As the nine day age-old Filipino Christmas tradition of “Simbang Gabi” begins Sunday, a Catholic Church leader said the observance mirrors “the Filipinos’ strong faith in God.”
“More than being an inherited custom and a cherished tradition, the Simbang Gabi is both an act of sacrifice and sharing which we do for the love of God and our neighbor,” said Balanga (Bataan) Bishop Ruperto C. Santos.
“It is an act of sacrifice as mass goers forgo extra sleep and rest. We offer nine holy masses at the break of dawn. We pray more and fervently often in the company of our family and friends. Simbang Gabi leads us to spend extra time for God with our family and sacrifice personal comforts for God. Attending the masses is a clear manifestation of the Filipinos’ strong faith in God,” Santos said.
The prelate, who chairs the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, shared that overseas Filipino workers view Simbang Gabi as “a time for sharing.”
“Our OFWs observe the Simbang Gabi as a time for sharing. During the offertory in every mass, they offer gifts such as food and clothes for the needy in our parishes. In Kuwait, for example, our OFWs offer designated items to help distressed Filipino workers. Like last year, the offertory during the Simbang Gabi in Manama and Awali, Bahrain as well as from our churches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain, and Tas Al Khaiman in UAE and in Doha, Qatar were generously offered to those who suffered from the previous natural calamities in the country,” Santos said.
“Simbang Gabi reminds and makes us our brothers’ keepers and good Samaritans. It connects our OFWs with us. In foreign countries, especially as we have in Paris and Nice in France; Vienna in Austria; Bonn, Frankfurt, and Cologne in Germany; and across Italy; the Simbang Gabi mirrors our strong Catholic faith, our deep religious devotion and profound love of the Holy Eucharist,” Santos stressed.
As in the past years, thousands of devout Catholics are expected to attend the first of the nine-day Simbang Gabi dawn masses, which will be held in all Catholic churches across the country and in many parts of the world today.
Considered as one of the oldest but well-observed Christmas traditions in the Philippines, church bells will peal before the break of dawn for the duration of the Simbang Gabi which are held at 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. with the final mass, the “Misa de Gallo” (rooster’s mass) on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, traditionally held shortly before midnight.
To accommodate the needs of the faithful with different work schedules, anticipated Simbang Gabi masses were held starting last night at around 7 p.m. in many parishes as well as in chapels in shopping centers. (Christina I. Hermoso)