Advent as they say is a time to prepare. It is more than the gifts and the festivities.
I was struck and happy when I saw this ad on the local papers: "Go to church on Christmas. Bring back the "masS" in Christmas." I know it shouldn't just be a one day affair and the emphasis is on the "Christ" but in a society where there are more non-believers, and letting them go back to church even for one day, is a start.
I am happy to say that this year, I am having a different kind of preparation for Christmas.
When our parish was assigned to a Filipino Parish Priest, I was happy! Very happy! I looked forward to the changes he will be making in our parish. True enough, the changes he made were patterned to the practices we have back in Manila.
Fast forward, I was elated to see that for the first time, we will be having Novena Dawn Masses or "Simbang Gabi" in our parish during the Advent season. I was happy because it will lessen the homesickness but I was up for the challenge. You see, even in Manila, I am not really a fan of Simbang Gabi, I was trying to complete it so I can have a wish hehehe. I tried in vain to complete the masses, but was not successful. When I was younger I always ended up sleeping during the homily. When I was much older, I ended up sleeping in, and being too lazy to stand up.
Well, this year, I still cannot complete it as I forgot to set the alarm clock on Monday, the first day, totally forgetting about it! But since the second day, I haven't missed one.
On Tuesday morning, on the way to church, I was praying and asking why am I doing this? Was it to prove something, was it for a special concern? I don't know. I was clueless. But that day God spoke through the homily. Fr. Ruben's homily was all about the reasons for attending the novena masses! The mass ended that day with me still asking myself, what is my reason for waking up at 4am, with only 4-5 hours of sleep, just to attend the mass? The homily that day helped me in finding the answers.
The answers came one day at a time. Everyday, the mass was celebrated by different Filipino priests based in Sydney. Each day, different homilies were given. Different insights, different points for reflection. It was a learning experience. You will feel the grace.
It was also another opportunity for me and Alvin to go to Confession after a looooong (years!) time! We had the opportunity last Thursday night and it felt good. For me, it was something that made my preparation complete.
As Fr. Raning said this morning, we were in a spiritual journey. I couldn't agree more. It was the best way to start my day (for a change, it's not FB or Insta) :-)
I am looking forward to the rest of the dawn masses and praying that it will now become a yearly practice in our parish so my kids can also learn one of the Filipino Christmas traditions. I am also looking forward to Lent and see how we are going to have our spiritual journey.
But for the mean time please let me savor the richness of this experience and share with you God's abundant blessings for the season.
May you and your family have a blessed Christmas and may you put "Christ" back into Christmas :-)
