Embarrassingly I have to admit, that in my almost 30 years of existence as a Catholic, this was the first Misa De Gallo that I have ever attended and completed.

As a young lad growing up in Manila I went one or two times to the dawn mass, but at that time I was just a sheep following the herd (known as my family) so I didn’t understand what we were doing and I didn’t complete the mandatory 9 days.

This year all things fell into place. I had all the time in the world to attend and my sleeping habits were attuned to the night-shift. Technically it wasn’t really a sacrifice in my part because I was very much wide awake during all 9 masses. The good thing about that was that I was able to absorb the message of the priest’s homily.

I have to confess that I’m that guy that doesn’t listen to the Church announcements during the end of the mass. So wedding banns and schedules for masses go through one ear and out the other. Because of this I didn’t know what time the first mass would be. So I fired up the old Google and found out that the mass usually starts at 4AM.

So on the 16th of December I arrived at church at 4AM. To my surprise, the entire place was packed. I didn’t even get a chance to put my foot in the Church. The second day it was the same. Little by little I noticed that I was able to step closer to the Church as the crowds started thinning out (of course logic would dictate that I should just come earlier.)

On the 6th day I was finally in the Church but still left standing in the back. The throng of teenagers who turned the mass into a social event were also thinning out as the noisy chattering during the priest’s homily wasn’t as audible. Sad to say that the rain also hampered some of the faithful from coming.

I also bought some bibingka for my wife, I got surprised that it cost 20 bucks for two pieces. Times are really tough.

On the last day the power died out so we attended mass under candle light. It didn’t help too that the battery powered speakers died out in the middle of the mass. But despite the setbacks of the last day and the rain, it was a great experience. Something that I can hopefully make into a yearly tradition for my family.

As to what I wished for from the Lord afterwards. Well, can you keep a secret?

Well so can I. *snicker*

Merry Christmas Friends!!!

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 Tags: Misa De Gallo, Simbang Gabi, Midnight Mass