Yesterday didn’t work out the way it was expected.
I should say it started out almost exactly as planned. DaWife had to work and there was an inch of snow during the commute (meaning that the snow tires I bought for her at Viola Fitchburg Tire paid off but I digress). I had attended morning mass, a rarefy now because of my AM shift and after a pleasant breakfast with my Pastor and an acquaintance at a local diner the Cozy Corner (Under New Management as one of the waitresses bought the place from the longtime owner who is retiring) had just left my mechanic who told me my 99 Buick LeSabre would be ready in five minutes as he was just putting air in the tires which would give me just enough time to dash to my son’s house and have him drive me back.
My other son was working till 1 and would be cooking a large Christmas Eve dinner that would be ready when DaWife got home at four. After dinner we would watch Christmas movies till going to Mass, me & DaWife the 10 pm at my church they the midnight mass at St. Cecilia’s in Leominster and everyone would come here or crash here for Breakfast and a leisurely Christmas day.
It was a perfect plan until I walked into my eldest’s house and found him sick in bed. He had just come from a gathering of Friends in NYC a few days ago and while he avoided being immolated & murdered on the subway he had apparently caught something and was in no condition to take me back to the mechanics, let alone do anything else.
So after walking back to the garage and getting my car I ran some errands and saw a few friends before picking up my youngest at work. I informed him of his brother’s condition and we contacted DaWife at work. The decision was made to put off the feast till this afternoon in the hopes he might be well enough to attend (I’ll have the answer to that question an hour after this posts) so when DaWife got home, just a few minutes after I had wrapped her last gift, we hit a restaurant together and after picking up something fast for Da sick son (would you believe a large fries at McDonalds is over $5 in Massachusetts?) we pondered what to do.
DaWife didn’t want to be up late for a Midnight mass but my son was determined to go but neither wanted to go alone as Christmas Mass was a family thing, so I decided that I would take DaWife to the 10 PM “modified” Midnight Mass at St. Bernards, drop her off at home and then pick up my son to go to the Midnight Mass at St. Cecilia’s.
In Fitchburg at St. Bernard’s I had the joy of high school classmate Anita Carbone’s vocals accompanied by her husband Joe on the Piano (one of the nicest guys you’ve ever met) and a first rate sermon by my pastor. After dropping off DaWife and picking up the son we got to St Cecilia’s at about 11:40, very early for us but a good idea for a midnight mass. The place was decked out, the grand organ was taking full advantages of the acoustics of the place and my son placed us front row center as Cecile one of the best singers in the area sang a bit. I noticed that in their renovations had moved the blessed sacrament to a spot behind the alter and moved the priest’s area to the side. There was a lot of seating in the area of the blessed sacrament and the Monsignor sat there before Mass in the presence of Christ to pray and prepare, a very proper thing I thought.
After the final chime of midnight rang though the church Claire chanted the Christmas Proclimation which is done at Midnight Masses around the world.
Today, the twenty–fifth day of December,
unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth
and then formed man and woman in his own image.
Several thousand years after the flood,
when God made the rainbow shine forth
as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty–one centuries from the time of Abraham and Sarah;
thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel
out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of Ruth and the Judges;
one thousand years from the anointing of David as king;
in the sixty–fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety–fourth Olympiad;
the seven hundred and fifty–second year from the foundation
of the city of Rome.
The forty–second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus;
the whole world being at peace,
Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,
desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming,
being conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and nine months having passed since his conception,
was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.
And the mass began with the procession and the first of many carols.
With the choir and the organ and the additional pomp with a mass celebrated by two priests and many attendants the Mass proceeded slower, than at St. Bernard’s but as is true of all masses the structure remained the same and nothing unexpected happened…until just after the Gloria and just before 1st reading the unexpected took place.
Without warning a woman suddenly rushed into the pew next to me. She was all smiles and very excited to the point where she dropped her cell phone on the floor with a thud as the came right next to me saying in a joyful whisper: “I can’t believe you’re here!”. I was completely taken aback and looked at her without recognition, She, still with a grin on her face looked at me and again whispered, “you don’t recognize me!” but quickly turned back to the Mass and the readings.
As the readings that I had just heard a few hours ago took place I stole an occasional glance to my right to try to place her. She was a very pretty woman, perhaps as young as her late 30’s to her late 40’s perhaps just young enough to be my daughter if I had started a half a decade earlier. Thin but not too thin. She had dark black hair and her wedding and engagement rings suggested a woman married for a bit, but her very familiar face still filled with joy of both the Christmas and the meeting suggested those married years were happy ones.
I was running though my memory of people I used to see at the Friday’s morning masses at St. Cecilia’s that I had attended regularly before being forced to first shift or various Catholic events for WQPH when during the homily suddenly recognition hit me.
I had never seen her outside of her office, always in a gown, usually with a mask and always with her hair covered. We would spend time talking before and after my visit, she talking about her husband and young son who she had late in life always regaling me with pictures on her phone as he grew from infancy to being a young boy in Catholic school. We talked of faith and my sons both of who she know and spoke highly of. I would give her the what wisdom I could when needed and I prayed for her and her family daily.
It was the type of relationship you might expect with a favorite daughter-in-law not from the young lady who took care of your teeth.
It was clear that the boundless energy that I had seen for almost a decade could barely be contained even by the sacred Mass and the large hug we shared at the sign of peace was overflowing with it the spirit of Christmas.
When the final hymn was sung and the sacred procession began to depart we finally could talk. It was the first time we had spoken without a time limit in all the years we knew each other.
Her son was in bed and her husband at home with her while see came to Midnight Mass. She ALWAYS went to midnight mass as it was special to her. She sat down at the other end of the church when she had noticed me front and center with my son and was so excited to see me she decided she HAD to sit with us and waited for a moment of least disruption to rush over and join us.
To those of you did not live in the age before the cell phone, Facebook and twitter meant everyone you ever knew is always within reach you might not understand the concept of not having instant contact with someone whose company you take pleasure in and the joy of seeing such a person suddenly before you.
She was not on Twitter/X and I have never joined Facebook. Furthermore I’m likely one of the last hold outs against owning a cell phone having decided a decade ago that I liked life without it and had given it up ironically just before we had met. So I’m likely one of the few people who someone might still can have this experience with.
The three of us spent time catching up, and walked out of the church together to our cars and as we did I told her that she had given me one of the greatest Christmas presents I had ever received, the certain knowledge that someone I thought highly of took such joy at the sight of me.
What price can you put on gift like that?
I will be telling this story till the day I die and if some day I’m blessed with grandchildren I will tell them the story of the young lady who gave me the best Christmas Present a person could receive without spending a dime.
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