Candle Bearers at Midnight Mass
Copyright 2010 Franklyn E. Dailey Jr.
Our family lived at 185 Rutgers Street in Rochester New York, in the years, 1956-1959. Msgr. Connors, in his eighties (he baptized the author in 1921), was still Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church, where a Christmas midnight Mass was celebrated on one of Lake Ontario's snowy winter nights. Our son Tom was born at Rochester's new Northside General Hospital in September of 1957, so the Christmas of that year was his first Nativity experience.
"Midnight Mass" in those years actually began at midnight. At his age, Msgr. Connors now had uncertain gait, and his young Concelebrants (one was Father Sundholm, the older boys' football coach) made sure to assist him up and down the steep altar steps. Solemn High Masses took time, a lot of time. All this, before Vatican II.
Our three altar boys, Frank, Mike and Phil, were in the upper grades at Blessed Sacrament School, and were escorting first and second grade boys around the Church. These "little ones" held electric candles. All sang Christmas Carols during the transition parts of the Mass. I was sitting near the aisle, up front. Mother Peggy was taking care of our younger brood, including infant Tom at home.
By 1:30 a.m., the two Concelebrants had lost a good bit of their energy, while Msgr. Connors was getting his second wind, and coming on strong!
A very small boy in the electric candle holder group fainted, and fell to the floor.
Quickly, an usher came forward and told the senior altar boy group that he would go and find the parents of the fainted-away candle bearer. While announcing his intention, he switched off the youngster's candle. Negative thoughts flashed through my mind.
I was not alone in such thoughts. Our two oldest, Frank and Mike, handed their real candles to brother Phil to tend, picked up the fallen youth, cradled him in a basket formed by their arms, switched his electric candle back on, and carried him to the church entrance foyer. The Sisters of St. Joseph at Blessed Sacrament Parochial School, as all Sisters in our experience, taught leadership, and it works! Their silent communication of strength and intuition was never more apparent than in the recovery of the fallen candle bearer. He was laughing and happy and sipping water by the time two senior candle-bearers had him delivered to the back of the Church, just moments after his midnight Mass experience. And, his "candle" was lighted!
I had an endearing story to go home and tell our group's mother, no slouch herself in the leadership business.