Misa de Gago

The Advent is about to end this coming Sunday, which means that the preparation for Christmas will end in a matter of days. Yet, I don’t really feel the atmosphere and the attitude peculiar to the Christmas season.

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Speaking of Christmas season, one of the most notable tradition that we have is the Misa de Gallo. Literally translated as “Rooster’s Mass“, the practice is traced during the Spanish colonial period. The mass was actually intended for Filipino farmers who want to attend the mass but could not leave their fields. Misa de Gallo, in addition, lasts for nine days (December 16 – 24) and is usually another way of preparing for Christmas. There’s this belief that if a person were able to complete it, s/he is guaranteed and privileged to wish.

Waking up early might be a big deal for some, and the so-called Anticipated Mass is crafted. This is, in my opinion, the Simbang Gabi in a literal sense. It starts on December 15 and ends on December 23.

I was in Grade 6 when I was able to complete the Simbang Gabi (the Anticipated Mass). Because of my great desire to pass the Manila Science High School entrance exam, I exhausted every means to gain Divine Intervention! Haha. Every first Thursday of the month has become a novena day to St. Jude Thaddeus in Mendiola, the Patron of the Hopeless Cases. Well, I’m not a hopeless case, for that matter. Lol. In addition to that is the completion of Simbang Gabi. Fortunately, I passed because of my innate intelligence (LOL!) plus the Divine Intervention.

After that completion in 2001, an attempt to have a back-to-back year almost succeeded. Had our family wasn’t scheduled to spend our Christmas in Pangasinan, I could have not missed the last day of mass that year. Attempts to complete the nine-day-tradition became unsuccessful during the past few years.

This year, I’m on my sixth day. That includes the third day which I almost missed! Contrary to 2001, I’m attending the madaling-araw mass. (How conyo! Haha.) Imagine the hardship I am experiencing everyday. WAKING UP EARLY ISN’T MY THING! Yet I’m making my way towards the completion of the Rooster’s Mass.

However, I just want to note some observations regarding the tradition.

Wishlist

Due to excessive boredom being experienced by my still-lazy mind, I browsed my Blogspot page and tried to compare my [Blogspot] posts to my posts on WordPress. My posts here seem to discuss more serious stuff, which I think was just partly done on my Blogspot posts. Politics, in addition, has become more salient here.

Conclusion: I’m getting older, eh?

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Whew, Christmas is fast-approaching. Colder weather, just like my Christmas. (BITTER?!) Haha. Anyway, enough of that. I just want to make this post a light one.

Are you now experiencing the Christmas shopping rush? Is the thought of giving me something giving you the discomforts? Well, I want to make your life easier by indicating my wishlist here. Haha.

A Call Unaccomplished

Makati was again rattled.

After the Glorietta incident, here comes the Manila Peninsula coup d’etat spearheaded by recently elected Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, General Danilo Lim and other Magdalo officials, which failed.

They were asking for the resignation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Trillanes even tried to get support from the citizenry by encouraging them to proceed to Makati and join them. In addition, he also pointed out that what they did was an obligation, and that they had no choice. Some known individuals like Father Robert Reyes, Bishops Antonio Tobias and Julio Labayen, former UP president Francisco Nemenzo and former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona arrived to hold a press conference at the mezzanine and to blatantly support the call for ouster.

It was indeed a shocker. Thanks to my Economics 101 professor and my colleagues, I was able to hear the news.