebrew names) or 18-25 (for non-flagellants). Then there are the traditional Midnight, Dawn and Day Masses.

Incidentally, we have to have two Vigil Masses in my ridiculously small parish church, at 4.30 and 6.30 pm, both crammed to the rafters with families and children.

[Southern Comfort]

Whoops! That's what happens when you post away from your desk......

The point that was lurking in the back of my mind is that if anyone uses the Vigil Mass prayers and readings, they do not (we are told) fulfil the Christmas obligation.

[mcb]

(for non-flagellants).

[kerrezza]

It was definitely the Vigil Mass readings, with the Matthew Gospel, that we used last year as I just checked the sheet that was on my desk. I don't know about previous years as I'm always at Midnight Mass. Having done a quick search many churches call the evening Mass the Vigil Mass; at Ealing Abbey it starts at 8pm.

[quaeritor]

. . if anyone uses the Vigil Mass prayers and readings, they do not (we are told) fulfil the Christmas obligation.

Tell me you're not serious, SC

IHTAF

q

[markyboy]

Been following this thread, just thought I'd add our experience.
We have a new PP this year; he asked a few weeks ago what we usually did - 8pm 'midnight' Mass, plus 30 minutes sing-a-long beforehand (hate it, but congregation seems to like it though don't sing well), and 10.30 Christmas Day.
Then tonight he suggested it should be 7pm so the children will come; told him I'd stick to 8pm.
Does anyone else have this problem of clergy indecision - and the dreaded 30 minutes (which I was told, when I converted to Rome some 34 years ago, was traditional and couldn't be altered!)

[musicus]

IHTAF

That's a new one on me, q. Please elucidate.

[Southern Comfort]

IHTAF

That's a new one on me, q. Please elucidate.

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[Nick Baty]

Impossibly High Tenor and Falsetto