Midnight Mass

Father Paul:
[to the congregation] Tonight is the beginning of a new era. And we are meant to celebrate the Resurrection tonight, and we will more than anyone ever has. [pause] I've lied to you all. I didn't come here to replace Monsignor Pruitt. He isn't recovering in a hospital on the mainland. He's perfectly healthy. He has been blessed. As you all have been blessed. He has been made whole, made young, the same as you. He was healed long before you ever saw this face. He was the first, in fact, and he stands before you right now, asking for your forgiveness. [pause] I was lost and confused, tired and old, on the road to Damascus, when lo and behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and bestowed upon me the healing graces of God. And I was restored, as you all have been restored. I returned to you all, and I brought with me that angel of the Lord so that he might bless us all. And we have, we've seen the miracles. Our new bodies. The resurrection of the body; new and everlasting life. I followed him into the valley of darkness and, like our Lord, I endured death. Mercifully short. A leap of faith, a step out onto the water, was all that was asked of me. And, like Jesus, you will doubt, you will feel fear. But believe me, I promise you, brothers and sisters, if you follow me, if you follow us, if you follow Him, He will raise you again in His glory to eternal life. [pause] There is a price to be paid for everlasting life, as there was for our Savior. And each of us will have the opportunity tonight to pay that price.

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Father Paul:
[as the angel arrives] Have faith, brothers and sisters. I would not make you see what you have seen. I would not ask you to choose what you may choose, without first showing you God's messenger. And remember, brothers and sisters, have faith that in the Bible, every time they mention an angel, when an angel appears to we humans, we are afraid. Brothers and sisters, you are so close to salvation. The miracle is already in you. The blood of the angel is already in your veins. But it is incomplete. The final transformation will not be yours unless you let your earthly body die, so that your divine body can awaken. One moment of faith. That's the price God asks of us. Just one moment of courage. A small step out of the boat. Just onto the water itself. A small moment of discomfort. A small passion of our own. A gift offered up, and then we are reborn.