Thoughts on Misa de Gallo

There is something beautiful in people leaving the comforts of their home at dawn to hear the Misa de Gallo. From various residences they come, from high-end housing spreads with flashing holiday lights to dim lit and decrepit areas of informal settlers. They come on foot or in cars and their getups tell who they are. Varied people with varied states, but in the divine ambiance of the Mass they are one and the same and in unity with the Lord.

For in the presence of the Child who chooses a stable for a birthing place, who can afford to be proud? Who have the heart to proclaim one's title or tribe? It's almost a shame to think of loftiness or highness when the Lord of lords is sleeping among cows and sheep, and in need of warm bed.

And those who come on foot, shall they rejoice in finding the counterpart of their suffering in the stable? They should. But there's a caveat. Unless they have opened their hearts to accept their privation in unity with that of the Child's, they cannot and should not do so. Poverty is never poverty when fully accepted in the name of the Lord. In fact, it could be a blessing because it keeps one in constant touch with the Giver of gifts, the source of whatever is true and good. And when one is near the source of all goodness, what is there to worry about?

Keep you first the kingdom of heaven and its justice and all these things shall be added unto you. This, the Lord has spoken loud and clear and he never fails. What a promise and what an assurance!

Yet why is there suffering? There's suffering because people choose to suffer and this happens because they mistake suffering for something bad and disagreeable. Suffering, however, can lead to something good, something desirable. Look at the saints. Did they not suffer first before they became saints? Of Jesus disciples, who but only one did not undergo torture and physical annihilation? Our very own saints, San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, did they not die a martyr's death?

That's why I said there's something beautiful in people hearing the Misa de Gallo. They may not be undergoing the torture of saints, but they are suffering just the same. Cutting short their resting hours and walking (or riding) to the church where at times they stand throughout the ritual of the Mass may not be much of a suffering, but it is suffering just the same. The truth is God doesn't expect us to do the dramatic sufferings of saints. What he wants from us may just be little episodes of difficulties and distress and willing acceptance of the same. Taken one at a time day after day these experiences could be self-elevating spiritually and if offered to the Lord, would these not draw us closer to him?

Drawing closer to God is really what is in most peoples' mind in hearing the Mass at dawn. The Holy Mass is the highest form of worship, Catholics believe.  In it we participate in the holy sacrifice of the Son of God as he offers himself to the Father to atone for our sins. We take part too in the breaking of the bread at the Last Supper, and when we "eat" that bread and drink that cup of wine we take into ourselves the very flesh and blood of Jesus - divine essence commingling with human flesh and blood and bones.

The happening at the holy sacrifice of the Mass is not just a ceremony nor a mere celebration or reenactment. It is an actual enactment of the Last Supper and Jesus' emptying of himself in Calvary. The Son of God is therefore present in actuality right before the faithful although it's only the priest we see. Such is the overwhelming miracle of the Mass, including the Misa de Gallo.

A blessed Christmas to all!

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