Merry Christmas everyone!

While my options wouldn't be suitable for many here, living in rural southeastern Washington I was fortunate to have the choices available.  There is a Ruthenian Monastery 90 miles southeast of me in Oregon, which I've attended before, and they were having the full compliment of Nativity services according to the Byzantine tradition.  St. Patrick's Parish in Walla Walla, WA, 45 miles from me, has a 1962 Missal High Mass every second Sunday.  The Latin Mass group sent out a text message saying that there would be a Latin Mass at Midnight on Christmas.  They didn't say it would be a 1962 Missal Mass, and there are no restrictions on singing a 1969 Missal Mass in Latin, but I'm guessing it was a '62 Missal High Mass.  One of the choir members and one of the regular altar servers who assist with the '62 High Mass there are now in the diocesan seminary.  Ninety miles north of me in Sprague, WA is a small Benedictine Monastery (one priest, two monks) in residence at Mary Queen of Heaven parish, who offer a 1962 Missal High Mass every Sunday, and a Low Mass on weekdays.  There is a family with nine children who principally form the choir, and several other families whose sons are the altar servers (there are usually five for the High Mass).  For Christmas Father Miller offered a High Mass at Midnight and for the Third Mass of Christmas, and a Low Mass at 7:30 AM for the Second Mass of Christmas.

I'm sure the Midnight Mass was full, with a hundred or so in attendance.  Being out that late and driving in the dark is not the best thing for me, so I went to the 10:30 AM High Mass (the third Mass of Christmas), as I did last year, and attendance was up, from 7 to 10 people.

I have a commentary :-).  I was born in 1951 and grew up with a steady diet of Low Masses.  About the only time a Solemn Mass occurred was if the bishop visited, bringing his own crew.  A larger parish would perhaps have one High Mass on a Sunday (except during the summer probable), and then one to four Low Masses, cranked out as quickly as possible.  The excuses then (and now among the TLM community) were: "We don't have a choir", "we don't have an organ", "we don't have an organist", "we don't have fifteen altar servers", and on and on.  Interestingly Father Miller was able to offer a complete 1962 Missal High Mass with one monk as the altar server (probable a tonsured acolyte) and one monk as the cantor, a cappella.  And this was after he had already offered the Christmas Masses at Midnight and dawn.  The only differences were: There wasn't a formal Master of Ceremonies, whose role is largely ceremonial; No candles at the Gospel procession; No incense swung at the elevation (the single altar server lifted the chasable with one hand and rang the bell with the other ...he had filled the censor again before the Canon, so there was plenty of incense in the air), and no torch bearers during the Canon (a nice touch but not required).  It was beautiful and offered God great honor.  AND IT CAN BE DONE with just one priest, one altar server or acolyte, a small schola or even just one cantor, and they can chant a cappella, no organ or organist required.