9 Mornings

The yearly Simbang Gabi (Dawn Mass) has just finished last December 24, 2009. To date, this is just the second time that I have completed this yearly Filipino "ritual". Often times, I have trouble waking up in the morning to go to mass at 4am. This year, just to complete those nine days, I have sacrificed my sleeping time by staying awake the whole evening and wait for 4am to go to church. After church, that's the only time I'd be able to get some sleep for a few hours. The plan worked fine since I had completed the 9 days...but it got me to think that I won't be able to do it next year since (here's hoping) I would be working again at that time, and I would be needing sleep.

There are some things I've noticed though when I was attending the mass...

For this year's Dawn Mass, there weren't that many people who went to mass unlike the previous years that the church is packed with people. But then again, the Church had recently introduced the "anticipated Simbang Gabi" where you can complete the 9 days novena mass by going to church at night at around 8-9pm. This was a sort of solution of the Church for people who wanted to complete the 9 days but can't really wake up early in the morning.

But aside from the lack of people who went to church, I also did notice that there are a lot of teens right now who come to celebrate the mass in packs. Different groups would huddle together "listening" to the mass.

And speaking of listening...unfortunately, though there are actually more teens who went to church nowadays for the 9day novena mass, I don't really think they're paying attention. I'm not sure if they were like making it a kind of ritual or some kind of rite of passage to their group but these guys just go there just to say that they have completed the simbang gabi. Ask them if they understood the gospel or the sermon, I would be sure that only a handful of these teens would actually answer correctly.

There was this particular group of teens who like myself completed the 9 days. But what annoyed me the most about this group is that it was obvious that they never did listen what was being said in the mass. They were talking with each other non-stop, texting their friends telling them where they are and there was even one time when they played tricks on one of their friends by hiding her back when she went to communion.

And yes, admittedly enough, I just kept silent through the whole ordeal mainly because of two reasons:
1. I was sitting at the back of the church to listen to the mass since the place is still packed with people. Personal experience has taught me that the back area is really for those people who were just there for the heck of it or just so that they can tell their friends that they have completed the 9 days. So, if I was really adamant that I wanted a more or less silent background where people are really paying attention, I should have just moved from where I was sitting and got closer to the altar.
2. I have no right to tell them off since I could remember being that noisy in church once with my cousins. That was a bit humiliating because we were really making so much noise...laughing and pushing each other that the guy in front of us told us off. It wouldn't really be right for me to say something since I was doing it myself when I was younger...so, I just had keep in mind the old saying of "What goes around, comes around."

So, I just try to observe them as much as I can. Thankfully, the sound system of the church is better that even with the noise outside, I was still able to listen to mass.

Although, I must admit that there are some group of teens who are there to really participate in the mass but there are more people who were just there for the heck of it.

It was a fun experience nonetheless. I get to observe today's youth and at the same time, I get to complete a yearly "ritual" before Christmas. I wonder what I would observe for next year?