This year's celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Joseph of Cupertino Church is on Friday, December 15. As in all the years, the story of the apparition of Our Lady at the Tepeyac Hill in Mexico is reenacted. After the play, students from the St. Joseph of Cupertino School are doing the Aztec dance. Aztec Dance is an indigenous dance tradition of Central Mexico based on the cultural legacy of the Chichimec/Otomi tradition warrior tribes that lived north of the “Aztec” empire at the time of the Spanish invasion. Originally, the dance is done to worship the gods and to stay in contact with nature. It is said that the dance was also considered a ritual cleansing of body and soul. The dance has been adopted by Catholics as an expression of worship for the one true God. The celebration of the Feast begins with a multilingual praying of the Holy Rosary at 6pm in the church. This is followed by a Eucharistic celebration at 7pm. A simple reception follows after Mass at the either Meditation Garden or at the Fr. Greg Ng Community Center, depending on the weather.
The "Simbang Gabi" is a nine-day novena mass leading to Christmas Day. It is a tradition among Filipinos as their way to prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ on December 25. Traditionally, the "Simbang Gabi", or Evening Mass, is celebrated either at dawn, which is known in Spanish as "Misa de Aguinaldo" (Gift Mass), or "Misa de Gallo" (Rooster's Mass); or in the evening, which is known as "Simbang Gabi" (Night Mass). It goes from December 16 through December 24 (Christmas Eve). People who participate in the novena-masses usually offer a petition to the Lord with the hope that it would be granted when they complete the nine days. Testimonies abound about people experiencing their petitions being answered at the end of the nine days. For quite some time now, however, the "Simbang Gabi has been celebrated in the morning coinciding with the weekday masses at 8:30, or at 9:30 am on a Sunday. Consequently, the name was modified from "Simbang Gabi" to "Simbang Umaga" (Day Mass). The participants are so excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ that they would sing "Ang Pasko ay Sumapit" (Christmas has come) even though Christmas Eve is not until later in the afternoon. On the last day of the "Simbang Gabi", a reception is organized with traditional Filipino breakfast to allow the faithful to gather and enjoy each other's company in anticipation for the Christmas Eve. Everyone is invited to come and join in the celebration of the "Simbang Gabi" beginning on Saturday, December 16 at 8:30 am in the church. Succeeding novena-masses are as follows: Sunday, December 17, 9:30 am; and Monday through Saturday, December 18 through December 24, at 8:30 am. Reception follows at the Fr. Greg Ng Kimm Community Center after the December 24 8:30 mass.