September 30, 2007:

Noooo, you won't find the likes of J.Lo (she's infanticipating with twins), Enrique Iglesias (hey, his mom's a Pinay!), let alone Shakira (she's
off to college) here!!! :-) As instructed by Pope Benedict XVI, the Traditional Latin Mass may be revived alongside the other regular masses.

The National Shrine & Parish of Our Lady of Fatima was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the parishes to do so, especially since the current
parish priest - Msgr. Moises Andrade Jr., H.P. - is an expert academian on such matters. In fact, during the internationally televised events of the
late Pope John Paul II's sickness leading up to his funeral mass and the consequent election of a new pope, Msgr. Andrade made us all proud when
he went on national TV (GMA Channel 7). At that time whole days were sometimes spent as he translated in real time the whole event LIVE into
Filipino all the ceremonies, procedures, latin songs and masses and just basically explained in common terms the basic tenets of the Catholic faith.

Most would agree that they felt such an educational rush back then. In fact, in a lot of homes you could see families huddled together
and watching history-in-the-making as if it were a must-see "Movie of the Month" (... yes, Standing Room, Junk Food and all)!!! :-)

The Latin Mass revival began last September 23, 2007 and is scheduled at 8:00 pm on Sundays, featuring a cantor (literally: singer) named
Dennis Maturan (he is the son of THE Diomedes Maturan - known as the Perry Como of the Philippines - who died on April 7, 2002 of a heart
attack at the age of 61). At first there was confusion on which part of the mass to stand and sit - but everyone knew when it was time to
kneel. One common reaction after the mass seems to be that there was a lot of kneeling involved compared to the regular masses. Older
folks may find great difficulty in that ...

Ok girls - start wearing your long-sleeved blouses, floor-length skirts, belos and stampitas from now on! :-p