Reflections on Christmas

#Help Rebuild Lumad Communities And Schools

It has been my fourth time to celebrate Christmas in this southern part of Mindanao – Gen. Santos City. The early morning Aguinaldo Masses in the parish churches are overflowing to the brim. Parishioners woke up as early as just a few hours past midnight to attend the traditional “Simbang Gabi” which started as early as 3:00 a.m., with a second mass at 4:30 a.m. In our small chapel of Our Lady of Manaoag, the attendance at our 5:00 a.m. Aguinaldo Masses was just like an ordinary Sunday mass.

Last December 14, 2015, together with friends from Davao City, we visited the kindergarten school of Mary Mediatrix of All Graces Village in Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Compostela Valley. It was the Christmas party of the kindergarten pupils whose number has been reduced to 14, since the school started with over 40 pupils. We gave teachers kits to the 2 volunteer teachers, and study kits to the 14 pupils. The study kits consisted of a school bag with notebooks, pad paper, pencils and crayons. Barangay Andap was one of the communities badly affected by typhoon Pablo in 2012. The Parish of San Antonio de Padua in New Bataan built a resettlement village for the survivors and called it Mary Mediatrix of All Graces Village.

Our Lay Dominican Group in Gen. Santos City organized a Christmas Outreach Project for children who live near our chapel of Our Lady of Manaoag. There were parlor games, merienda and food packs containing rice, canned goods, noodles and other goodies which were distributed to the families. About 200 children were treated to a Christmas party held last December 19, 2015. The Christmas party for the children was dubbed as “Paskuhan sa Manaoag”.

The Christmas Eve Mass must have been the highlight of the holiday celebrations for most families, since there were much more in attendance at mass than that of Christmas day.

After Christmas, I went to Davao City and met with some friends. We ate at a restaurant and since there were some food leftover, I asked for it to be brought home. On my way home, I passed by Savemore and bought some things. As I got out of the supermarket, a beggar approached me. It was a little girl asking for money to buy food. So I thought of giving her the leftover food from our lunch earlier. I noticed she had two other siblings with their mother sleeping on the pavement in front of the supermarket. She immediately went to them and opened the paper bag containing our left over rice and a few pieces of chicken. I thought what I gave her made her happy. And it also made me feel good.

When I got home, I went to my room to take a nap for siesta. While lying on my soft and comfortable bed in an air-conditioned room, I suddenly remembered the little girl’s family, homeless and without food. I felt ashamed of myself. I thought to myself, “Was that all I can do for that poor little girl? Give her our leftover food?” It’s Christmas and I could have done more for that family. Dimsum Diner was just beside Savemore. I could have treated that poor family to a decent lunch instead. That could have been a merry Christmas not only for that family, but also for me.