April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
LITURGY
'Twas the night before Christmas, and the churches were packed
Christmas Eve Masses become wildly popular
St. Edward the Confessor parish in Clifton Park, for instance, just offered two 4 p.m. Masses on Christmas Eve - one in the sanctuary and one in the social hall, each with its own celebrant - for the sixth year in a row. The liturgies drew about 1,550 parishioners and visitors.
"They're wall to wall," reported Rev. Patrick Butler, pastor. Before adding the second liturgy, he explained, "you'd have people coming in, but they really couldn't fit into the church, so they'd have to turn around and go home."
Excuse me
Standing at the back of the church and dealing with communion-time traffic jams are "not very comfortable," he added. "I know people who normally come to the 4 o'clock [Mass] during the year who won't come near the 4 o'clock on Christmas Eve" because of the crowds.
St. Edward's four other Christmas Masses also draw robust crowds, but don't quite measure up to the afternoon vigil.
"I don't care where you go; it's the most popular time," Father Butler said. "For some, I think they come to worship and then they're going to have a family gathering."
The 4 p.m. Mass also includes a children's pageant and boasts other kid-friendly features.
Mater Christi parish in Albany cut its children's pageant about nine years ago in the hopes it would diminish the overwhelming crowd at the popular 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass, but it didn't help. The parish started offering two Christmas Eve Masses - one in the church with a children's choir and one in the gym with congregational singing - three years ago.
By the numbers
The Masses this year attracted about 1,427 worshipers, more than the two Christmas morning times combined. An additional 8 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve drew about 500 people.
In general, the parish was up by about 125 people from the previous year for all its Christmas Masses, according to Rev. Kenneth Doyle, pastor and diocesan chancellor for public information.
"I attribute that in part to the tragedy in Connecticut," Father Doyle said, adding that Masses on the fourth Sunday of Advent - right after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. - were more crowded than usual. "I think in a certain way, that kind of thing can affirm people's faith. I think the more reflective people know that there is a provident God."
Father Doyle has noticed an incremental growth in the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass over the past decade. On normal weekends, this time is also the most crowded. Young families flock to the 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, but seem to prefer 10 a.m. Masses for Sundays the rest of the time.
"I think people like to pray first and to feel like they have the whole day [Sunday] to rest and relax and recreate," Father Doyle said. He notices a high number of senior parishioners on Saturday afternoons.
Remember when
Elizabeth Simcoe, diocesan chancellor for pastoral services and a lay minister for more than 25 years, said the early Christmas Eve vigil has always been "standing room only" at her parishes.
"I think [the Christmas Eve vigil Masses] are attractive to people with families who will be visiting or visited by relatives over Christmas day," Ms. Simcoe said. "People still want to attend Mass, but they want to incorporate the time into the broader expanse of the holiday.
"When I was a young mother, nine months pregnant with my second child and carrying a shy two-and-a-half-year-old," she recalled, "I went to the early vigil at 4 or 5 p.m. to avoid the crowds - I thought - and ended up standing throughout the Mass holding my daughter, because there were no seats left."
Other parishes
At 4:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve this year, Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Latham packed its church and hall; the hall streamed live video of the Mass. As it's done for at least two decades, St. Ambrose parish in Latham held two Masses with two separate children's pageants at that time. Corpus Christi in Round Lake also celebrated two 4 p.m. Masses.
Out in Cobleskill, St. Vincent de Paul parish didn't have two early vigil Masses, but stood about 75 people over capacity.
As for Mater Christi, where the vigil seems to grow in popularity each year, parish leaders will continue warning parishioners to arrive early to get a seat. They once added a 6 p.m. Christmas Eve liturgy, but it didn't solve the problem.
Would they consider adding a third Mass?
"I don't know where we would put it," Father Doyle said with a laugh. "The parking lot is not a good place for a Mass on Dec. 24." [[In-content Ad]]
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