In September this year, during one of our CHSAF board meetings, we were tossing ideas on how to get the alumnae together.
A board member suggested Simbang Gabi—livestreamed. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it would be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to gather family members for Simbang Gabi and connect with classmates and friends in other parts of the world, without being physically together.
Clearly, it was divine inspiration.
The first order of business was to find a priest or priests who would be available to celebrate Mass throughout the nine days of Simbang Gabi.
Luckily, Fr. Larry Tan, SDB graciously accepted the invitation of board member Cora Guidote to be our Mass presider in ALL nine days of Simbang Gabi.
Filipino tradition
Simbang Gabi (anticipated evening Masses) or Misa de Gallo (dawn Masses) is a nine-day novena of Masses leading up to Christmas. This tradition was introduced by the Spanish friars to allow farmers to hear Mass early in the morning before they work in the fields. In the past, church bells rang as early as 3 a.m., waking up people so they could get ready for the 4 a.m. dawn Mass.
Today, the tradition of Simbang Gabi continues whether you live in the city or in the province. It has also undergone a few changes. Urban parishes schedule anticipated evening Masses at 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. to accommodate the needs of the community whose members have different work hours. With the coronavirus pandemic, the faithful have been discouraged from gathering in large numbers in churches. Thus, Sunday Mass and Simbang Gabi are live-streamed via Zoom or Facebook.
Simbang Gabi is not just a tradition, it is a spiritual preparation for Christmas and celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Many people believe that the completion of nine-day dawn Masses would grant the faithful a fervent wish or prayer. At the very least, it would bring blessings from the Lord.
Organized by CHS Alumnae
I accepted the responsibility to plan and organize the CHSAF Simbang Gabi because I was confident that my over 20 years of experience as Lector/Commentator in my parish had prepared me for the task. The scripture of John 15:16 also came to mind: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit…”
On November 15, 2020, I posted invites to sponsor Masses on Viber. “Two batches would be ideal.” I texted class representatives, hoping to fill 18 slots in a few weeks.
To my surprise, the day after I posted, all 18 slots had been filled. Other batches, in High School and College, were requesting extra slots. They all wanted to be part of CHSAF Simbang Gabi.
I called committee members for a meeting and we decided to increase the sponsorship from two to three batches per night, for a total of 27 slots. Soon, all 27 slots were filled. This was exactly what the CHSAF board had hoped for—to get more alumnae involved in the activity. Actually, even the board co-sponsored a Mass.
To facilitate communication and organization, we set up nine Viber groups—three teams per group. Initial members were class reps and Simbang Gabi committee members. Later, we added former classmates and other alumnae who had offered to help.
For each Mass, each group had to pick their Lectors and Commentators who have had experience as proclaimers of the Word in their parishes. They likewise discussed what they wanted to sing for the Entrance, Communion and Closing Songs. Through the constant exchange of questions and answers from team members, I had this wonderful experience of seeing how our alumnae, who came from diverse backgrounds, bonded and worked together to make sure their group’s Mass would go on smoothly.
As days progressed, things started falling into place. I wanted everything to be perfect, but I could only humbly pray, “Lord, I am doing this not for myself, but for You, Lord, as we prepare for Your birth.”
Managing the details
There were so many songs we wanted to use because they were inspiring and full of meaning.
But choosing the right songs was not easy as they had to be appropriate for the Advent season.
Throughout the preparation, Fr. Larry Tan was there to advise us and answer our questions.
Since Fr. Larry is a Salesian priest, we decided to use the Euchalette (Liturgical Leaflet), a missalette published by the Salesian’s Word & Life Publications. We were supposed to download the missalettes from their website a week before the start of Simbang Gabi, but there were delays. After following up a few times, we were informed that the Euchalette would be ready on Dec. 14, giving us just one day to prepare the PowerPoint slides.
I informed the nine groups about the delay; I was also starting to panic.
Then one of the class reps said, “It will come out, Vangie.” I responded, “Jesus, I trust in You.”
That conversation took place on Dec. 7. The following morning, Dec. 8, was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. When I checked the website, the missalettes for the first eight days of Simbang Gabi were ready for download. Thank you, Lord. I immediately shared the Euchalette to the eight groups.
The Euchalette for the 9th day was finally uploaded on Dec. 14.
As part of our preparation, the committee had a Zoom meeting with our Mass presider, Fr. Larry, to clarify some points and to inform him about our activities for the Mass which included the Act of Spiritual Communion, Oratio Imperata and our song selections. We also had a Zoom meeting with the lectors, commentators, class reps and others involved in the preparations.
Everyone knew their roles by heart. This was a team effort. We also had a backup plan if Internet connection became unstable during the Mass. We put in place what was humanly possible. The rest, we decided to leave in God’s hands.
Fr. Larry’s tips
On Day One of our Christmas novena, Fr. Larry shared this insight: The Church uses the Simbang Gabi as a means to provide Catechetical instruction.
He listed the following key points which help him write insightful homilies:
- Watch Your Words
- Be Careful with Your Words
- Put Your Faith into Action
- Your Thoughts Run Your Life
- Character Catches the Heart
Like Advent, Simbang Gabi is a time of anticipation and celebration of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. Fr. Larry reflected: “It is also a reminder that we should be ready for Christ’s second coming.” To guide us on our journey home to Our Father in heaven, Fr. Larry came up with the following acronym:
- R epent
- E xpect
- A ttention
- D iscipline
- Y es LORD
He also listed three Advent friends:
- Prophets
- John the Baptist
- Blessed Mother
“The lives and teachings of the prophets and John the Baptist who preached repentance serve as our guide even after Advent and Christmas,” Fr. Larry said. The most important friend on the list is, of course, the Blessed Mother. “We all love her dearly and we turn to her daily when we pray the rosary.”
Highest form of prayer
It touches my heart that through this nine-day Simbang Gabi, we were able to gather CHS alumnae, their family and friends to prepare for the birth of the Christ Child.
On average, there were 200 participants per evening on Zoom and FB live-streaming. This figure did not include family members, who participated in real time, and those who attended Mass at a later time.
Reading the names of participants and seeing the faces of classmates and schoolmates we had not seen for years or even decades brought back wonderful memories of our years at CHS. A lot of people messaged us, expressing their gratitude to CHSAF for organizing Simbang Gabi.
Here is my message for everyone who participated in our Simbang Gabi: “We were just the means the Lord used to bring the Mass to you. It was your determination, deep desire and spirit to pray which made it happen, as the Eucharist is the highest form of prayer.”
I am truly blessed to have had this chance to know our alumnae, to work together, albeit virtually, and to reconnect with many others.
Thank you to all our CHS alumnae, family and friends who joined us for Simbang Gabi. Once again, we have shown that regardless of where our careers and lives have brought us, the HGCian and CHSian respond to the call to bond together as a CHS family.
I am also grateful to the Simbang Gabi committee—Marissa Camacho, Arlene Abad Soncuya, Cora Guidote, and Viqui del Rosario. The technical glitches did not stop us from bringing the Simbang Gabi to our alumnae.
Thank you, too, Sr. Eden Panganiban for your heartfelt message on the first day of Simbang Gabi.
We pray that Simbang Gabi becomes an annual activity of CHSAF.
Veritas in Caritate. Truth in Love.
Simbang Gabi Facebook links:
Day 1. : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/4880152455393368
Day 2 : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/864662920948833
Day 3. : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/3681242021899073
Day 4 : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/935994066935440
Day5 : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/2673143442950490
Day 6: https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/465626164425340
Day 7: https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/1011849149336325
Day8. : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/186064816533858
Day 9 : https://www.facebook.com/418151734890892/videos/1114795425621669
