Early on Wednesday evening, at the modest Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel along Connaught Road, I found myself among weeping women. It was an evening prayer for the dead, a hushed and unhurried requiem in the rush-hour heart of Central.
The mass was for the Hong Kong victims of the Manila hostage crisis some 48 hours earlier. What transpired was an undeniably botched rescue operation. And the Philippine government's shocking insensitivity after the carnage will forever be a source of shame among Filipinos, particularly those living and working in Hong Kong.
Like the others who watched the event unfold live on television, we went through shock, outrage, grief and a sense of utter helplessness. Most of us made frantic calls among ourselves and to the Philippines to try to understand how the singular madness of one man - disgraced senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza - could leave eight tourists dead and seven injured.
Although we Filipinos are known for our soap-operatic sentimentality, we prefer to grieve alone, or in the company of our closest kith and kin. But not this time. In these days of bereavement, we're wearing our hearts on our sleeves in a solidarity of sadness with the Hong Kong community, for we are part of this community. Among the innumerable tragedies that clobber the Filipino in this city every day, this one has struck very close to home. Though the victims of the hostage crisis were total strangers, the sense of loss among Filipinos in Hong Kong, especially among the maids, was almost visceral.
We all have deep affinities with this city, and among domestic helpers - despite their sometimes fraught relations with employers - that feeling for Hong Kong is almost maternal, a custodianship that is usually unspoken but is held almost sacred.
Still, we are bracing ourselves for a racist backlash. But we have to face the anger. Retribution is the prerogative of Hong Kong people outraged by the Manila hostage crisis. They can tear up the employment contracts of their Filipino maids and stop visiting the Philippines or buying its goods and services. But, ultimately, retribution is self-defeating, as it can only hurt the city's economy, endanger its business interests in the Philippines and rip the community apart.