The mass at dawn.

Perhaps it is only in the Philippines where a mass at dawn is held for nine days leading to Christmas Day.

It is called "simbang gabi," or "misa de gallo," and commences on the 16th of December and ends on Christmas Eve.

When I was growing up, the misa de gallo in our parish was held at 4 a.m.  So my aunt would awaken me and my elder sister Jo and sometimes my kid cousin Ding at 3.  But we were always late and had to settle kneeling by the aisle for the duration of the mass that lasted more than one hour.

Oftentimes, I would be seen napping by my aunt.

Those days the December breeze was cooler; killer typhoons and destructive floods were relatively unknown then.

Usually we donned our knit sweaters for the long walk to church.

Since the dawn mass starts on the 16th of December, students who would still attend classes during the day find it difficult to finish the nine day misa de gallo.

When we were kids and studying in a public elementary school, we jockeyed for position at a neighbourhood food stall, "carinderia," for our morning supply of Christmas food like "bibingka," or rice cake, and  those violet colored tubular delicacy called "puto bumbong."  If we didn't push our light weight around, we'd be late for the 7 a.m. classes.

Aling Agre had the best bibingka and puto bumbong in the Mabini-Castaneda neighbourhood where I grew up.

In Mandaluyong, people filled up the two Christian churches to the brim.  The Catholic church, San Felipe Neri started its mass at 5 am, and the Aglipayan Church started an hour earlier.

There was one time when my sister, a cousin and I woke up so early and found the church still closed. We found the Protestant church open and waited there until our church opened up.

The start of misa de gallo also signalled the lighting of the Christmas tree in our household; it was a family tradition that has been continued by my sister  Jo.  In our own household now, Christmas starts in October with accompanying tree and lights and Nativity Scene or "belen."

Filipinos who are newly migrated to countries such as Canada and the U.S. and other places always find it hard to adjust to the Christmas tradition in these countries.  Although Christmas is celebrated lavishly in these parts of the world, the Pinoy still hankers for the Christmas back home.

And this includes the simbang gabi, bibingka and puto bumbong, the "parol" or Christmas lantern, and the "karoling," or neighbourhood kids singing carols from house to house for pennies.

If you're away from home this Christmas and want to feel the Paskong Pinoy, why not try preparing your own puto bumbong. Here's a recipe. 

INGREDIENTS FOR PUTO BUMBONG

    *  1 cup glutinous rice
    *  2 tsp purple food color (ube)
    *  2 cups water
    *  Panutsa (sugar cane sweet) or muscovado (raw brown sugar)

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
* Soak glutinous rice in water overnight.
* Grind the soaked rice. (see bibingka how)
* Mix food color while the glutinous rice is being ground.
* Wrap the ground glutinous rice on a piece of muslin cloth and place it in a strainer to drain excess  liquid. Another technique in draining excess liquid is by pressing a heavy object that has been placed over the muslincloth.
* Once the ground rice has slightly dried, rub it against the screen of a strainer to produce coarse grained rice flour.
* The rice flour for making puto bumbong is now ready to cook. Fill each bamboo tube (bumbong) with just enough glutinous rice and put them into the steamer. See to it that the steamer contains boiling water.
* Steam rice flour in the bamboo tubes for 10 minutes.
* Once cooked, shake out the contents of each bamboo tube or remove the cooked glutinous rice from the bumbong with the help of a knife.
* Spread butter on the puto bumbong and place a small piece of panutsa (sugar cane sweets) or 1 tbsp. of mascuvado (raw Sugar)
* Add a small amount of grated coconut before serving.

Talk about one's faith.

I had been taught that you don't discuss politics and religion over dinner at friends or at social gatherings.

Even in family gatherings, these two subject matters could sometimes lead to explosive debates and arguments, especially if there's alcohol ingestion.

Today's churches and theologians lament about the disappearing faithfuls.  As Fr. Catalino Arevalo, SJ, mentioned at the San Andres Apostol Parish Advent Recollection last Dec. 5, 2012, only about 6 percent of Filipino Catholics go the mass on Sundays these days.

Then where do the 94 percent of the Catholics go or do?

Pope Benedict proclaimed Oct. 11, 2012 to Nov. 24, 2013 as Year of the Faith and The Year of Faith is connected to Synod by subject matter which is, of course, faith. The official title of the Synod is: "the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith".

At the opening of the recently concluded Synod held last Oct. 2012


The Year of Faith, in the mind of the Holy Father, is an occasion for a renewal of the Church through the deepening of the faith of her members.  The Pope says in 'Porta Fidei', the document which establishes the Year of Faith, that this year is: "a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world."

Fr. Arevalo continued to say in his talk that that it is the duty of Catholics to talk about one's faith in order to bring new faithfuls to the Church, to help the poor, to bring back those who left the Church, and to bring the young into the Church.

We must talk about our Catholic faith. We must live our Catholic faith in order to be shining examples to others and become shepherds too, like Christ,  in seeking those who got lost and in finding new flocks.

We were at a Christmas party of a family and marriage- oriented community last Sunday and in the dance presentations, the youth was well represented.  But we were a bit disheartened to see the kids brought out dances like 'gangnam' and other street dances such as hip hop and break dance without any reference to Christmas.

The mis-step is likened to the growing secularization in churches today.

To talk about one's Christian faith is a crime in some countries.  For us who live in free nations, it is doubly expected that we talk about our faith.

Pope Benedict, in his homily at the Synod said,  "Our role in the new evangelization is to cooperate with God."  "We can only let people know what God has done."

Knocked out. For Good.

The Knights of Columbus Council 15419  and the Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, staged an Anti-RH Bill mini motorcade last Dec. 8th.

The Season of Christmas brings on Christmas parties, Christmas shopping and hectic activities at homes, offices and especially in Christian churches.

Being new in our parish, we've had countless preparations and actual events we found exhilaratingly tiring, like getting a TKO. The veteran volunteers are shining examples for us to look up to.

Most people still in the workforce feel that Christmas is ironically short ; that's because offices and organizations usually have their themed parties (inter-deparmental, general and unit-wise), and there's the countless exchange gifts, and then individual workers host their own parties at home.

Those who are retired or stay at home couldn't be any less busier, because retirement brings on more volunteer work, and being stay at home mom or dad means doing the day-to-day shopping plus the extra added Christmas shopping for the other spouse and the kids; gifts for spouses' co-workers and gifts for the children's friends and teachers.

Even those who say they are poor in countless surveys could not escape the lure of the Christmas spirit; they still prepare, although simply.

After all, the Yuletide Season is all about the Redeemer's birth, and a newborn is always an occasion for all to rejoice.

A dawn procession was held at the San Andres Apostol Parish last Dec. 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Photo from the San Andres Apostol Parish website.

This weekend we went to two church-adjunct Christmas parties, one anti-RH motorcade, one dawn procession in honour of the Immaculate Conception, and one live Rosary recitation and a dance practise.

Live Rosary held at San Andres Apostol Parish courtyard on Dec. 8th. Photo from gallery of San Andres Apostol Parish website.

We also sang at a choir for a Sunday mass, participated in a Christmas dance presentation, and ingested more calories than we had to.

On Dec. 16th, the dawn "misa de gallo" mass will start.  In our parish, it commences at 5 am.

But our parish priest has a more daunting schedule. This Advent Season on a Sunday, he'd have to celebrate at least six masses.

A dance presentation at the recent IHMMEC Christmas Party held at the BNS court in Fort Bonifacio

To sing like an angel.

They sing like angels.

Sometimes when we hear exceptional choirs, we utter these words, referring perhaps to the lilting effect of a song in one's heart that only a holy creature can do.  Angels, after all, are supposed to be the guardians leading us to happiness.

The Westminster Cathedral Choir

Church choirs have a very important function in church services and ceremonies. They inspire the congregation into singing and make the communion with God more intimate and holier.

In a visit to the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama a few years ago, we had the privilege of hearing the cloistered nuns, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, sing. And what beautiful voices they had! You don't see them but only hear them.

In our city of Toronto,  the St. Michael's Cathedral runs the St. Michael's Choir School, a school with over 75 years' history. The choir sings regularly on Saturday and Sunday masses, and on weekday masses, it is common to see a choir member leading the church singing. Tourists to the City make it a point to attend mass to hear the boys sing.

At the Blessed John XXIII church I regularly attend in Don Mills, there are at least two Filipino choirs. One sings regularly at the 9 am Sunday masses.

When the Filipino Chaplaincy was still at the John XXIII, the 5 pm Tagalog mass had the San Lorenzo Ruiz choir singing. And on Christmas Eve when the weather was at a minus degree, it was heart warming to hear Tagalog songs being sung at the midnight Filipino mass. I remember the former parish priest of John XXIII Fr. Rudy Imperial saying "Pascua," and it was like being transported back to Manila. It was not unusual to see Pinoys crying during these masses as they reminisce, perhaps, on Christmases at their native provinces with their loved ones.

In the Philippines where the karaoke was invented by a Filipino and where there are more than 600,000 Catholic churches and some 20 million chapels, you'd definitely expect to have an astounding number of church choirs. And it does.

At the Megamall chapel for instance, there's the regular Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord choir, the ADB choir performing at the 12:15 Wednesday masses and the Assumptionist Choir which sings regularly at the 6 pm Wednesday masses. among other choirs. 

At San Andres Apostol Parish in Cainta where we worship, there are a number of choirs which lately have been banded together into a Grand Choir in preparations heading towards the church's dedication. Individually, there's the IHMMEC choir, the Kids' Choir, an all-male choir, the El Shaddai, Dictum Veritas, and the San Andres Apostol choir.

Westminster Cathedral Choir is acclaimed as one of the world’s great choirs. Since its foundation in 1903 it has occupied a unique and enviable position at the forefront of English church music, and is featured frequently on radio and television.  When its busy liturgical schedule permits it, it takes its music further afield.  In addition to regular concerts around the UK, recent tours have included Hungary, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Italy and the USA.

The Bible says that a band of mighty angels announced to the lowly shepherds that the Messiah was born in a cave in Betlehem. The shepherds could have been roused from their sleep by the angelic voices whispering in their ears amidst the cold winter in the wilderness.