This year Christmas will be one to remember

We are excited to host Christmas Masses in person at 701 South Eola Road, Aurora. Please see the FAQ items below that may help to answer questions you might have.  Hope to see you at Christmas @ OLM!

FAQ

Where are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses this year? And at what times?

• Our Lady of Mercy will celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Mass in-person with the following Mass times.
• Friday 12/24 @ 3pm both in the Church and Parish Life Center PLC
  and at 5PM, 7PM and Midnight in the Church.
• Saturday 12/25 @ 8am, 10am, and 12pm in the Church (there will be no 4pm Mass).

Which Christmas Masses will be livestreamed?

• Christmas Eve Midnight Mass & Christmas Day 10am Mass times will be livestreamed at olmercy.old.diocesanweb.org, YouTube, and Facebook!
• Mass in the Parking Lot with reception of Holy Communion will be available at the Christmas Day 10am Mass only.

Will I need to make a reservation for any of the Christmas Mass times? Will reservations be available?

• Reservations will NOT be offered or needed for Christmas Masses. Seating will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

How many seats will there be for each Mass?

• At the 3pm Christmas Eve Mass, both the Church and the Parish Life Center will have Mass taking place.  The rest of the Christmas Mass times will be inside the Church only.  No matter where you’re located, you’ll be able to see, hear and participate fully in the Mass experience.

Will the annual concert before Midnight Mass take place?

• Most definitely!  This year’s Christmas Concert is called “The Road to Bethlehem” by Lloyd Larson.  The concert will start at 11:15pm with a mini chamber ensemble, string quartet, percussions, trumpet, and the Our Lady of Mercy choir led by our wonderful music director Frank Sauter.  This concert experience accompanies us in the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah and the remarkable possibilities that can occur in seemingly unremarkable places.

What about the Masses for the Feast of the Holy Family?

• There will be no 4pm Saturday vigil for the Feast of the Holy Family.
• Sunday’s Mass times remain as they are for the Feast of the Holy Family which is 8am, 10am, 12pm, and 5:30pm. We look forward to celebrating this wonderful feast that serves to lift up families for the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph through their mutual love and forbearance, in their patience in times of trial and in their total obedience to God’s will for them gives hope for our families on how to live together in the peace of God’s Love.

Invite Others

A church building can be an intimidating place to enter for the first time, but you can be the vessel in bringing the Good News to people by a simple invitation.  Even in this season, God is on the move, and we get to be a part of what He’s doing. You can help share the Good News of Jesus by inviting others to our Christmas Masses.  Sometimes a simple invitation can be helpful to someone you may not even know is struggling.  Here are some ideas to get you started!

Shareable Graphic
These graphics are all yours! Save any of these images on your device to share on social media, in a text message, an email, or any other platform of your choosing.  Just right-click on the graphic and copy the image.

Writing Prompts
Stuck on how to word an invite? Here are some templates to get you started.

• Text Message
  Hey _____! If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate Christmas this year, I wanted to let you know my church is having Christmas Mass on 12/24 @ 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, and 12/25 @ midnight, 8am, 10am, and 12pm.
• Email
  Hi ______, I hope you’re doing well and staying safe and healthy! I know this year has been so challenging, but if you’re looking for some encouragement, I’ve been going to Mass at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church.  Would you be interested in going with me? Let me know what you think!  You’re welcome to join me. The Christmas Mass times are 12/24 @ 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, and 12/25 @ midnight, 8am, 10am, and 12pm.
• Social Post
  If anyone is looking for a special way to celebrate Christmas, you’re welcome to join me for Christmas Mass!  Our Lady of Mercy Christmas Mass times are 12/24 @ 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, and 12/25 @ midnight, 8am, 10am, and 12pm. Let me know if you’d like more info or check it out at www.olmercy.old.diocesanweb.org/christmas2021

Don’t forget 

To arrive early, especially for the Christmas Concert “The Road to Bethlehem” that starts at 11:15pm through 11:45pm prior to the Midnight Mass.

A Christmas Reflection

“In adoring our Savior’s birth, it is our origin that we celebrate. Christ’s temporal generation is the source of the Christian people, the birth of His mystical body.  All of us encounter in this mystery a new birth in Christ.” —St. Leo the Great

The coming of Christ was an utterly new event in the history of salvation. Nothing like it had ever happened before, and nothing has been the same since.  Jesus’ coming is marked radically by the character of newness— even re-creation.

This reality is ever-present and it is why we as a Church pray for deeper conversion, and we cannot help but engage our hearts towards repentance (as we pray in one of the Advent daily Mass opening prayers): “O God, who through your Only Begotten Son have made us a new creation, look kindly, we pray, on the handiwork of Your mercy, and at Your Son’s coming, cleanse us from every stain of the old way of life.”

The coming of the Son of God is more than a singular historical event. Ever since the Incarnation, Jesus continues to come to us over and over again. He comes to us in prayer, in sacrament, and in the poor, Jesus will also come in a final, culminating fashion at the end of time. The character of newness marks each and all of these comings of Christ; as He proclaims in the vision from Revelation, “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Let us strive to recall this awesome truth as Christmas nears.

Yes, we will engage in familiar patterns at Christmas. We will (hopefully) finish our preparations, gather with friends and family, worship the Lord, open gifts, feast, and celebrate. Sometimes, unfortunately, these celebrations can feel stale or perfunctory. Other times, they can be agonizing and painful, especially when we have lost loved ones or when brokenness and division riddle our families.

It is always right there—wherever we feel the tug and pull of the fallen, old way of life—that Jesus comes. He comes into our darkness, into our frailty, into our sorrow, into our isolation. However we find ourselves feeling about the celebrations to come, today we recognize the newness of Christ’s coming. We ask for the grace to welcome it, especially into the places that have grown cold, hidden, and dark. He comes to us there to cleanse us and, over and over again, to make us new.

LET US REFLECT. The newness that Jesus brought (and still brings today) is a source of perpetual hope. What in your life needs to be made new?

LET US PRAY. Almighty God, thank You for the new work You did in sending Your beloved Son to our suffering world. May this be a season of newness in my own life as I look to You to bring hope, healing, and peace.