Keeping Traditions

This time last year, you would most likely find me at Ortigas Park as early as 5:30pm to watch the Christmas Concert and followed by the anticipated Simbang Gabi.

I'd make it a point to get there early so I can take a seat in the front row. It's always the best seat, both for the concert and for the mass. Because the venue is small, it tends to be filled quickly. And because the mass is intimate, it feels good to be right there, front and center.

Usually, I see my "classmates" or my colleagues who also make it a point to hear the anticipated mass there. This includes the constants - Jovy and Rich.

This year, I doubt if they pushed through with the usual mass by the park. It's not a place conducive to physical distancing, so it's perfectly understandable.

But traditions are meant to be kept, and even if the format is different, the spirit and thought behind it is the same.

So this year, I'm hearing anticipated Simbang Gabi online, and at the Church I went to while growing up.

Times may change, but some things - like the Simbang Gabi tradition - should always remain.

At the heart of it all

My visit to Cebu is never complete without hearing mass at Sacred Heart Parish. The same parish where LuAnn and Mads got married almost 7 years ago.

Some places really feel like home.

Church of my childhood, the return

Normally, I don't like taking photos of church interiors. But in this case, I couldn't help it.

Sacred Heart was the church where I grew up, and where my family would hear mass every Sunday when we lived in Morato.

It's been a while since I heard mass here, so I was glad that I had the opportunity to.