Prayer comes with responsibility — Fr. Dave

Attending the nine-day novena mass is a spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and an opportunity to lift prayers of petition and thanksgiving, says a Catholic priest.

"We begin our Misa de Aguinaldo (with) hope. Hope, this is what we can have. Hope in the God who never fails. But please cooperate with the grace," said Fr. Dave Concepcion, Greenbelt Chapel Sto. Niño de Paz mission priest.

"Kung ano man ang hinihingi mo. Hingin mo. (Whatever you want to ask, ask for it) As I've said, we'd rather ask and not receive than fail to receive because we did not ask. When you ask, when you ask, ask something great. Learn to imagine the unimaginable for God to do the impossible. Because if there is one thing that is unimaginable, is for God who was born of a woman and became one of us," he added.

Filipino Catholics troop to churches starting tonight, for the anticipated Mass, to attend novena masses for Christmas.

The novena mass, an annual tradition, is known as the Misa de Gallo or translated to English as "Rooster's Mass" also called Misa de Aguinaldo or Simbang Gabi and is usually celebrated at dawn but other churches also offer anticipated masses. This culminates with the Christmas Eve Mass.

Concepcion, at the start of his homily, mentioned that there as mass goers who wish to be able to wake up to hear mass for the next nine days so they would be able to make a wish.

"Don't make your Simbang Gabi a wishing well by going to mass hoping that your prayers will be answered," he said.

A person who prays bring with him two things, said Fr. Dave, these are: one's petition and/or a thanksgiving prayer.

"You don't go to mass by being obligated to go to mass. I always say this, compliance is more evil than disobedience. Don't just comply, come. When you participate in the Mis de Aguinaldo, Misa de Gallo, Simbang Gabi, pray. Because to pray is to heed the call of God to ask. The Lord invites us to ask," he explained.

He reminded the people that many ask for petitions but these are not answered. On the other hand, there are graces one must have received that one did not even ask for.

The grace that comes in every novena is about the grace that comes from God, he added. — BAP, GMA Integrated News