Church of the Divine Mercy Penang has first Mass in Tagalog

The Church of th Divine Mercy (CDM) celebrated its first Mass in Tagalog on May 22 with more that 150 Filipinos.

Jun 09, 2016

 By Nix Juban
The Church of th Divine Mercy (CDM) celebrated its first Mass in Tagalog on May 22 with more that 150 Filipinos.

A broad spectrum of engineers, office and factory workers, Call Centre technicians and Service Support agents, IT executives, household carers, and Hospitality employees were among those who attended Mass. Those that are permanently residing here and have married Malaysians were also present.

The primary intention of having a Tagalog Mass at CDM was to bring the Filipinos living in the vicinity together once a month and build a community that can facilitate bonding and fellowship. Although there is already a well-attended regular Mass in Tagalog at the City Parish in Georgetown, most of the Filipinos living around this area and even from Butterworth would be given another option to attend a Mass in Tagalog once a month.

It was also intended to encourage those who were discouraged from attending Mass due to the distance or work schedule. Due to the proximity of the church, our weekend working Filipinos may be able to get permission for a short time off work to come by for the service.

Fr Martin Arlando suggested that the Filipinos form a choir to sing at the Migrant Mass last year. Initially, it was a one-time affair but Fr Martin then challenged the Filipino Choir to continue to sing monthly. As part of the regular choir, he encouraged them to introduce one Filipino hymn in the regular Masses in English on Saturday or Sunday, beginning January this year. He then challenged the Filipino Choir to proceed with a Mass in Tagalog. This was indeed a monumental task, not just for the Filipino volunteers but even for Father Martin, a non-native Tagalog speaker with only two months of preparation.

The challenge was not just in the translation but to integrate the present format into one that the Filipinos have been used to in the Philippines. It was important to get a good authentic balance that allowed the Filipino church goers to feel comfortable and be at home with the service.

A shuttle service was organized to provide transport for people wanting to come to the Tagalog mass. This information was spread from Filipino to Filipino through the social media such as the Filipinos in Penang Facebook group, inter-company WhatsApp/Viber groups and also at parties and get-togethers.

After the Mass, the people gathered in Faustina Hall where they joined in the salu-salo (potbless) for lunch.

Much credit for the success of this Mass was due to the support and guidance of Fr Martin and the whole CDM community for welcoming us Filipinos and making us feel at home through their encouragement and assistance.

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