More faithful attend ‘Simbang Gabi’ 2022
THE easing up of restrictions against Covid-19 brought more faithful attending this year’s “Simbang Gabi,” or Dawn Mass in English and “Misa de Gallo” in Spanish, in the Philippines compared to the past two years.
It should be noted that 2020 and 2021 saw the height of the Covid-19 pandemic that limited the people’s movement, including in churches, as mandated by strict health protocols.
Current Simbang Gabi devotees, however, still have to observe the basic health rules like wearing masks and physical distancing, the Quiapo Church announced recently.
Most celebrated Christmas tradition in PHL
ONE of the most celebrated Christmas traditions in the Philippines, the Simbang Gabi is a novena that starts on December 16 in preparation for Christmas Day.
It is traditionally held early in the morning, from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. But for some years now, churches also hold anticipated Masses in the evening to accommodate the needs of the faithful on different work schedules.
The anticipated Masses are held as early as 6 p.m. from December 15 until 23.
Many faithful are devotees of the novena. They believe that if one completes all nine days of the Simbang Gabi, God may grant one’s fervent request.
Faithful urged to attend Simbang Gabi in churches
MEANWHILE, the Archdiocese of Pampanga urged the faithful to attend the Simbang Gabi.
In a circular, San Fernando Archbishop Florentino Lavarias called on parishioners to physically attend the annual pre-christmas event.
He noted that such Eucharistic celebrations are best celebrated inside churches.
“Simbang Bengi [Gabi] Masses are best celebrated in parish churches, shrines, chapels, and not in malls, hotels, offices, resorts, radio and TV stations, and private homes,” the archbishop said.
“Let us strongly encourage our parishioners to a real and actual celebration of the Simbang Bengi Masses and all other Masses subsequently in our chapels and churches, and no longer through virtual and on-line watching,” he added.
Lavarias noted that although the broadcast and live-streaming of Masses provide “valued service to the sick and those who are unable to go to church,” personal participation in Masses is still a different experience.
He added that virtual Masses also “risk distancing us from a personal and intimate encounter with the incarnate God.”
“The sacramental personal encounter is absent in online Masses,” said the head of the Pampanga archdiocese.
“Silent watching cannot be a substitute to personal, full, active and conscious participation in the Liturgy. Moreover, spiritual communion can never be a substitute to real communion,” he added.
Last March 2020, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines issued a circular dispensing the faithful from the Sunday and the Holy Days of Obligation, while pushing for the provision of the celebration of the Eucharist through virtual means, due to the pandemic.
But in October 2022, the Conference urged the faithful to return to the “normality of Christian life,” wherein the church building is the home of the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist.
Simbang Gabi originated in the early days of Spanish rule over the Philippines as a practical compromise for farmers, who began work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields. Priests held Mass in the early mornings instead of the evening novenas more common in the Hispanic world.