ALIGHT AND SHINING FOR ALL

Friday in the 3rd Week of Advent
Jn 5:33-36

Today is the start of the Filipino tradition called by three different names: Misa de Gallo, Aguinaldo Mass, and Simbang Gabi. For nine consecutive days, churches in the Philippines, more than on any time of the year, are filled to the brim. This is a religious tradition very uniquely Filipino. It cannot be found elsewhere in the whole world except where Filipino communities thrive.

Misa de Gallo are Spanish words meaning, “Mass of the Rooster”. Yes, the name sounds funny but it does not refer to the sleepy heads that seem to peck while the homily is being preached during the Mass. In the early days of Christianity in the Philippines, the faithful would go to Mass during nine consecutive days in preparation for Christmas. More than church bells, cocks crowing between three and four in the morning would wake up the faithful who were mostly farmers. The Mass was celebrated at dawn so that the farmers could be in the field before the sun rose and finish the day’s work before the heat of the sun became scorching.

Aguinaldo Mass is a combination of two words: aguinaldo is Spanish while “Mass” is, of course, English. Taken together, Aguinaldo Mass is transliterated as “Gift Mass”. On the one hand, the faithful go to Mass to receive the greatest gift from God: His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the nine consecutive Masses are the faithful’s gift to the Blessed Mother and the Sto. Nino (Holy Child). Both the Blessed Mother, under her title “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe”, and the Child Jesus, popularly and fondly called “Sto. Nino”, are linked to the beginnings of Christianity in the Philippines.

A prevalent belief among the faithful up until today is that completing the Aguinaldo Masses is an assurance that their prayer requests will be granted. More often than not, it is from this belief that many of the faithful go to Aguinaldo Masses.

Simbang Gabi is a more recent terminology among the three. As anticipated Masses (or “Vigil Masses” as they are called in some countries, such as in the United States of America) became more popular, the dawn Masses started to be celebrated in the evening, beginning on December 15 and ending on December 23. Perhaps, this development was brought about by the demands of modern times when people living in the city have to beat the traffic in going not to farms but to offices. Simbang Gabi is usually at eight or nine in the evening, but in some churches, it can be earlier.

These three names – Misa de Gallo, Aguinaldo Mass, Simbang Gabi – give three emphases on the meaning of the novena Masses in preparation for Christmas.

Gallo should echo that Advent is a wake up call for us. The Lord Himself, not only Christmas, must find us vigilant when He comes at any hour and on any day. We have to be ready to rise and welcome Him as the five wise virgins in the parable are prepared, with lamps burning, to meet the bridegroom and go to the wedding feast with him.

Aguinaldo should first lead us to a deep consideration of the great gift God has given us in the birth of His Only Son. Deep consideration must move us to greater appreciation for the gift of the God-Man, an appreciation that has to be translated into deeds of love for Him who identifies Himself with the “least of His brethren”. Then we bring these deeds to the manger and lay them at the feet of the Holy Child. They are the best aguinaldos, the best gifts we can give Him and the Blessed Mother, more precious than gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Gabi should remind us what life could have been were not “a Child given us, a Son not born to us” who is Christ the Lord. Were Jesus not born, we would still be living in darkness, under the curse of sin. But despite the fact that He was already born and He already accomplished the work of redemption, many are still living in darkness. As we make Jesus present again in the Eucharist we celebrate during Simbang Gabi, it is our calling to bring Jesus to “the people who walk in darkness and to those who dwell in endless gloom”.

I barely have unpacked my luggage from a pilgrimage to Naju, South Korea last October when I received an invitation from a former parishioner who married an Englishman recently. She was inviting me to the United Kingdom to give an Advent retreat and say the first Simbang Gabi Masses ever in their parish. Were I not already had two trips abroad this year, I would have obliged. There are also gallos, aguinaldos, and gabi in England. The tradition may be uniquely Filipino, but the message is certainly not exclusive, just as John the Baptist, Jesus says today, "was a lamp alight and shining" for all.