Rising early morn till Christmas to join the beautiful tradition dubbed Misa de Gallo is a good sacrifice for many devout Catholics. The masses that are held before the break of day include novenas for the manger. It is a practice that affords families to wake up too early for a communal prayer that brings unity among all faithful. Beginning today which falls on a Saturday of the second week of advent season, we are all called to make the best preparation for the coming of our Savior. Advent is indeed a good start of the liturgical year where all are called to pave a clean and straight life for the Lord’s entrance into every heart. It is a call for everyone to strive to become worthy of Christ, the Word that was made flesh and born of the Virgin Mary on Christmas day.
In preparing for Christmas, we ought to find its true meaning so that we may receive the best gift of the season. Notwithstanding our dire situation and despite the problems besetting us in our daily struggle, we still have good reason to rejoice for Christ is coming to us so that we may be saved from the bondage of sin. In our nothingness, there is cause for joy as we hope for the great gift of love from God. The incarnation of the Word is the fulfillment of God’s plan to send His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. The call upon us all is to believe in God and live what we believe in faith so that we may be worthy of the true meaning of Christmas which is love.
We are called to remain focused on our faith and concentrate our belief only in God above all. This call is apt in these times as we live in a world of many distractions and confused teachings. At times, we are overpowered by our human weakness to go astray from the way God has taught us to follow so that we may attain salvation. In the confusion of the various teachings from self-proclaimed teachers who use the bible in proclaiming their own adventurous and misguided interpretation. These false preachers carry teachings against the Catholic Church, in utter disregard of the teaching authority that Jesus Christ gave to the Catholic Church that He established.
Knowing the Word is knowing Jesus Christ, our Savior who is to come this Christmas. The Holy Bible is the Word that was made by the Catholic Church to serve as one of the sources of our faith. The Word is Jesus Christ himself, the second person of the Holy Trinity that came and lived with us on earth. We find in the sacred scriptures the truth about the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us which is no other than Jesus Christ. We only have to know the Word by knowing Jesus Christ as revealed in sacred scriptures and sacred tradition as well.
As we strive to complete the nine dawn masses in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ, let us make our every effort a joyous offering for our Savior. The true meaning of Christmas may only be found in each and every heart. Apart from the material preparations that we all worry and are anxious of, let us try to focus on the significant aspect of our preparation. Being ready for Christmas is not necessarily manifested in our having the things and food and decorations. It is in our being able to clean and straighten our lives so that with open hearts we may receive Jesus Christ in our lives.
This preparation is aptly the one that counts most in the cool breeze of December as Filipinos troop to attend dawn masses called Misa de Gallo or the anticipated Simbang Gabi which starts in the evening of December 15, this writer’s special day of thanksgiving for God’s gift of life.
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