Christmas Mass schedules

Christmas

Christmas Mass and confession times throughout the diocese

The Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) is Saturday, Dec. 25, 2021. In the dioceses of the United States, the Feast of the Holy Family is commuted to Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. Both days carry an obligation of the faithful to participate in Mass; however, Christmas outranks the Feast of the Holy Family. Therefore, Masses in the afternoon and evening of Dec. 25, are to be the Mass during the Day for Christmas. There will be no vigil Mass this year for the Feast of the Holy Family.

Mass Obligation

The faithful must fulfill the obligation to participate in Mass for both Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Family in separate Masses. However, fulfillment of the obligation is not dependent upon Mass texts but upon the time at which a person participates in Mass. Therefore, for example, if a person who has participated in a Mass either on Christmas eve or Christmas morning, then participates in another Mass at 4 p.m. on Christmas day, the obligations for both Christmas and the Feast of the Holy Family are satisfied.

In Summary Fulfillment of Mass obligation for Christmas: Participation in Mass on Christmas Eve or any time on Christmas Day (including Christmas night).

Fulfillment of Mass obligation for Feast of the Holy Family: Participation in Mass at 4 p.m. or later on Christmas Day or on Sunday, Dec. 26, the Feast of the Holy Family.

Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 7, 9, 11 a.m.; 4 p.m. Confession: Parish Advent confessions, Dec. 22, 6 p.m. until; 30 minutes before Mass and ending 10 minutes before Mass

St. Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 7:30, 9:30, 11:30 a.m.; 4 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6:15-7:15 p.m.; 30 minutes before each Mass – Monday to Sunday; Saturdays, 3-3:55 p.m.; By request

Annunziata, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m., midnight Christmas Day: 10 a.m.

Christ the Redeemer, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m.; 8 p.m. Spanish Mass; Midnight Christmas Day: 7, 9 a.m. Confession: Mercy Nights: Wednesdays Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, 6 p.m.; Multiple opportunities for Christmas confessions. Please visit the website at www.ctr-htdiocese.org for a complete list of dates and times. a

Christmas

Community of St. Anthony, Gheens

Christmas Eve: 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m.

Holy Cross, Morgan City

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m.; 5:30 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m. Advent Mission: Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m. Speaker, Father Mike Tran; with adoration

St. Rosalie, Stephensville

Christmas Day: 4 p.m.

Holy Family, Grand Caillou

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m. Christmas Day: 10:30 a.m.; 4 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-6:30 p.m. Mass, after Mass until 9 p.m.

Holy Savior, Lockport

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 3–5 p.m.

Maria Immacolata, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, Midnight Christmas Day: 9:30 a.m.; 4:30 p.m. Confession: Family Adoration every Wednesday with confession available

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Chackbay

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, 11 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Golden Meadow

Christmas Eve: 5, 7, Midnight Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.; 30 minutes before weekday Masses and 45 minutes before weekend Masses

Our Lady of the Isle, Grand Isle

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m. Christmas Day: TBD Confession: Dec. 23, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 8, 11 a.m.; 4 p.m.

Our Lady of the Rosary, Larose

Christmas Eve: 4, 6:30 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: Dec. 21, 6 p.m.; 30 minutes before every Mass Advent Mission: Dec. 7-8, 6 p.m. Speaker, Father Duc Bui

Sacred Heart, Cut Off

Christmas Eve: 4, 7 p.m.; Spanish Mass, 9 p.m.; Midnight Christmas Day: 8, 10 a.m. Confession: To be announced a

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Christmas

Sacred Heart, Montegut

Christmas Eve: 4, 8 p.m. Christmas Day: 8:30 a.m. Confession: Saturdays, 3:30-4 p.m.; Sundays, 8-8:30 a.m.; anytime by appointment on Dec. 24

Sacred Heart, Morgan City

Christmas Eve: 4:30, 8 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.; 30 minutes before all Masses; Monday-Friday, Dec. 16-23: 2-2:30 p.m.

St. Andrew, Amelia

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m. Christmas Day: 8, 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.

St. Ann, Bourg

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, 10 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m.; 4 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.; 30 minutes prior to Mass times Advent Mission: Dec. 7, 14, 6:30 p.m., Speaker, Father Cody Chatagnier

St. Anthony of Padua, Bayou Black

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 8 a.m. Advent Mission (dates and times): Dec. 1, 6-7 p.m., confession available; Speaker, Father Patrick Riviere

St. Bernadette, Houma

Christmas Eve: 3, 4:30, 6 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 8, 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15; Mercy Nights with confession, Dec. 1, 8, 15, 22, 7-8 p.m.; Advent Mission: Dec. 16, 6:45 p.m.; Speaker, Very Rev. André Melancon

St. Bridget, Schriever

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, Midnight Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: Monday-Friday, 5:30-5:55 p.m.; Saturdays, 3-3:50 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30-8:20 a.m.; 10-10:20 a.m.

St. Charles Borromeo, Pointe-aux-Chenes

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 10:30 a.m. Confession: By appointment

St. Charles Borromeo, St. Charles Community

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 7:30, 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 4-8 p.m.

St. Eloi, Theriot All Masses will be celebrated in the Dularge Gym

Christmas Eve: 4:30, Midnight Christmas Day: 9 a.m.; 4:30 p.m. Confession: Dec. 22 & 23: 6-7 p.m. (Dularge Gym) Advent Mission: Dec. 2 & 3, 6:30 p.m. Speaker, Very Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, V.G. a

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Christmas

St. Genevieve, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, 10 p.m. Christmas Day: 8:30 a.m.; 4 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6 p.m.; 45 minutes before every weekend Mass in Advent, by appointment Advent Mission: Dec. 5, 6, 7, 8, 7 p.m., Speaker: Father Joseph Tregre

St. Gregory, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4, 9 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6 p.m.; 30 minutes before weekend Masses

St. Hilary of Poitiers, Mathews

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 7, 9 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.; Advent Mercy Nights with confession, Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, 6:30-8 p.m.

St. John the Evangelist, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 10 a.m.; 4 p.m.

St. Joseph, Chauvin

Christmas Eve: 4, 11 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-7:30 p.m. Advent Mission: Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m.; Speaker: Curtis Constrantiche

St. Joseph, Galliano

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: Dec. 15 & 22, 5:30 – 7 p.m.

St. Lawrence, Chacahoula

Christmas Eve: 4:30 p.m. Christmas Day: 9:30 a.m.; 4:30 p.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.; 30 minutes before all weekend Masses; Wednesdays, First Friday and First Saturday

St. Lawrence the Martyr, Kraemer

Christmas Eve: 4, 5:30 p.m. Christmas Day: 7:30, 9 a.m.

St. Louis, Bayou Blue

Christmas Eve: 4, 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 8, 10 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 15, 6 p.m.; 30 minutes before and after all weekend Masses Dec. 18-19; always by appointment

St. Lucy, Houma

Christmas Eve: 4 p.m. Christmas Day: 8:15 a.m. Confession: Dec. 21, all day

St. Luke the Evangelist, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 6 p.m. Christmas Day: 10:30 a.m. Confession: “The Light is On for You,” Dec. 16, All day

St. Mary’s Nativity, Raceland

Christmas Eve: 4, 6, 11 p.m. Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: Before Mass begins

St. Thomas Aquinas, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 5, 7 p.m., Midnight Christmas Day: 9 a.m. Confession: 30 minutes before all Masses

Thanh Gia, Morgan City

Christmas Eve: 10 p.m. Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Confession: Communal Penance, Dec. 17, 7 p.m.

Vietnamese Community, Houma

Christmas Eve: 8 p.m. Christmas Day: 10 a.m. Confession: Communal Penance, Dec. 20, 6 p.m.

Vietnamese Community, Larose

Christmas Eve: 5:30 p.m. Christmas Day: 8 a.m. Confession: Communal Penance, Dec. 18, 5 p.m.

Vietnamese Community, Thibodaux

Christmas Eve: 7 p.m. Christmas Day: 8 a.m. BC

Christmas

Christmas: Five steps to making the material spiritual

Guest Columnist

Father Paul Birdsall

There is something about sitting by a fireplace lined with stockings, sipping a cup of eggnog, turning up Frank Sinatra on Magic 101.9, and staring at the evergreen in the living room surrounded by colorfully wrapped gifts that gives rise to a special kind of comfort and happiness. No matter our age or background, Christmas is a time that is immediately recognizable, evokes a familiar and often needed emotional change in the daily routine of life, and serves as a reminder of the connections we have with friends and family.

For many years Christmas has taken shape through expanding traditions, marketing strategies, cultural shifts, and materialism and consumerism. The preparation time has lengthened, the gifts and décor have become increasingly extravagant, and quite frankly people seem to look more forward to Christmas now than ever before. This is great, right? More Christmas means more fun, right? So what is the problem?

Well, truth be told, despite all of the increases I have mentioned, Christmas is also decreasing and losing popularity at an alarming rate at the same time. Wait! What? What are you talking about? How can Christmas both expand and decrease at the same time? I speak of course of the spirituality of Christmas. A very vast transformation has taken place in the way many view Christmas; this transformation has gone from viewing Christmas as a liturgical season, to now viewing it as a vacation. Less and less people in recent years seem to know the spiritual

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Christmas

side of Christmas, how it came to be, and why we celebrate it. Gift giving, time off, and secularization, have taken priority in the lives of many over a true spiritual celebration and self-examination. Catch phrases like “Season’s Greetings” and “Happy Holidays” have replaced the traditional “Merry Christmas.” People line up for hours for special sales and hot items in the stores and spend tons of time shopping online, but spend next to no time praying and reflecting. Christmas programs often promote “sharing” and “generosity” in a very broad and generic sense rather than mentioning why it is we share and are generous during Christmas. Christmas Mass has become very secondary as people treat it more like a yearly tradition, satisfy Grandma time, or something to get over with quickly. Yes, my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, we are indeed losing the spirituality of Christmas.

With all of this in mind, it is obvious we as Christians can be doing something better. Something needs to change if we are to save Christmas as a spiritual season and tool for prayer and evangelization. But how? Is it too far gone already? I don’t think so; in fact, with the right enthusiasm and use of resources, I believe we can turn around the secular trend Christmas has taken with very little effort. The key to this lies with the very things that are pulling us away from a spiritual Christmas. We as Christian brothers and sisters must make the material spiritual. None of the aforementioned increases in materialism are bad in and of themselves; in fact, they can be very valuable tools to help us in our duty to promote the spirituality of Christmas. I have come up with five steps to help us Christians in embracing the spirituality of Christmas and promoting it to all that we encounter.

Step One

Teaching: Christmas is about a birth, not just any birth, but the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not, however, merely a story, rather a living reality every day of our lives since the moment the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived Christ and carried him in her womb. Christmas is not only the celebration of a birthday; it is the celebration of the birth of our salvation. At the moment of Adam and Eve’s first sin, God put into place our salvation history, manifesting itself to us on Earth with the incarnation (God becoming man). With his glorious birth, our very faith began with Christ as the church and we as its members. We are responsible to teach this reality to the nations. Our mission as Christian faithful is to preach the Gospel message and evangelize the good news to all that we encounter. Thus, utilizing Christian programs that tell the Gospel story (movies, videos, books, audiobooks, the Gospel itself, etc.) rather than only resorting to secular Christmas programs, will certainly boost our spiritual knowledge this Christmas.

Step Two

Music and Décor: Sure, you can put out all the Christmas lights, Santa Clauses, trees, ornaments, and tacky blowups you can muster. Sure, you can sing Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman at the top of your voice while driving to City Park and Christmas caroling. There is no problem with any of these decorations or songs. As a matter of fact, I love them all; however, every single Christian household should include a Nativity scene in the decoration ensemble, likewise Christmas hymns of liturgical nature should be sung. I recommend making the Nativity a priority and the focal point of all decorations. If you want others to take the faith seriously, they must see it as priority. If your Nativity scene is hidden and secondary, it suggests your faith is hidden and secondary. Put Christ in the manger for all to see as a reminder of the true spiritual nature of Christmas. Remember to include hymns like Oh Holy Night, Silent Night, Oh Come Emmanuel, etc., to remind you constantly of the true joy of Christmas. These small steps will add a special spiritual note to your Christmas celebrations.

Step Three

Christmas Wishes: Say “Merry Christmas!!!” ‘Nough said … .

Step Four

Gift Giving: Give till your heart’s content, there is no limit to generosity so long as it doesn’t exceed responsibility. It is important; however, in your gift giving that you remind those to whom you give of Christ’s love, the epiphany, and how the spirit of giving started with the generosity of the Three Wise Men. Include prayers with your gifts (write them down on notes and cards), express the need to pay generosity forward, and give to the poor this Christmas. Remember that our generosity should extend to all brothers and sisters throughout the world as a reminder to be thankful for all gifts given, spiritual and material. Taking these steps will increase your example to others, as well as serve to remind yourself of why we go through the trouble each year to find that perfect something for that special someone.

Step Five

Mass and Prayer: Why is it Grandma has to remind us of the Mass tradition each year? Are we not obligated to go to Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation? Why does Christmas all of a sudden become that one time we just get it over with and satisfy a dated tradition? Mass is so much more important than this; it is a celebration of the Life of Christ every time we attend. Christmas is very special; in fact, “Christ Mass” is the very name Christmas comes from. We must not only make Mass a priority this Christmas, it must become the center of Christmas as it is the best way we can possibly reveal our devotion to Christ and his beloved birth. Lastly, pray and pray some more. Pray for your loved ones, pray for the impoverished, pray for the church, and pray in thanksgiving for salvation. If we can spend hours trying to buy a trinket in a store, we can give 10 extra minutes each day this Christmas season in prayer for the benefit of the world.

Merry Christmas! And, God bless you this wonderful season! (Father Paul Birdsall is the administrator of Annunziata Church parish in Houma.) BC

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