On the "Misa de Gallo/ Simbang Gabi" 1

Misa de Gallo
by E.C. Dioko (December 18, 2004)

We attended the Misa de Gallo last Thursday at the Santo Tomas de Villanueva parish in Pardo, this city. As expected, the churchgoers overflowed into the open spaces around the church where in semi-darkness they solemnly took part in the eucharistic celebration. Some people brought their own seats so they went through the rites with little discomfort. But most of them had to stand throughout the one hour affair, an ordeal they seemed to gladly accept, anyway, perhaps conscious of its penitential value. Stacked closely together, it was natural to feel distressingly warm and indeed, without the usual "cold nose" of December some worshippers had to use their fans.

Hearing the mass outside the church, which was where we wanted to be to avoid the stuffy air inside, we really missed the cold touch of December. Misa de Gallo and the cold wings of dawn used to lend a Christmassy atmosphere to this early morning regimen. In the past one had the extra challenge of leaving the warmth of his bed and braving the cold kiss of the awakening day outside. But no more. Blame it on El Niño or whatever. Things are really not what they used to be.Nevertheless, the whole affair was still as solemn and as meaningful as before, and at the end of the celebration you came out with an inexplicable lilt in the heart, which reminded you of what a poet once said: "All's well…God's in his heaven, all is right with the world".

Why is it that on the first day of the Misa, almost the entire barangay go to church? We once asked this from our old folks aeons ago, and the answer was: In order to live a longer life. Whether this is true or not it's difficult to say. But who dares to doubt the wisdom of the old? Even if a person has traveled a long way in the thoroughfare of science and technology, the call of tradition remains - influencing consciously or unconsciously his reaction to events and circumstances.

In fact, the Misa de Gallo is itself the handiwork of tradition, a distinctly Filipino one. "Gallo" is a Spanish word for cock, so literally translated this is a "mass of the cock", meaning a mass celebrated at the time the cocks are crowing. It is said that during the Spanish era church authorities held masses very early in the morning to enable field workers to attend them. Later, when it was felt necessary to hold a nine-day novena in honor of Jesus' birth, the mass became part of the devotion. And since gift-giving is practiced during Christmas the Misa de Gallo later was called Misa de Aguinaldo. Attending it entails some sacrifices, and these are what the faithfuls offer to the Child Jesus as their gift to him.The beauty of the Misa is therefore the beauty of the act of sacrifice we offer to the Infant Child.

Since every eucharistic celebration is a reliving of Jesus' sacrifice in Calvary, there is therefore a convergence of suffering from both the Savior and the saved. Of course, whatever inconvenience we suffer as we attend the Misa is a mere speck of dust compared to the Lord's passion in the cross. But he invites us nevertheless to the great adventure of selflessness. His assurance: My yoke is easy and my burden is light.Suffering, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant, becomes a great gift if accepted in the name of the Lord. The snippets of heartaches we feel from day to day, as well as other sense experiences, in fact, if savored with full surrender to of the divine will, can make a thousand angels smile.

This is therefore the lesson we get by attending the Misa de Gallo: Christmas is not all picnic. Sure, we rejoice that a Savior became incarnate, lived with men, and in the Blessed Sacrament stays with them to show the way. But unless we drink the cup with him, Christmas joys are mere illusions.

http://www.thefreeman.com/opinion/story-20041218-25876.html