It was a tradition for our Family to go to Midnight Mass and then go up to my Godparent’s house afterwards for snacks & fellowship. Now, we can’t find a Catholic Church within a 20-mile radius who actually has Mass at Midnight!
We found one that starts at 11 PM, but not a one that starts at Midnight.
I’m sorry that it is so hard for you to find this treasure of the Church.
In my diocese the number of churches with a real Midnight Mass has been going down.
I suspect part of this has to do with a decline in the number of priests without a decline in the number of churches. But it mostly has to do with a) priests not wanting to have to do it, and b) a culture of people wanting to go to Mass on Christmas Eve and “get it out of the way”.
On Christmas, I will be celebrating Mass at Midnight and plan to do so as long as God permits.
I wish you and everyone reading a merry Christmas.
I have an idea! 
: What if each week of Advent you had a Midnight Candlemas and added ten candles each week approaching Christmas and then continue on through the season of Christmas until 40 days after the birth of our Lord (when some Churches have an actual Candlemas with many candles)?
So the first week of Advent, you would be sitting in darkness (10 candles). The next week (20 candles), Gaudete Sunday (30 candles)… gradually getting brighter as we approach Christmas. As we continue through the season of Christmas, Christ’s light shines brighter still.
I personally would love this! My children would love this too! If one Church started it and invited the Seminarians to participate, it could catch on and spread (pun intended ; )
I would bet if you did this at a Church near a College Campus, you could attract young Catholics to participate and even invite their unchurched friends.
I attended Mass with my cousins on the Campus of Steubenville and I still get chills thinking about how loud the students sang “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” as the closing song. So many young people on fire with their love of Christ and His Church!
I guess the question was meant jokingly—that is, not really asking whether all priests or some priests are now lazy and was not really meant to call them names. My parish has a Christmas Eve Mass at 9 pm; the parish we’ll be visiting for Christmas has one at 11 pm. Why is midnight Mass hard to find? How should I know? Canadian Priest’s answer is sensible. My guess is that the priests available can say only a limited number of Christmas Masses, which are scheduled when the largest number of people want to go, not when it’s easiest for the priests. Another guess: if you could demonstrate to your pastor that more people want to go to Mass at midnight than at 11 pm or 9 pm, you could have a midnight Mass instead.
Correct 
It is a passive aggressive way to let Priests know that I like Midnight Mass 
And I agree, @CanadianPriest’s response was awesome (as usual). Our Priest is pastor to two Parishes! Fr. Roderick Vonhögen in the Netherlands has four Parishes!
I think the less traditions we observe the less Priests’s we’ll have. But, I also acknowledge that the culture has moved further and further away from God as a whole.
There probably are more people who prefer an earlier Liturgy. And it might be selfish on my part for wanting a Midnight Mass. Christmas without Midnight Mass is like Christmas without snow. It’s still Christmas, but it just isn’t the same
In case there is any doubt; I was not insulted by your question about whether priests have become wussies.
Then again, I guess the comment didn’t apply to me since I am celebrating Midnight Mass (and can therefore tell myself I am not a wuss).
It is sad that a 5:00 or 6:00 PM Mass on Christmas Eve would attract a lot more people in most places I know than a Midnight Mass would. However, I’m pretty sure more people would go to Midnight Mass than one at 10:00 or 11:00 PM. There are many who share your frustrations.
I wonder what would happen if Christmas Vigil (that is, evening of December 24) Masses disappeared. It would be interesting to see how may people would start participating in Mass at midnight and how many would wait until the morning.
Hey, night owls. You can start the new year in church at midnight Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, Pa.
My Cousin, a Franciscan, is currently based out of Philadelphia. Wonder if he is familiar with Saints Peter and Paul. I got to see my Cousin at our Christmas Family Get-together. I have 31 Cousins and we’ve always been a pretty close Family (such a Blessing). He is a cool person. He used to work for the Pentagon prior to becoming a Franciscan Brother. He now serves the poor and the art community in the City of Philadelphia (sometimes one in the same ; )
Personally, I am of the opinion that the KEY-point might be being missed here. With the evident priest shortage, we all ought to be thankful that we DO have a Mass we can attend. Secondly is understanding that the priest has information we don’t have… MY guess is the priest, from experience, or attendance information, is choosing a time that will attract the largest attendance. And NOT what is best for him, unless there is good reason to do so. To Jesus THROUGH Mary, Catholic-Catechist 41
Thank you for your response and welcome to the forum : )
Honestly, next year I may not do the Midnight Mass. instead, they offer a Christmas Eve mass around 6:30pm, for families.
Main reasons:
It’s late and it disrupts my sleep
The subways are scary at night
Also I expected the choir to sing Silent Night this year and they didn’t.
When you forget to sing the best song ever you better believe attendance goes down…
