By Ruby Thomas, Record Staff Writer
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz celebrated a special Mass, part of a Filipino Catholic tradition known as Simbang Gabi, at St. Margaret Mary Church Dec. 16.
Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Christmas tradition in which nine Masses are celebrated in honor of Mary in the nine days before Christmas. In the Archdiocese of Louisville, only one Mass is celebrated, the one celebrated at St. Margaret Mary last Friday.
The Mass was celebrated at 6 p.m., but in the Philippines, the faithful rise at dawn to for the daily Masses at 4 a.m., said Evelyn Baluyot, a member of St. Margaret Mary and a leader in the local Filipino community. Baluyot said the tradition was derived from Spanish rule in the Philippines.
“We have this faithful belief that what we pray and wish for will be granted if we complete the novena,” she said during a phone interview last week.
Simbang Gabi is a time of togetherness, when families and neighbors celebrate together, she noted. For the youth, she said, it is a time to get together with friends.
“What’s exciting, too, is the native delicacies that are sold in front of the church after Mass,” she said, recalling the celebration in her native country.
These delicacies — sticky rice cakes made in all shapes and colors — are known as “bibingka,” said Elisa Garcia, a native of the Philippines who attends St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky.
Garcia smiled as she recalled the celebrations in her native country, too, during an interview following the Mass. Following those early morning Masses, Garcia said, people gather to eat “bibingka” and drink a spiced tea known as “salabat.”
Father Noel Zamora, one of the concelebrants at the Friday evening Mass, said the celebration evokes a sense of nostalgia.
“These traditions, that are central to our faith and so close to our heart, transport us beyond the distance home,” said the Filipino priest, who is a pastor in the Diocese of Lexington, Ky. “For us, it’s a tradition, but it’s also an expression of our faith.”
Father Zamora celebrates Mass in the Filipino language — Tagalog — every other month or so at St. Margaret Mary. The next Mass is Jan. 15 at 2:30 p.m. A Mass in the Filipino languaeg is also set for St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., on April 1 at 5 p.m.
Archbishop Kurtz, who gave the homily, drew laughter from the congregation by telling them that he’d “preach in English with a Filipino heart.”
“I’m so pleased that you’re gathered here today, only nine days before Christmas,” the archbishop said to his listeners. “I am thrilled the young people are here who’d otherwise lose the richness of our faith.”
Archbishop Kurtz went on to tell the youth that it’s very often through family and culture that people come to appreciate the “gift of faith” and to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
Archbishop shared with his listeners that he visited Manila, the capital of the Philippines, following typhoon Yolanda three years ago. He experienced the depth of the people’s faith amidst the devastation left by the storm, he said. He recalled celebrating Mass in a church whose roof was ripped off by the storm.
“Rain was dripping on our heads as we celebrated Mass, but the church was filled because of the gift of faith,” he said.
Archbishop Kurtz invited those who’d gathered to carry on with that gift by becoming “ambassadors” willing to announce the Gospel.
A reception, featuring traditional Filipino foods, followed the liturgy. A Simbang Gabi Mass was also celebrated at Mary, Queen of the Holy Rosary Church in the Diocese of Lexington, Ky., Dec. 18.
