MikeLigalig.com

When does Christmas begin?
December 22, 2007 03:56:00
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Inquirer quoted Fr. Genaro Diwa in a front-page story on Dec. 15: “We are the only country celebrating Christmas nine days earlier than the rest of the Universal Church.” This is not so. The Philippines begins the celebration of Christmas, with the rest of the Catholic Church, on the night of Dec. 24. My source for this is the same Father Diwa, compiler of “Ordo 2008,” the official liturgical guide of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP’s) Episcopal Commission on Liturgy.

The “Ordo” states: “the Aguinaldo Masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary” are “to be celebrated on the nine days before Christmas for the perseverance of the nation in faith.” The texts for these Masses, as given in the CBCP-approved “Supplement to the Roman Sacramentary” are those of the Advent Masses for these days. The only difference, allowed by the indult from Rome, is that the “Gloria” is sung and the priest wears white vestments.

Here in Bacolod City, Bishop Vicente M. Navarra has made it clear that only Masses celebrated early in the morning carry the privileges attached to the Misa de Gallo [Christmas season dawn Mass].

The Church’s Christmas season ends in the Philippines, as everywhere else, with the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism, usually the second Sunday of January.

FR. SEÁN COYLE, San Columbano, PO Box 588, 6100 Bacolod City



Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=7725.0