Simbang Gabi: Night Mass

Last week we completed our Simbang Gabi Novena masses. Simbang Gabi is a Filipino Advent tradition and spiritual preparation for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It consists of a series of nine Masses on the days leading up to Christmas. This Filipino celebration is steep in tradition, beautifully inculturated into the mass with songs and festive gatherings with traditional Filipino food.

At the Ascension our Lord gives the Apostles the Great Commission and then tells them to return to Jerusalem and to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Together they devoted themselves to constant prayer” (Acts 1:12, 14). Nine days later, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost. This “nine-day period of prayer” of the Apostles is the basis for the novena.