In the quiet of certain mornings during Advent before light breaks over the horizon, many Catholics who are preparing for Christmas have been attending special candlelit Masses to continue a centuries-old tradition honoring Our Lady.
This special votive Mass for the Blessed Mother is called the Rorate Caeli Mass. Its name is Latin for “Drop down, ye heavens,” which is the beginning of the liturgy’s Introit, Isaiah 45:8, according to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.
Traditionally celebrated before the break of day, “the Mass is only lit by candles, representing Mary’s role in bringing the Light of the World into the darkness of the world,” the shrine states.
The Rorate Caeli has roots in the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in German-speaking areas, according to the shrine. This Mass is typically celebrated on Saturdays during Advent, but some churches celebrate it on weekdays. Unlike most Masses during Advent where the liturgical color is pink or purple, the priest wears white vestments. According to Saint Columba Catholic Church, white vestments represent “joy, innocence, purity and glory” and are worn on Marian feast days and seasons of Easter and Christmas, among other occasions.
Last December, Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated a Rorate Caeli Solemn Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
In an X post about the liturgy, Cardinal Burke explained that the early morning celebration of this Mass helps the faithful to contemplate spiritual realities.
“Light is a way for us to understand that without Christ the soul is in darkness and is not able to find fulfillment,” the cardinal stated. “The Rorate Mass takes this interplay, or even better the drama, of light and dark and sets it liturgically for us. The timing of the Mass aims to coordinate the elevation of the Host with the moment of sunrise. The light from sunrise comes into the dark church as the rising of the Son of God in the hands of the priest is taking place.”
This Advent, numerous parishes around the U.S. have been holding Rorate Caeli Masses, which are garnering an increasing interest and devotion especially from young adults. Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, invited the faithful to participate in a local Rorate Caeli Mass Dec. 20. In a video message, Bishop Conley explained it is a pontifical Latin High Mass in Extraordinary Form at 6:30 a.m. local time, and indicated that amid the busyness of this season, rising early to pray can be a good change.
“It’s a wonderful way to prepare in those final days before Christmas,” he said.
The liturgy’s readings focus on prophecies about the coming of Jesus “and Mary’s role in bringing the Light into the world,” according to the Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.
Cardinal Burke also wrote in the X post how the timing of the liturgy at daybreak connects to the mystery of the Nativity.
“The dawning of a new day’s light at the apex of the Mass beautifully symbolizes the coming of Christ, the Light of the world, at His Nativity,” Cardinal Burke wrote in the X post. “Because during the Annunciation, Mary ‘believed what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled’ (Luke 1:45), we too take great hope in being fulfilled by Christ the true light, Who is born of the Virgin Mary, our mother.”
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