Keep the “Mass” in “Christmas”

This time of year, Christians frequently declare, “Keep ‘Christ’ in ‘Christmas’!” It’s a good motto to follow. But just as important for Catholics is to remember to “Keep ‘Mass’ in “Christmas’!”

Similar to the oft repeated phrase, “You can’t spell ‘C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s’ without Christ,” one also can’t spell it without “mas” – i.e. “mass.”

According to TheWordOrigin.com, the word “Christmas” is derived from the Old English “Cristes mæsse.” This means “Christ’s Mass.” The Catholic Church began celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ in the 4^th Century, but it wasn’t until the 11^th Century that they named this celebration, “Christ’s Mass.”  

Christmas certainly should revolve around Christ’s Mass. After all, the Catholic Mass is an incredibly important part of the Catholic faith. We attend Mass so we can come together with fellow Catholics for a variety of reasons, such as:

• to recall that the Divine chose to become one of us;
• to remember the sacrifice of God’s Son;
• to pray for one another and for other petitions;
• to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and to receive God’s graces. 

The Reason for the Season

Unfortunately, this reason for originating the holy day of Christmas is getting more and more difficult to understand this time of year. Society has removed religious significance from the event. Too many kids – and adults – are “preached to” primarily by legacy media and secular society. They end up learning more in December about Santa and Rudolph than about the Incarnation and the Nativity. 

Knowing that their sons and daughters will not be picking up Christ-based knowledge of the true meaning Christmas from the culture, Catholic parents need to be counter-cultural. They do this by working attentively at keeping their family’s focus on the historical arrival of Jesus and the future anticipation of Him coming again.

It is fine and natural for kids to have visions of toys, trees, and nutcrackers dancing in their heads this time of year. But parents would do well to make sure there are moments spent on contemplating and celebrating the miracle of Jesus’s birth and remembering how He became man so that He could save us, sacrificing His life for us.

Counter-Cultural Ideas for the Christmas Season

Moms and dads might want to employ some of the following suggestions in December and continuing throughout the New Year:

• Kneel as a family in front of your church’s Nativity scene before or after each Mass during Advent, on Christmas Eve/Day, and in the succeeding Sundays of Christmas-time, which stretch until early January with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. As you ponder the Nativity scene, pray in thanksgiving for God becoming a man in the form of Jesus via the Incarnation.
• Listen as a family to famous Christmas hymns and point out the significant lines. For example, the expressive lyrics to “We Three Kings” have these meaningful words that most kids might have never understood and most adults might have never meditated on: “Born a babe on Bethlehem’s plain; Gold we bring to crown Him again; King forever, ceasing never, Over us all to reign.”
• Gather your children around your computer and show them this famous portion of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” that explains what Christmas is all about.
• Make it a point to naturally and enthusiastically say, “Merry Christmas!” in return to all the store clerks and people you meet in December who are so intent on being politically-correct that they will only greet you with a “Happy Holidays!” Let your counter-cultural actions help spread the Good News to them while witnessing for your children how proud you are to be a Christ-follower.

And there is one more suggestion for families to start incorporating. Make weekly Mass attendance a priority for the family. Do not settle for going to church only on “Christ’s Mass” and possibly again on Easter.

Catholics-In-Name-Only Do Not Attend Mass

God commands the faithful to attend church on Sundays. The Catholic Church echoes this by requiring Catholics to go to Mass on Sundays (or Saturday evenings). The first precept of the Church – You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation – is very similar to the Third Commandment – “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.”

Many families call themselves “Catholic.” But as famously spoken in the movie, The Princess Bride, “You keep using that word; I do not think it means what you think it means.” Catholics-In-Name-Only like to pick and choose the Church doctrines, moral teachings, and Catholic precepts that suit them or interpret them differently than they were intended. 

The majority of Catholics have reworded the precepts and Commandment to make it more palatable to their ears. They hear, “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day…when it is convenient.”

The majority of self-identified Catholics do not attend Mass on a weekly basis. Depending on which survey you look at, approximately 23%, 24%, or 29% of U.S. Catholics go to Church every weekend. 

Whereas I am confident everyone reading this will be attending Mass on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, how many will attend the Sunday immediately following Christmas, and the Sunday after that, and the Sunday after that? 

Stand Firm and Do the Right Thing

It can be a difficult action for busy families in today’s hectic world to go to Mass on a weekly basis. When selecting what to do on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, most families  give priority to sporting events, family projects, or simply sleeping-in.

Likewise, it can be understandable that many mothers and fathers will say they are just too tired to battle with their children in making them attend Mass. But good parents stick to their guns and do not give in out of exhaustion or lethargy. Consider, for example, how tedious and difficult it is to say “no” to your kids when they keep pestering you about something they want. But you stand firm when your daughter constantly asks if she can buy low-cut shirts and your son whines about wanting to buy rated “M” (for Mature) video games.

Parents must devote this same level of earnestness to keeping their kids going to Mass as a family every Sunday or Saturday night. That means not going only on Christmas and Easter or not going only when it’s convenient and doesn’t interfere with weekend activities. It means making “Christ’s Mass” the number one thing for the family to participate in every weekend.  

Saint Paul wrote about the difficulties of being a Christian. He was persecuted, struck down, shipwrecked, imprisoned, slandered, whipped, stoned, and delivered to death. In the same light, no one said parenting was going to be easy. Moms and dads might never get shipwrecked or whipped, but they certainly have to face many difficulties – from persistent whining from their kids to ostracizing from fellow parents who think being counter-cultural is strange. Like Paul, Christian parents are expected to stick to doing what they know is right despite the difficulties.  

For this Christmas season, being counter-cultural entails keeping “Christ” in Christmas and keeping the “Mass” in every weekend after Christmas. When it is time shortly to make your New Year’s resolution, consider resolving to uphold the true Third Commandment. Make Sunday (or Saturday evening) Mass attendance the most important thing your family does together each week, for 52 weeks in a row.