So long after I had lost any religion, I still went to midnight Mass on Christmas. I'm not sure why, exactly, but it's some combination of remembering the Christmases of my childhood, plus hearing the music, plus, I must admit, longing for something I don't think exists. (Kierkegaard was right in thinking that religion requires a leap of faith - for better or worse, something I don't have in me.)

But even to this day, I could get talked into going to a midnight Mass, particularly if it were at someplace like Old South Church. What a beautiful way to start that particular day.

I hope you get to go to one, and not some convenient substitute.