Simbang Gabi is something I always look forward to. Since it is only once a year, it's best to take the opportunity to complete the nine days, or at least attend even once. Many people try to complete the nine day novena in the hopes of having their wishes granted. Simbang Gabi can also be an adventure as well. Sometimes, it's nice to go to different places to attend it but it should be noted though that the early morning hour (and even nightime) can be unsafe, so if you go anywhere, even to your own parish for the mass, it pays to be careful. But even with the idea of wishes and the adventure, Simbang Gabi in the end is not about those but is a way of preparing for Christmas and focusing on why we have this season. So far, the Mass for the 4th day is done and in my case, I've attended all of it thus far.
Day 3 - Immaculate Conception Parish, Marikina City
Attending Simbang Gabi in a place you haven't experienced it before is, IMO, a nice experience and that's what I had for the 3rd day. Now, I had the thought of going to Simbang Gabi in Marikina for a while and decided I should do it at a right time. I mean, going to Marikina and spending an overnight stay at my dad's place just to attend it doesn't seem like a good reason. Finally, I went on with going to Marikina last Wednesday, since there's some activities and my ninang and cousins left for vacation in the USA on the next day. Overall, my stay there was great since I spent time with dad and my relatives. Some things I did there were a bike ride with dad and a group that he's part of on Wednesday night and being with my cousins before they leave for vacation yesterday.
Now, for the Misa de Gallo, I went to Concepcion Church. While that was my plan at first, I had a thought of going to Our Lady of the Abandoned at the Bayan but in the end, I stuck with my original plan. This parish had two dawn masses and I got there at the last part of the first mass, so I attended the second one at 4:30 AM. The church was packed at both masses. Imagine, if there was only one mass instead of two, you'd be seeing an SRO church with people all over the place, and both masses already had a lot of people attending (the 2nd mass had a bigger crowd I think). The Gospel focused on St. Joseph, who would become the foster father of Jesus and would be with Mary, who was already bearing Jesus. It was a nice celebration and a good experience to attend Simbang Gabi in a new place for it. On a personal note, it's been a while since I've attended mass here and this was my parish when I was living in Marikina, though I went to a chapel near our place for mass. Now, my former place is under a new parish.
Day 4 - Santissimo Rosario Parish, UST
For the 4th day, it was either one of two places; UST or Sto. Domingo Church along Quezon ave. Between the two it wasn't easy to choose, not to mention that both places are under the Dominican Order. There are differences of course. UST's starts at 4 AM while Sto. Domingo's starts at 4:30. In the end, I went on with UST (but I'm thinking of going to Sto. Domingo in the future). I decided UST since I thought it'll be at the field this time but it was still held at the Chapel. Like day 2, one of our helpers here accompanied me and we arrived at about 4 AM, when the mass was about to start. Since we arrived late, I made a run for it to the church and the entrance hymn took place when I got there. I wasn't feeling good at first because I got irritated with the jeep that took us to UST. It's not easy to concentrate on the mass when you're feeling bad but things got better as the mass went on. The readings of the day focused on events that led to the birth of two Biblical figures. The first reading focused on the birth of Samson while the Gospel focused on that of John the Baptist, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah telling him that his wife Elizabeth will have a son. Like last time, people attended from even outside the church. After the mass, I went to Sto. Domingo while ate went home immediately. I went to Sto. Domingo just to check out their Misa de Gallo and the mass just ended there when I came. The crowd there was so big, I decided not to go inside the church anymore due to the number of churchgoers leaving. Also, after the mass at UST, some people were taking selfies. Guess they don't wanna miss the chance of doing so... (then again, why not? :) Though di naman ako mahilig magselfie, hehe. :P)
Now, with that, were almost halfway through the Misa de Gallo. Are some of you readers attending Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo?
With that, I'm done with this post. Thanks for reading! :D
With that, I'm done with this post. Thanks for reading! :D
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