TACLOBAN CITY -- Christmas and the holiday season is the time of gift-giving.
In observance of such cherished tradition, a Catholic parish here will not just hold the nine-day “Simbang Gabi” (midnight mass), but will also give gifts to less fortunate parishioners.
Since November, the Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish based in the city’s Marasbaras district has been collecting donations from generous families for the gift-giving activity on December 24, the last day of the “Simbang Gabi” masses.
Marites Ronda, a lector (church lessons reader) and focal person of the program, said the parish has mobilized church workers, youth groups, and other volunteers to take part in giving away of the presents.
The youth group has been doing their rounds of serenading with Christmas carols the houses in their parish to raise funds.
“The church will give out Christmas presents to children below 12 years old and pre-identified adults from very poor families who will be attending the mass,” Ronda said.
Toys and learning materials are waiting for the kids to bring them home while for the adults, the gifts will be utensils and other household tools important for daily use.
Ronda said that the eight-year tradition is their way of expressing the true meaning of Christmas: giving and sharing the blessings.
It brings great joy for them seeing the happy reactions of the recipients upon receiving the gifts.
“I am very happy because there are still kind-hearted people who are willing to share their blessings even though they are also in need,” said 11-year-old John Angelyn Abdon, one of the recipients last year.
The Philippine Red Cross and the city government wholeheartedly support the gift-giving activity by also giving donations.
For Ronda, the initiative is not just giving presents to children, but also a symbol of thanking the Lord for his goodness after super typoon Yolanda pummeled the city in 2013.
“We are inspired that not only the rich are donating, but the poor as well since they also want to share even just a little blessing now that our life is back to normal,” Ronda said.
For some, the Christmas tradition of going to church at dawn is a way to ask God to protect them from future calamities.
Typhoon survivor Lorraine Anne Padagdag, 24, said her family has been looking forward to attending the mass.
“I believe in completing the nine-day mass during ‘simbang gabi’. We pray for the protection against natural disasters,” Padagdag said.
All of her family members survived when one of the world’s deadliest typhoons made its landfall on Nov. 8, 2013.
“Jesus is our Savior. I know He will not leave us alone. He will protect us from different calamities. We need to have a strong faith in Christ," Padagdag added.
Father Leo Armada of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Parish on Real Street said that after the monster typhoon, more people attended the dawn masses.
The theme for this year’s “simbang gabi” is “Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons.”
“We will break it down into nine sub-themes. The general theme is ‘Year of the Clergy’. Each day we have a different sub-themes based on the general," Armada said.
To highlight the theme, the church calls on the clergy and the consecrated to reflect if their values, mind-sets, behavior and life-styles are still consistent with that of Christ’s.
Also included in the campaign is the review of the ways of seminary and religious formation and the Church’s collaboration with the laity in the work of mission and ministry. (With reports from Jeraldyn Bagasin & Vic Domingo Obaob, OJTs/PNA)
PNA photo by Jeraldyn Bagasin/OJT
