Christmas ... Mass at Dawn
- Dec 25, 2025
- 5 min read
Good morning! Welcome to the celebration of Christmas here at the Parish of Our Lady of Hope in Blackwood, New Jersey. Speaking for myself as well as our Pastor, Fr. Joseph Szolack, the other Parochial Vicar, Fr. Paul Olszewski, Fr. Rene Canales, who oversees our Hispanic Ministry … our Deacons, Andy Encarnado, Bob Foley, Toby Haley, Michael Harkins, and Paschal Nwalko … and all of the staff of the Parish and our Regional School, I would like to welcome all of you this morning. Welcome to all parishioners, their families, and their friends. Welcome to all who might be visiting from other parishes. Welcome to all the young people and college students who are home for their semester break. For those of you who may not know me, my name is Fr. Larry Polansky and this is my third Christmas here at Our Lady of Hope.
Entrance Antiphon: Is 9:1, 5; Lk 1:33 – “Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and He will be called Wondrous God, Prince of peace, Father of future ages: and His reign will be without end.”
First Reading: Is 62:11-12 – “Behold, your Savior comes!”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 97:1, 6, 11-12 – “A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.”
Second Reading: Ti 3:4-7 – “Because of His mercy, He saved us.”
Alleluia: Lk 2:14 – Alleluia, alleluia. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 2:15-20 – “The shepherds found Mary & Joseph and the infant.”
Communion Antiphon: Zec 9:9 – “Rejoice, O Daughter Sion; lift up praise, Daughter Jerusalem: Behold, your King will come, the Holy One and Savior of the world.”
If you take the time to stop and really think about it, I think you’d come to the conclusion that we Americans spend a good part of December celebrating Christmas. Even though the days of Advent should dominate the Church calendar in December, for many of us, Christmas celebrations may have begun a week or two ago … perhaps even earlier … with holiday parties at work or in school. Radio stations have played Christmas music for a month already. All of the Christmas television specials will have already been seen by the time we get to December 25th … and even as I thought about that, wrote it down, and now say that … I realized that belief has become pretty archaic, too … I’m showing my age … we can stream Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, the Miser Brothers, Nestor, the Red Ryder BB Gun, or Ebenezer Scrooge whenever we feel like it. Many of us put up the Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving, and by New Year’s Day we’re ready to take them down (or at least unplug the timer so that they don’t go on anymore). It’s not that Christmas is fleeting for us. It’s just that we have celebrated so much before the actual day that by the time the feast itself has come, we are all a bit tired of Christmas. While family visits may continue through what we call “the holidays,” a so-called normal schedule typically returns within the first couple of days of January. Perhaps a little later this year with Christmas and New Year’s falling towards the end of the week.
Other cultures traditionally celebrate Christmas in a different way. For example, in Spain and in Italy, Christmas Day is only the beginning of the holidays. Children are out of school for two full weeks, not returning until after the Epiphany … also known as Three Kings’ Day … or “Little” Christmas, which is celebrated on January 6th. That is also the day gifts are exchanged, in honor of the Magi who presented gifts to the Christ Child. Parties and feasting take place in the days between Christmas and Epiphany. Christmas Day is not the end of the celebration. It is only the very beginning.
In the meantime, back here in our country, it is very likely that we could drive down the streets this Saturday or Sunday and already find a Christmas tree or two out on the curb, ready for pick-up. Families that have planned vacations between Christmas and New Year’s often get the tree out of the house before they leave.
While the season of Advent seemed to disappear for most Americans, there is a blessing in the anticipation that our own culture brings to Christmas. The run up to the feast makes it one the most important celebrations of the year. The secular calendar gives a huge nod to this religious festival (so much so that certain atheist groups try their best to quash references to “Christmas” in public discourse … “Happy Holidays” … instead of Merry Christmas). And despite the consumerism that can infect the season, for many people it is still the festival of the Savior’s birth, a religious feast of great importance.
Now, I’m not suggesting that we try and change our culture of expectation in regard to Christmas. We’ll never overcome the advertising budgets of retailers who push Christmas cards in October, toy sales before Thanksgiving, door busters on or before Black Friday, and the 50% markdown on Christmas weeks and weeks before the day. But there is at least one way in which we should be a bit like the Spaniards, the Italians, and all the others who savor Christmas for at least twelve days of celebration. It is with the recognition that Christmas is not over in just one day. And for us this year, the Christmas season ends January 11th with the Baptism of the Lord.
In the musical Mame, after the stock market crash wipes out her fortune, Auntie Mame sings, “We need a little Christmas right this very minute … for I’ve grown a little colder, grown a little sadder.” While the song for the most part celebrates the festivities of the secular celebration, the reality for all of us Christians is that we do need a little Christmas each and every day.
The great mystery of the feast is that in the Incarnation God became flesh so that humankind could be divinized … in other words, so that we could become children of God. Whether our Christmas celebrations take place mostly before the day itself or in the weeks after are really of little consequence. What really matters is that the celebration of this great feast pushes us to act like sons and daughters of God … to remember the reason for the season. Through the incarnation God took on our human nature in Christ and so “by this wondrous union, we, too, are made eternal” as Preface III of the Nativity of the Lord says. The way we live our lives, how we act each day, how we relate to one another, and the ways we express God’s love should all reveal that we are truly empowered to be sons and daughters of God.
It might be good to remind ourselves not just on this day, but in perhaps in February, maybe in June, or even next September, that we need a little Christmas, right this very minute. Then, even on those days, the mystery of the Incarnation holds true, and through His birth, Jesus has given us the power to be sons and daughters of God who live in His love!
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