Midnight Mass Memories | 25 Days of Me

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! I’ve shared this post before but since I am taking the day off I thought I would share it again. I hope that you are learning a lot about me. Maybe even things that you didn’t already know. I know that some of it you may have heard or read before. today I thought I would share some of my favorite memory of midnight mass. I am a Roman Catholic which means we go to church tonight and have mass.

All of my life we have gone and as I got older it was something that I looked forward to. I have no idea why I love it as much as I do. However, I will be seating in that pew tonight filled with antipasti on for some reason. I think it is because it so pretty. We sing Christmas carols which I love and just the season itself.

I do admit I wins it was snowing and much colder because then I think that would just make tonight picture perfect. Anyway, back to my memories. My favorite midnight mass memory is when I was seven or eight. I could have been younger but I don’t think I was. It was the first year I knew all the words to the songs and was so excited to sing along with each of them. My parents had wondered if we should attend the children’s mass (with the play) that takes place earlier in the evening that year. I begged and begged to be allowed to attend the regular one.

Finally, it was time. I put on my new dress and got ready. I was going to knock this out of the park. We walked into church with me holding my father’s hand. He had a callus in the middle of his palm and I remember it rubbing around my smaller hand as we walked. We went through the first part where we kneel and pray and whatever.

We sang the first song and I didn’t even need the hymnal. It wasn’t the big moment though where we would be singing the Christmas carols Those were coming up a little later. I quietly sat through readings and all he other boring stuff. It was almost time and I could feel my heart pounding. I sat back to calm down and a little bit and the next thing I know, my father is picking me carrying me out of church.

I sat back to calm down and fell asleep. Like snoring in the middle of mass asleep. Mass was over and I missed the part I waited for the most. My father said he had been waiting for me to crash. I had been going wide open all day and refused to take a nap. He was surprised I lasted as long as I did.

Coming Tomorrow: Merry Christmas

SO, why is this my favorite? Because the entire mass my father held my hand. Even when I feel asleep he didn’t let go. I don’t why he did and never thought to ask him. But I can remember rubbing that callous back and forth as I as calming myself down. It was soothing to know that even though he didn’t know it, I needed his strength and he gave it to me. It doesn’t matter I missed mass, it only mattered that we were all there together.