A personal reflection on the Feast of Santo Niño 2013

A personal reflection on the Feast of Santo Niño 2013:

            In April 1521 Magellan gave the statue of the Child Jesus, the Santo Niño, to Rajah Humabon and to his wife Humamay.  Since then the devotion of the Cebuanos to the Santo Niño has grown stronger and we see their fervor with the different festivals they hold in honor of the Child Jesus, Sinulog being one of the most famous.  This devotion has also since then spread to the entire Philippines and to the Filipinos worldwide.

            Some might want to ask us why this devotion, why our veneration for the Santo Niño?  First we may answer them by saying that indeed Our Lord did not remain as a child, but proceeded on to become a young man, the bringer to the whole world of the Good News, the miracle worker and our Savior.  But the Santo Niño precisely shows us that the Savior did not arrive as if from an alien spaceship fully grown.  Jesus indeed was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth, travelled the Holy Land, died in Golgotha and was raised up on the third day as the Scriptures and the first Christians have testified.  Second we may tell them that there is something special and worthy of our personal emulation when we behold the Santo Niño: in Our Lord’s simplicity, in His obedience to the Will of the Father, and to complete trust in God’s loving plan of salvation.  Santo Niño teaches us all these virtue so as good Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we too may be simple, obedient and trustful of God even when things seem to go out of hand and we do not know anymore how things are going or where they are going.  Thirdly we may tell them since we, Filipinos, are fond of children, so it is really the most natural thing that we have a special devotion to the Child Jesus.  Our Filipino heart has a soft spot for these loveable children who surround us and therefore we naturally feel drawn to this image of Our Lord, that incidentally we find in every nook and cranny of the Philippines: in tricycles and jeepneys, in bus and gasoline stations, in department and sari-sari stores, inside our homes, inside our pockets we have an image or a statuette of the Santo Niño.

            Niño is Spanish for boy, as niña would be Spanish for girl.  Now our boys and girls are truly are treasures, for every family and therefore for the Church and for the State.  We do not waste our resources if we invest our all for their welfare and development.  Education is of the utmost importance.  Their physical and mental welfare must not be ignored too.  Their future must be assured and insured.  In all these let us not forget and always remember that the human formation and spiritual growth of our children outweigh all these considerations and therefore it is in our children’s discipline and holiness where we have to invest more heavily.  We must not only make sure that they have bread and butter but that they also know how to pray and honor and worship God.  We must not only make sure that they have comfort and protection but that they may also know how to help respect all and to help others in need.  We must only make sure that they have all the gadgets and the nice clothes but that they may also have the virtues needed by a good citizen and a holy Christian.

            Our boys and girls have a lot to deal with in our contemporary society.  They may be wiser and more equipped to face the contemporary challenges and trials but we must not forget they remain boys and girls.  They need our guidance and protection.  They are, on a daily basis, being misled and confused and led to bad choices and bad decisions.  We cannot leave them to fend for their own.  The grown-ups are every busy working and providing for the little ones and that is all very good.  But we must not neglect the guidance and protection of our kids.  When for example the TV says Patnubay at gabay ng mga magulang ay kailangan sa mga batang manonood, it really means that: assistance and guidance are really needed.  Let us be there for our kids.  When they wish to inquire on something, let us be the first ones they approach.  May we all be approachable by our young ones.  When they have some difficult decision and choices to do, let us be present and on hand to guide them along the right path.  Let us be present, let us be there for them.  Sometimes all they need is to see us, to know that whatever happens our young ones have the grown-ups to fall back on should they take a misstep.

            To build a successful State and to have a truly Christian Church we must invest our all and we must invest well on our children, on our niños and niñas.  If they are indeed santos niños y santas niñas then we have nothing to worry about, both our State and the Church.  Señor Santo Niño, we pray for our niños and niñas. Amen.