Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, 84 K St., Greenfield on Dec. 24, the Vigil Mass of Christmas Eve will begin at 4 p.m. with the Blessing of the Christmas trees, manger, and the Christmas hay to await the coming of the Christ Child. Carols will be chanted in English, Polish and Latin. After the Mass, which will be in English, the congregation, following an old Polish tradition, is welcome to take a memento of the blessed hay for the centerpiece on their Christmas Eve dinner table.
The midnight mass of the shepherds will begin at exactly midnight. It will be introduced at 11:30 p.m., Dec. 24, with a concert of carols in English, Polish and Latin. As the bells ring the midnight hour of Christmas morning, Dec. 25, the time of the birth of the Christ Child, a statue of the Infant Jesus will be blessed and carried in solemn procession around the church and then enshrined in the manger. The Mass will follow in English.
Pasterka is the name given to the Polish Midnight Mass. Pasterka means Shepherds Mass and it is filled with all the joy and pageantry the Polish people can muster for this holy commemoration of the moment when God became man. The crib is blessed, processions are held, the bells are rung and the choir is at its best.
On Dec. 25: The Mass of Christmas Day will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the solemn proclamation of the birth of Christ and the solemn procession to the manger. Mass will be in English with carols chanted in English, Polish, and Latin.
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