It’s a moving scene that Luke describes in today’s Gospel reading: Mary goes to the hill country to see her relative Elizabeth, who has conceived in old age. The women greet each other… and so do their sons, both still in the womb. Call it, Father Paul Berghout said in his homily, a tale of… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: Visitations
Category: Going 60 MPH
Simbang Gabi 2017: Hump Day
It’s fitting that this year, Simbang Gabi’s fifth day of the novena, fell on Wednesday. Hump days can be hard–intellectually, we know we’re past the beginning of the novena and the week, but we’re still too far away from the end to be excited. So we all came in, most of us a little later… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: Hump Day
Simbang Gabi 2017: Fitness
The priest at today’s Simbang Gabi Mass talked about John the Baptist’s unique role in history: in some ways, the last of the prophets, yet the first of the evangelists. I’m a fan of John, in particular the John we see near the end of his life and ministry when he tells us his joy… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: Fitness
Simbang Gabi 2017: Taking People Into Our Home
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. (Matthew 1:24, NAB) I remember the first time my friend Mimi told me about Simbang Gabi. Even for an early riser like me, nine days of 5 a.m. Mass sounded like a rather large… Continue reading Simbang Gabi 2017: Taking People Into Our Home