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all, is to honour our divine Saviour s temporal birth
in the stable of Bethlehem. In the second Mass,
the Church honours the spiritual birth of Jesus in our
souls, figured by the manifestation to the shepherds.
Lastly, the principal end for which the third Mass is
offered, is to honour the eternal generation of the Word,
God of God, Light of Light, consubstantial with His
Father. Thus the Church teaches us that the Infant
of Bethlehem is not only the Son of Mary, but at the
same time, the Son of the eternal Father, both God and
Man.
The Office for Christmas, as for all great Feasts, begins
the evening before, at first Vespers, which are solemnly
sung in all cathedrals and in certain large churches. The
bishop or priest who presides at Vespers, intones the
hymn, and because of the invocation
"
Jesus, Redeemer
of all ", with which it begins, he extends his hands,
raises them, and then joins them. This Feast reminds
us of the ancient Vigils, since we spend a great part
of the night in church, engaged in singing the praises
of God, at the Office of Matins which precedes the
Midnight Mass, and at the Office of Lauds by which
it is followed. Formerly, it was customary for the
faithful to pass the night preceding great Feasts in
prayer, whence the name Vigil.
With the exception of the Offertory which is taken
from Psalm xcv, and which invites heaven and earth
to rejoice because of the coming of Jesus amongst
us, the other sung parts of the Midnight Mass, INTROIT,
GRADUAL, ALLELUIA, COMMUNION, are taken from Psalms n
and cix in which the Psalmist declares, in the clearest
manner, the divine filiation of the Messias.
It is God the Father who, addressing the Infant
"
Thou art my Son, this
proclaims His divine origin :