A Church that journeys with her people goes to where they are, just as the Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one.
Across the Catholic Church, parishes find different ways to bring the life of the Church closer to the communities they serve. In the Philippines, one such practice is Rambak Misa Gimong, a community celebration of the Holy Mass that brings the Eucharist to local communities and families. The Parish of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Gattaran, Cagayan, is among the parishes that carry out this pastoral practice, bringing the celebration of the Holy Mass to different gimongs and barangays within its pastoral area, especially communities where travelling to the parish church can be difficult for some families.
The word gimong refers to a local community or group of families. In these communities, families help prepare the place for Mass, arrange the altar, welcome their neighbors, and take part in the liturgy. An ordinary community space becomes a place where the faithful gather around the Eucharist, listen to the Word of God, and pray together. What begins as the preparation for a Mass becomes an opportunity for families and neighbors to meet, serve, and grow together as a Christian community.
“Through Rambak Misa Gimong, we hope that our people will experience the Church as a community that walks with them,” the parish priest said. “When we bring the Eucharist to their own communities, we are reminded that Christ comes to meet His people where they are. This is our simple way of living synodality, strengthening our Basic Ecclesial Communities, and continuing our journey of missionary conversion.”
In the celebration of the Eucharist, the life of the community is brought together. Families who pray together, listen to the Word of God, support one another, and share in the responsibilities of their community are drawn more deeply into communion with Christ and with one another. In this way, the Basic Ecclesial Community is not separate from the celebration of Mass. It is strengthened by it, as the faithful gather around the same Eucharistic table and are sent back to their homes and communities to live what they have celebrated.
This is how Rambak Misa Gimong gives a concrete form to synodality: the People of God walking together, participating in the life of the Church, and caring for one another. At the same time, the movement of the parish from one community to another reflects missionary conversion. The Church goes out to meet people where they are, listens to their realities, accompanies them, and brings the Gospel closer to their daily lives. The Eucharist becomes both the gathering point of the community and the source of its mission.
For parishioners, this means that the life of the Church is brought closer to their homes. Older people can take part in Mass without travelling far. Children encounter the liturgy in a place they know. Families and neighbors have the opportunity to pray and serve together. Through these simple gatherings, communities are reminded that they are not distant from the parish or separate from the wider Church. They are part of one People of God, journeying together in faith.
The experience of Saint Catherine of Alexandria Parish is one local expression of a pastoral practice also found in other parishes, each responding to the needs and realities of its own communities. Wherever it is celebrated, Rambak Misa Gimong points to the same simple truth: the Church is called to be present with her people.
Chairs are arranged, candles are lit, families gather, and the Word of God is proclaimed. Then the Eucharist is celebrated. From one gimong to another, the Church continues to go where her people are, gather them around Christ, and journey with them in faith.