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Totus est Bene ut ends Bene
That, in my mangled approximation of Latin, means “all’s well that ends well.” Or, to put it another way: “a day that started in Bene and ended in Bene.”
It started rather early. The first mass of the Simbang Gabi season this year was at 5AM, so I was up at the highly uncharacteristic hour of 4AM getting ready to go to the Benedictine Abbey Chapel in Alabang Hills (oh yes, I forget… it’s called San Beda College Alabang now), where my brother in law sings in the choir. Every year he and my sister manage to go the whole nine yards (days, I meant days), while I usually put in one halfhearted effort at attendance and fail to wake up the following morning (in a few hours we will find out if I can make it a second day).
The well-attended mass was celebrated by Fr. Andy Formilleza and concelebrated by Bene’s arsenal of priests, most of them familiar from my student days. You know how people casually remark that it just doesn’t feel like Christmas yet this year? I’ve echoed that sentiment quite a lot; thankfully the stern but gentle reminder that we need to do the work of preparing for it (and that doesn’t mean signing off on your shopping list!) helps dispel that feeling. The service was inspiring, the frigid air kept me awake… what better way to start the day?
After the mass we went in search of something to bring some life back to our frostbitten toes, and we ended up in Café Breton at Westgate. (Note to the hopeful: Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, and Coffee Bean in ATC don’t seem to have Simbang Gabi hours this year, but Deli France and Bizu were open. Also in Westgate, Café Adriatico is open round the clock.) We filled up on crepes and galettes and each enjoyed a piping hot mug of hot chocolate (Ricoa! Yum!). Tomorrow we’re off to BF to find some more early bird restaurants.
Having started the day at Bene, I also ended the day there at the Grand Alumni Homecoming, hosted by Batch 81, the very first high school batch to graduate from Bene, all of 25 years ago. This, unfortunately, was not as well-attended as the mass earlier in the day, but it was fun to see some familiar (and long-forgotten!) faces anyway. Rabid Bedan that I am, I enjoy every visit back to the campus, whatever the occasion. Even if it means I have to drag myself out of bed again tomorrow.
San Beda College Alabang
809-3179
Simbang Gabi, SBCA Chapel, 5AM
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[…] A rabid Bedan that I am, I enjoy every visit back to the campus, whatever the occasion. Even if it means having to drag myself out of bed again tomorrow. http://southbound.ph/blog/2006/12/17/totus-est-bene-ut-ends-bene/ […]
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