Latin Mass
I have been attending the Latin Mass being held every Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Adoration Chapel of the Capitol Parish for maybe 10 times already. And I must admit that, because it is in Latin, I still could not follow with routine precision the entire flow of the Mass.
But it does not really matter. The reason I have taken to the Latin Mass is because it gives me such serenity and peace with myself that I find it much easier to sink deep into prayer and thus communicate with God. Except for whispered prayers, the hair-raising beauty of Gregorian Chants by an all-male schola, and joined every now and then by singing nuns, there is silence.
It is this silence that makes you intensely aware of your own self, and just how small and insignificant you are in the presence of God. It makes you acutely aware of just how truly dependent you are on God’s mercy and grace. In that short moment in time there are no lawyers and doctors and engineers and generals and mayors and journalists.
Instead there are just nameless people gathered in the name of their Maker, humbled by His presence. This transformation makes every celebration of the Latin Mass a most fulfilling experience. Perhaps it would not be an exaggeration if I say that small personal miracles happen every Sunday in that small chapel below the main church.
The Latin Masses are celebrated every Sunday by Msgr. Joseph Tan, the Cebu Archdiocesan media liaison officer. The use of the Adoration Chapel comes with the blessing and support of Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Dennis Villarojo, parish priest of the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish, or simply the Capitol Parish.
In the few times that Msgr. Tan is not available, it is French cleric Fr. Clement Covacho who usually takes over. You probably already know or heard of Msgr. Tan, he being the spokesman for the archdiocese. Fr. Clement, on the other hand, gets into the news for being a sportsman, primarily as an avid participant in Cebu’s Ironman series. But that is another story.
The Latin Masses at the Capitol Parish were organized by the Cebuano Summorum Pontificum Society whose founder, Elmer Montejo, also heads the schola, presently made up of five Gregorian Chant singers. The others are Vincent Arong, Alvin Ybañez, Ronald Endoma, and Ralph Ampoon. Gerard and Alfonso Biagan, Lance Enad, and Josh Acedillo serve as altar boys.
Those who might want to join the schola may see Elmer before or after the Mass. Those who might want to experience the Latin Mass and perhaps discover a deeper meaning in their relationship with God, the celebration is, again, every Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Adoration Chapel of the Capitol Parish Church on Escario Street Cebu City. Come and make a miracle of your life.
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