The reported comment by a priest that “he worried about a 5 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve becoming a substitute for Christmas Day Mass for children” (News from Britain and Ireland, 20/27 December 2014) and his statement, “We have turned our practice of the faith into a matter of convenience rather than a matter of commitment” epitomises the failure of some in the Church to meet people where they are, often involuntarily.First, Midnight Mass, though admirable, is partly a legacy of a redundant pre-Communion fast; secondly, we cannot judge peoples’ motives; and thirdly, the myriad pressures of modern life – feeding families, employment obligations, single parenting, non-Catholic partners, ease of transport and so on – make it imperative to discard this