Kalinga VOLUME 1, No

Quarterly NEWSLETTER of Fox Valley Filipino-American Catholic Ministry – Diocese of Rockford M Kalinga VOLUME 1, No. 3 Oct.–Dec. 2004 Misa de Gallo PERMANENT CHURCH FOR "and Simbang Gabi 2005 PILIPINO MASSES isa de Gallo (or “Mass of the Rooster”) Mis a traditional Filipino Catholic cel- • Romy & Norma Manabat – St. John Neumann Parish, St. Charles, IL ebration that lasts for nine consecutive days beginning December 16. Traditionally, it is held at dawn, but some parishes offer urray! Fr. Mike Tierney approved our request of holding per- Christmas Novena Masses in the evenings, Hmanently our Pilipino Masses at his parish – St. Margaret Mary Church in Algonquin, Illinois, starting January 2005. hence Simbang Gabi (Evening Mass). th Misa de Gallo traces its roots in Mexico As majority of you are aware that every 4 Sunday of the month, when, in 1587, Fray Diego de Soria, prior the celebration of Pilipino Masses are held in different churches. of the convent of San Agustin Acolman, pe- Through flyers and word of mouth, attendance and participation titioned the Pope for permission to hold from the Pilipino communities in the Fox Valley is improving. Christmastide Masses outdoors because the However, holding the Masses in different locations, created church could not accommodate the multi- disorientation, difficulty, and confusion to many specially the new- tude that attended the dawn services. comers. It was in the 16th century when Pope Learning from experience & observation, and to continually Sixtus V decreed that these pre-dawn improve attendance and participation, an Ad Hoc committee on Masses be also held in the Philippines start- Pilipino Mass was established. It was headed by Dr. Nap Abando ing December 16. The decree was in keep- of St. Mary of Woodstock with Al Aceron of St. Margaret Mary of ing with the nine-day traditional festivals Algonquin, Ruben Ruelo of St Mary of Huntley and Romy Manabat of Filipinos in celebrating auspicious occa- of St. John Neumann of St. Charles. Fr. Pekto Vasquez is our spiri- sions like harvestime. It was also meant to tual director/adviser. The goal was to look for a permanent location give farmers a chance to hear Mass before of Pilipino Masses for 2005 and beyond. setting out for the fields. Rural Filipinos On October 21, 2004, Ad Hoc committee met. To have a pro- were used to starting the day two hours be- ductive meeting, materials needed for presentation were prepared fore sunrise. ahead of time. Just like any other meetings, differences of opinions Church bells ring to call the faithful to and point of views were presented and discussed. In general, the Misa de Gallo. In some provinces, brass meeting went well and smooth. Decision was rendered and action bands play traditional Christmas music and needed for implementation was established. parish priests would go as far as knocking One of the presentation aids used in the analysis and evalua- on the doors of every home to wake them tion process was a vicinity map, showing locations of all cluster up and invite them to come for Mass. After the nine-day Simbang Gabi follows the Misa de Aguinaldo (or “Mass of the Gift”, referring to Jesus Christ who is God’s gift to mankind). This is held on midnight of December 24 to welcome the birth of the Saviour. In some churches, the panunul- uyan, depicting Mary and Joseph’s efforts to find a suitable birthplace, is reenacted and the baby Jesus first makes his appear- ance in the manger of the Belen, the Nativ- ity Scene. St. Margaret Mary Church, Algonquin, IL. con’t. on page 2 con’t. from page 1 parish churches in the Fox Valley area. The committee agreed that travel is measured by time and no longer by Kulturang distance as used to be. As such, expressway and highways should be the center point of reference if a circle is to be inscribed for proximity evaluation purposes. I-90, PINOY Route 25, Route 31 and Randall Road were used for prox- • Fr. Gerry Paderon (aka “fgerip”) imity evaluation purposes and the following churches were considered for further testing, analysis and deter- umusta na mga kababayan! fgerip here! Kul- mination of our needs. Kturang Pinoy talks about our culture as a people! • St. Thomas More in Elgin We have a rich heritage. Im only 37 years old and I • St Catherine of Siena in West Dundee have seen so much. I am not a sociologist or an an- • St Margaret Mary in Algonquin thropologist, I am just an ordinary, simple Filipino • St. Mary in Huntley priest who happens to admire our Filipino ways! I Another tool used in the analysis and evaluation pro- have not been to all parts of the Philippines, but in cess was the establishment of criteria with committee’s those places that I’ve been to, I see some common agreed assigned numerical values based on the order of stuff. And this common ground I believe makes us importance of each criterion. Also, as a basis for grading, one people, in spirit and in heart! on a scale of l to 10, each established criterion was weighted for each parish under consideration. The fol- s s s lowing criteria and assigned values are as follows: t’s Christmas time once more! Pasko na naman! • Church proximity to major expressways IPasko is THE time of the year! The whole Philip- and highways 20 pts. pines celebrate with a sense of joy and thanksgiving! • Pastor’s supportiveness to Simbang Gabi 35 pts. I think, our celebration of Christmas is the happiest • Population of parish’s Fil-Am families 20 pts. in the world! And our celebration starts very early. • Church Facility (capacity, handicap When the “ber” months arrive, it’s Christmas time! accessibility, social space) 15 pts. • Amenities (sound & acoustic system, You hear the first Christmas song on the radio 12:01 drop-of-area, etc.) 10 pts. in the morning of September 1. That’s the signal! Start counting, and it’s Christmas! The next day, you Grading the 4-selected churches, St. Thomas More will see houses with Christmas decors – Christmas of Elgin got the highest point. Followed by St Catherine lights, a plastic banner that says “Merry Christmas and of Siena in Dundee but both places cannot hold the Misang a Happy New Year”, or the face of Santa posted on Pilipino for a variety of reasons. St. Mary of Huntley and St. Margaret of Algonquin were very close, score wise. the doors and looking at you! Because of closeness of scores, further evaluation was b b b conducted. After weighing the pros and cons presented, St. Margaret Mary of Algonquin got an edge over St. Mary onitohan starts early! Name it you have it! At work, of Huntley and finally chosen to be the permanent loca- Min school, within organizations and movements, tion for Misang Pilipino for 2005. or even among friends, gift giving makes Christmas The Ad Hoc committee’s conclusion and recommen- even more exciting and meaningful! And if you are dation is to write and letter of request to Fr. Mike Tierney really so very active, you have to prepare more than regarding the permanent use of his parish for the Pilipino ten gifts just for the monitohan. But your consolation Masses in 2005 starting in January. Al Aceron prepared is you will also receive as much! the letter of request. It was clearly stated in the letter that, if request is approved, the parish guidelines regarding l l l the use of church and facilities be strictly followed. All dvent! Four weeks before Christmas. For most representatives of the Fox Valley cluster parishes signed the letter on November 21, 2004 and in a short while, the AFilipinos, advent is actually a prelude to Pasko! it request was granted. is part of our Pasko celebration! During this time, not Now that we have a permanent church 2005 Pilipino only the physical and material but also the spiritual Masses, let us all be mindful of our duties and responsi- preparation for Christmas takes place! People start bilities (condition attached on the approved letter) in the to fill the church. The number of people lining to use of the church and facilities. Guidelines on church and confession swells and really multiplies! And I think it facilities usage will be distributed to all cluster parishes is a great thing! After all Christmas is Jesus’ day. And through FVFACM. true enough, we prepare not only tangible things, but Hurray! Wish granted and mission accomplished! 2 most especially our hearts, our souls, our selves! It is a good servant of God, told me that Simbang Gabi the time to forgive, be friends again and love and share! started during the Martial Law time. People, especially What a wonderful time of the year! Jesus once again the young ones, can not go out onto the church early is born in our hearts! morning since it’s prohibited to be in the streets from 10:00 p.m. till 5 or 6:00 a.m.! Hence, the Simbang j j j Gabi! But it doesn’t really matter whether it’s done in isa de Gallo! Mass of the rooster is a nine-con the early mornings of December 16 till the 24th, or in Msecutive early morning Masses! Church bells ring an anticipated time from 15 – 23. What matters most at exactly three o’clock in the morning. It’s a wake-up is the spirit that calls us all to celebrate Christmas, that call to get ready and be in the church as early as pos- is, our gratitude and love to God for His Greatest Gift sible or you will have to bring your own chair.

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