We celebrated the 7:00 Vigil Mass at our local parish. Unfortunately our parish holds hands during the Our Father (ugh) but otherwise it was beautiful and reverent.
One funny thing happened, though. The fairly new altar boy holding the thurible during the Gospel swung it rather wildly all through the reading, resulting in a huge cloud of smoke just behind the deacon. You could see Father Pat getting rather agitated, and the poor parishioners seated nearby were engulfed!
Went to the 7:30 Vigil Mass.
In years past there has been a much greater attendance. (Our uber-orthodox priest was reassigned) There are more people on Sunday at 11:30AM than there were on Christmas Eve. There was NO incense at any of the Masses this year. Grrrrrrr. The Homily was kind of bland. Something about an e-mail the priest got about Christmas being Jesus' Birthday Party and Jesus not being invited.
I miss Fr. Barker terribly.
Lol! Incense is good for them ... it may well purify their soiled souls ;-)