The Catholic Bishop of Ghana’s Konongo-Mampong Diocese, the Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, in a response to a question posed to him, says the Mass celebrated on December 31 in the Catholic Church, even if it goes beyond midnight, does not replace the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God celebrated on January 1.
“This is a Solemnity and must be celebrated in the morning of 1st January. We should also bear in mind that while the civil calendar begins on January 1 and ends on December 31, the Church’s liturgical year begins on the first Sunday of Advent and ends with the 34th week of the year,” he explained in a question posed to him by a Catholic Priest of the Claretian Missionaries.
Rev. Fr. Leka-ire Henry Mario, Cmf posed the question on the Bishop’s WhatsApp platform “Ask Bishop Bonsu”: “My Lord, the now famous “Crossover Night” or “31st December Night” is gradually becoming a confusing phenomenon in the Catholic Church. My worry is where to place this practice and the particular liturgy to be celebrated. Since the liturgical year begins with the first Sunday of Advent, is 1st January a New Year according to the civil calendar as well as the church’s calendar? Again, if 31st December falls within the Christmas Octave and the evening of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, what should be celebrated in the Mass or liturgy during the so-called 31st December or Crossover Night? Does that not confuse the teaching of the Catholic liturgical calendar? If it does, why do we still encourage such practices? And are we being directed by the world or we are to direct the world? Again, are we to do what the people want or what the church wants and teaches?”
The question posed by Fr. Mario came at a time when some Catholics in Ghana feel that December 31 night should be celebrated like how the Pentecostal and Charismatic Churches do to crossover while others also feel attending Mass on December 31 night was enough for them not to attend the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, a holy day of obligation on January 1.
Answering the question on his WhatsApp platform on January 4, Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu said “In connection with 31st December, we Catholics should retain our Catholic identity and should not imitate what some Charismatic and Pentecostal churches do.”
He noted, “The language of “Crossover” and “Passover” in this connection is alien to our Catholic worship and theology,” adding, “While 31st December is significant as far as our civil calendar is concerned, it is not significant as far as the Church’s liturgical calendar is concerned.
The Bishop clarified that “Liturgically, 31st December is an ordinary day and the readings are not about thanksgiving. Indeed, in most places in Europe and North America, there is no Mass in the evening to celebrate the coming of the New Year as we do in Ghana.”
He, however, explained that in Ghana, “we also appreciate the coming of a New Year, even if we are not sure of what it will bring to us. Our mood is one of gratitude for the year gone past and expectation of better things to come in the New Year.”
According to Bishop Osei-Bonsu since many people in Ghana attach great significance to this day, it would be good if the National Liturgical Commission could come out with a special liturgy for the evening Mass on this day.
“The Commission may want to suggest readings that deal with the theme of thanksgiving. In the Old Testament, a passage like Isaiah 63:7-9 that talks about what the Lord has done for Israel might be considered. The gospel reading, for example, could be the passage about the cure of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) in which the Samaritan leper went back to thank Jesus for his cure,” he averred.
However, he noted, it was up to every parish to plan what can be done both before and after Mass to reflect the mood of joy and thanksgiving, noting, “in many places, we find cultural singing and dancing before Mass starts, in some places also, the youth or women’s groups stage plays before the celebration of Mass.”
On advertisement on billboards, he advised Catholic Priests to resist the temptation to advertise themselves as being done by some pastors in preparation for 31st December, saying, “some pastors belonging to these Charismatic and Pentecostal churches erect massive billboards with their pictures on them and with themes such as “31st December: The Crossover”, “31st December: The Passover”.
Bishop Osei-Bonsu stressed, “If anyone needs to be advertised, it should be Jesus himself. He recalled, “In December 2018, I saw on one WhatsApp platform a poster with the picture of a Catholic priest and a theme similar to what I have mentioned above. This should not happen.”
“Our mode of entering the new civil year is the Holy Mass and not through a Crossover or a Passover service,” he noted.
Read the full response by Bishop Osei-Bonsu to the question posed by Fr. Henry Mario.
