Posted on: Saturday, December 14, 2002

Catholics awaken Filipino tradition

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

The Rev. Edgar Brillantes will be up before the cock crows Monday morning — and for the following eight mornings — to celebrate the Misa de Gallo at 5 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church in Mililani.

The Mass of the Rooster, a series of nine pre-dawn Masses, has become something of a pre-Christmas tradition at Roman Catholic parishes around the Islands, Brillantes said.

And that's not just with predominantly Filipino congregations — though they were the the ones who brought the tradition to Hawai'i.

"It's a cultural celebration of the Filipino community, yes, but there's a presence of different ethnic groups, too," said the Rev. Joven Junio of St. Joseph's in Waipahu.

Brillantes enjoys another part of the tradition: Families follow the pre-dawn Mass with a potluck breakfast of cultural delicacies such as puto and bibingka.

"It's a really joyful Mass, but a temperate kind of joy," he said.

Brillantes looks to his roots in the Philippines for the history of the Misa de Gallo, also known as the Aguinaldo Mass. Laborers getting ready to work the fields would head first to church, where they would meet fishermen just coming in from a night working at sea.

The word "aguinaldo" means "gift," Junio noted. The poor laborers weren't able to offer a donation to the church at Christmas, so they would make the sacrifice of waking up early for nine consecutive days to attend Mass.

Turnout for these services is strong, Junio said.

"Sometimes we have 200 to 300" — about half the church's capacity. "The first three days, we have more. Then it slows down three days. Then we get momentum again at the end."

He also enjoys the fellowship afterward. "That's the beautiful side to it, with delicacies, all kinds of things."

Besides St. John the Baptist and St. Joseph's, churches holding Aguinaldo/Misa de Gallo services include the following (times vary, so check with individual parishes): Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Kalihi, St. Elizabeth's in 'Aiea, St. Anthony's in Kalihi, Our Lady of the Mount in Kalihi Valley, Immaculate Conception in 'Ewa, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 'Ewa Beach, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pearl City and St. Rita's in Nanakuli.