The "Blue Christmas" Mass

A nice idea: a Mass for people who struggle with the holiday season:

"There are so many people who are lonely or grieving loss or bad family histories," Rice said. "For them, a holiday with all the expectations of merriment can be alienating." [...]

"There's a very clear and explicit welcome at the start that acknowledges there are people who struggle with the holidays," he said. "It's very low-key. We invite people to bring whatever they are struggling with." [...]

The evening's preaching takes on a different tone as well, he said. "The homily is directed more toward the core, theological meaning of the Incarnation, of God joining us in all of our struggles and our pain."