Christmas Greetings and Simbang Gabi 2014 - Days 7, 8 and 9

Before everything else... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Hope you enjoyed your Christmas and while we're still at it, keep enjoying the holidays. Whatever you may have done and will be doing, I hope you all enjoy these days of the most wonderful time of the year. Keep the Christmas spirit alive everyone. :)

Now with this post, I will finally go on with the last days of the Misa de Gallo. With the last three days down, we finish another year's edition of the nine days of prayer and attending mass preparing for Christmas. Such a blessing to complete the nine days of Simbang Gabi...

Day 7 - Santissimo Rosario Parish, UST

Went back to the dawn mass after two days of not attending. For the seventh day, I returned (again) to UST. The gospel of the day focused on Mary's song, The Magnificat. The way the priest presided over this mass was very good. In his homily, he placed emphasis on preparing for Christ's coming and looking to Mary as good example for us. He emphasized also on Christmas as a time of remembering when Christ was born and remembering that he will come again in the future. During the mass, I met some friends from the UST Campus Ministry, where I usually hang out. After the mass, I made a quick visit to Sto. Domingo Church which is where I'd visit for the next day of the dawn masses.

Day 8 - Santo Domingo Church, Quezon Ave., QC

For this Simbang Gabi, I woke up pretty late (almost 4 AM) so I was in a hurry to get myself ready for the morning mass which was going to start at 4:30 AM. For Day 8, I went to Sto. Domingo Church. It's been a long time since I've attended a Simbang Gabi here. Last time I did was in 2009. Back then, the mass was held in English, but today the masses are officiated in Filipino. Like before, the crowds were huge, as it is for Simbang Gabi and this church has one of the biggest attendances for it that I've seen. Anyways, when I got to the church, the mass was about to begin. Good thing I wasn't late. The gospel of the day focused on the birth of St. John the Baptist. The priest in his homily preached about overcoming bitterness and what bad things it can do. During this Simbang Gabi, I know what some people mean when they say some aren't paying attention to the mass. Not to put them down, but some people were making conversations while the mass was ongoing. It's good to hang out with friends, even for church but there's a time and place for everything and mass is not a time for kwentuhan. They can always do that and hang out after the mass and besides, they can talk to each other in social media. Well, despite the irreverence of some, good thing many also paid attention to the mass. The setting overall was amazing with the altar decorated with Christmas ornaments and the choir, accompanied by the pipe organ, singing carols. All that for sure says it's Christmas. (^_^)

Day 9 - Santissimo Rosario Parish, UST

Originally, I had the thought of going to two masses for the final day. First was the anticipated mass and for that, I thought of going to SM Megamall for it since it's a great setting but heavy traffic forced me not to go through with the plan. Anyways, in spite of that, it's OK and guess its best that I only attend the dawn mass. For the final day, I was with ninang whom that morning since she wanted to go to Simbang Gabi. UST is where we were heading for the mass. I've said it already, but again, of all places for the dawn mass, UST's my fave place because it's a great setting for the mass (the best IMO) and its accessible, not to mention it's my school. For me, no Simbang Gabi would be complete without attending a mass in UST (this year alone, I had 4 out of 9 there). Only drawback though is that the mass is early, at about 4 AM and its far. For the last day, former UST rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, OP presided over and gave a great homily for the mass. In his homily, he talked about the importance of simplifying life and that we have to take away things that would complicate our lives. Noticeably enough at all the masses I went to, all the priests in their homilies made people laugh during at least one point, even a little bit. It was raining as the mass went on (and for a good part of Christmas eve). Good thing it wasn't held in the open field. After the mass, I met up with some friends again from the Campus Ministry. With this day, Simbang Gabi 2014 ends.

Christmas Eve Mass - Daniel Comboni Seminary, Roosevelt Ave., QC

As it has been in the previous years, I've attended the Christmas eve mass at the Daniel Comboni Seminary. The place is under the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus or simply the Comboni Missionaries. There's a bond that our family has with the missionaries; before, we had a priest friend among the missionaries (Fr. Rocco, an Italian) who is now assigned to another country, we support some of their projects and personally, I had a spiritual adviser by the name of Fr. Victor who is now a missionary to Central America. Now, unlike the days of the Simbang Gabi where I went to grander settings (like UST, Sto. Domingo, SM Megamall, etc...), this mass was simple. While it wasn't as grand as the previous masses I went to, it still captured the joy of Christmas. Of course, the readings focused on the Birth of Christ. In his homily, the presider told the congregation to become missionaries proclaiming the joy of Christmas to other people. After hearing homilies where the priests made people laugh, the presider this time didn't but still, its a good homily. After the mass, there was a veneration of the Child Jesus in the manger. Not wanting to be late, I went ahead of ninang and ninong who got to the mass later than I did. All in all, a great way to mark Christmas and to remember why we celebrate this season. :)

After attending the nine days of the Simbang Gabi plus the Mass of Christmas Eve, there's this sense of fulfillment. For sure, I'll be attending this again next year. I admit, I'm starting to miss the experience but it's great that I was able to go and celebrate Christmas in such a meaningful way. Hope everyone who attended the nine days will get blessed as well and keep this tradition alive, since its one of the best Christmas traditions here in the country. :)

As for Christmas day, what I did was we visited our relatives and went to Christmas parties. All in all, yesterday was an awesome day, being with my relatives that I see only at this time of the year. The food yesterday was great too by the way. :)

To end this post, again, Merry Christmas to you all! May you have blessed, happy days ahead and also, a happy new year to all of you! o(^o^)o

La Naval de Manila 2014 - The Procession

During the La Naval de Manila festivities, the highlight and finale of the event is the grand procession in the afternoon of the feast day. Here, thousands upon thousands of devotees accompany the miraculous image of Our Lady of  La Naval and many other saints as they go around the streets of Quezon City, remembering the miracles done by God through what we believe came from Mama Mary's help. Here devotees commemorate the miraculous victory of our forces against the far more powerful Dutch in the battles of 1646. It's called the "procession de las processiones" and, while it does not have the overwhelming factor as the Quiapo fiesta, or the extravagance of the Sinulog (which I've never been to, hehe) it has a more solemn and disciplined atmosphere. All roads lead to Sto. Domingo church, where it all takes place.

Ever since I've attended this event since my first one in 2007, it's become something of a tradition of mine every year to attend it and something I always look forward to, even if the feast is far off. This year's however was nerve wracking since it was raining hard in the afternoon and I left my place while it was still raining. I even had to go through a flood on the way to Sto. Domingo when I took a tricycle (since I took a jeep to Sienna and then rode a tricycle to Sto. Domingo). When I came to the church, it was still raining, but not as hard and by that time, the weather was going to clear up. That was about 4:30 and even by then, the procession hasn't began. It finally started at almost 5 when the image of San Lorenzo Ruiz came out of the church compound. As the procession went on, the rains stopped although it drizzled a bit when the image of Our Lady came out, but despite that, thankfully there were no more rains. It goes to show that there are miracles and blessings even in the midst of the storms. The image of Our Lady of La Naval was already out at around quarter to 6.

Processional

 Left: San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila   Right: Letran band accompanying San Vicente Liem de la Paz

Sta. Magdalena de Nagasaki, San Juan Macias and San Martin de Porres

 Left: Images of the saints   Right: San Vicente Ferrer

Sta. Catalina de Sena

San Pedro Martir

 Left: Sto. Domingo de Guzman  Right: St. Joseph, spouse of Mary

O Lumen ecclesiae...

Estandartes of the Mysteries of the Rosary which go before the image of Our  Lady of La Naval

Dominican friars

 Now, here's Our Lady of La Naval...

I followed the procession until it reached Banawe and from there, I headed to Quezon Ave. There, the first few carozzas were heading back to Sto. Domingo. It is at Quezon ave where one could see how big the crowd was. From there, I stayed mostly near the footbridge at Banawe and went around, while waiting for Our Lady. When Our Lady came, I followed until the image came back to Sto. Domingo Church.

Thousands attend along Quezon Ave. Taken at Banawe ave

Here comes Our Lady...

Regina Sacratissimi Rosarii, ora pro nobis...

La Gran Senora de Filipinas carrying her Son, Jesus...

Thousands of devotees fill Quezon ave for the procession

The Saints as they await for the Queen's return

Back at Sto. Domingo, the images of the saints already took their place to welcome Our Lady. Thousands of people also gathered at the church to welcome her. To prepare for the image's return, radio anchor Jun Banaag (aka: Dr. Love), one of the emcees led the people in shouting "Mabuhay, birhen ng La Naval!". When the image came, roars and cheers came from the massive crowd, cameras clicked and people waved towels. I headed inside the church through one of the side entrances. The huge church was beyond standing room only. The atmosphere was incredible. Where I was wasn't a great spot since I could only see a bit of the baldachino but at least, I can see the activities at the sanctuary and had the effort to take pics when Our Lady was enthroned. The Sto. Domingo Grand choir led the people in the singing with their angelic voices. Leading the crowd in the act of consecration was Boots Anson-Roa. After words of thanks from the shrine's rector and Dr. Love, the event closed with the singing of Our Lady's hymn, the Despedida a la Virgen (you can listen to it in Youtube here).

Our Lady of La Naval triumphantly enters the shrine...

Our Lady arrives amidst cheers

Mabuhay ang Birhen ng La Naval!

Our Lady being returned to the baldachino as the choir sings "O Beata Mater"

Our Lady enthroned once again. Viva la Virgen!

Bro. Jun Banaag emceeing the event

Boots Anson-Roa leads the act of consecration

After the Despedida and the celebrations.

Check out more of my photos here

And with that, La Naval de Manila 2014 is officially over. So many things have happened and thank you Lord and Mama Mary for all the blessings. Hopefully, at next year's feast, I'll be there again and again in the years to come. 'Till then...
Viva la Virgen! Salamat Maria! Praise to the Lord!

Madre amorosa, prenda de amor, Adios! Adios!

(last lines of the Despedida a la Virgen)