Philippines, 'Rooster Mass' with the poor preparing for Christmas

In parishes across the country but also in the diaspora of migrants in every corner of the world, the tradition of Simbang Gabi, the dawn celebrations on the days of the Christmas novena, is renewed. Bishops' Conference president Msgr. David: "They help us to truly welcome Christ into our lives."

Manila (AsiaNews) - Since yesterday morning, this year too, millions of Filipino Catholics have been flocking to churches to participate in the Simbang Gabi - the Masses that are celebrated every day at dawn in the Christmas novena and which last until the morning of December 24th.

All parishes in the Philippines participate in one of the oldest and most important Catholic practices in the country. But also the approximately 10 million Filipinos who work far from their country, wherever they are, come together where possible to celebrate the novena Masses.

Celebrating the first day of Simbang Gabi - in the complex of the San Roque Cathedral, in Kaloocan City, near Manila - Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Episcopal Conference of the Philippines, expressed the hope that "these dawn Masses will help Catholics to prepare spiritually to welcome Christ into their lives".

Bishop David, who is bishop of Kalookan, also urged Catholics to bring joy to the poor, the needy and the marginalized through the charity that comes from Christmas and the delivery of gifts in different communities.

The devotion of the "dawn masses" has existed since 1600 in the Philippines: it was the Mexican missionaries who arrived following the Spanish conquerors who introduced them. The missionaries celebrated Mass at 4 a.m., when the rooster crowed to mark the beginning of a new day. In this way, farmers could go to Mass before going to work in the rice fields.

Over the years, the daily tradition, centered on the nine days leading up to Christmas, has transformed into a way to welcome the "new day" that the birth of Christ brought. The prayer focuses on the Virgin Mary, because it is she who gave birth to the Savior. According to custom, after Mass the faithful - after praying together - eat traditional rice-based foods.

Mary Rose Castro, a Catholic mother with four children, tells AsiaNews: "We have been attending dawn masses since we were children. It is a memorable practice of celebrating Christmas in the Philippines."

According to p. Daniel Franklin Pilario, Vincentian theologian of St. Vincent School of Theology and president of Adamson University in Manila, "Novena Masses have played a great role in keeping our faith alive in the Philippines."

Today, in the aftermath of the pandemic and at the beginning of this Simbang Gabi - he comments - Catholics must look at Christmas from the point of view of the poor, street children and people who are on the margins of society: "Their difficult lives they are a window into the true meaning of the incarnation."

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