that I'll be her driver this morning.
Destination: San Beda Alabang Chapel
to attend a Latin Mass with her kumares.
Since they are currently forming a Latin choir for ladies,
they wanted to observe how the mass is celebrated
and to listen to the all men's choir as well.
Uh-oh. This is gonna be fun. Haha.
We arrived 845am, early for the mass at 930am.
Not too excited huh?
The chapel was spacious, air conditioned,
austere yet magnificent.
The small congregation gathered is mostly composed of
older women wearing white or black veils.
I was surprised to see that the altar setup
was for the priest with his back turned away from the congregation.
Wow. Never heard of something like this since Vatican II.
Mama told me that the Latin Mass
was being revived by instructions of the Pope.
The Gregorian chant of the all men's Latin choir
signaled the start of the high mass.
Amazing! They were majestic throughout the mass.
I felt like I was in a monastery, back to the olden times.
I don't understand the lyrics, but the well practiced voicing
and sheer musicality was enough to give me goosebumps.
From the prayers to the readings,
almost the whole mass was sung in Latin.
Good thing the sermon was in English.
It was also notable to see 13 altar boys assisiting in the mass.
So many!
They all played an active role in the celebration.
Though the mass took 90 minutes, I didn't get boredbecause my curiosity was suddenly up.
My senses were all observing because for the first time,
I get to witness and participate in a Eucharistic celebration
that was not practiced for the last 40 years.
Good thing there were Missals distributed,
so that we could read Latin and join in reciting the prayers.
I was busy looking through the translation of the prayers,
from left (Latin) to right (English) of the missal
just to understand the mass.
I had a hard time trying to keep up with the words.
And there were a lot of moments when I have no idea
of what part of the mass we are in.
But after my experience today, I'd say it's worth the interest. It was great and very memorable.
And if opportunity comes next time, I'd say yes again.
I experienced the Eucharist in serenity and and peace.
It moved me into silent prayer and deep reflection
that I haven't done for a long time.
And I realized, this was just what I needed.
Plus, I was able to express my love to Mom.
She too shared her feelings and stories to me.
The Lord led me to Him in a new majestic way today.
I'm in awe.
Thank you Lord.
-Didoy
