Honor the Christ Child

Feast of the Sto. Niño

Mk 10, 13-16

By Sem. DJ Garcia

Proper to the Philippines, the feast of the Sto. Niño is some kind of extension of our Christmas celebration, as we honor Jesus as a child. Devotion to the holy child is so popular that in almost every altar of a Filipino household, stands the image of the Sto. Niño garbed in different vestments be it symbolizing royalty or even in uniforms of different professions, i.e., farmer, laborer, policeman, etc. This display of images even extends to some business establishments.

Today, Jesus exhorts us, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

A child is by its very nature, helpless and vulnerable. And this is the posture, we as adults, are to embrace. In our present world where the values of independence and self-sufficiency are highly regarded and espoused, such stance is very challenging for it necessitates recognizing our “nothingness” before the Creator, that in relation with God, we exist and are sustained by His grace and mercy.

All that we possess, our giftedness and material blessings, ultimately come from God’s generosity. True that we, at some point in our lives, worked hard for our development and prosperity, and thus, attribute these things to ourselves, but we all know that if the Lord chooses not to bless us we will not have these in our lives.

The challenge then is to give up our own self-sufficiency and to trust wholly in God. Just as child needs his parents for his needs, so, we, as children of the Father, come to Him in humility asking for our needs, trusting in His unwavering love for us and that He will give what is good for us. Of course, this is not a license to be passive and be lazy so as to simply pray and await God’s providence. We need to work and do our part. Believing that the Lord knows what is best for us, we come to abide in Him and obey what He desires from each of us.

St. John Eudes in exhorting Christians to honor the mystery of the Childhood of Jesus, calls us “to imitate Him in the simplicity, humility, meekness, obedience, purity and innocence of His Holy Childhood.”

Let the words and deeds of Jesus, the Wonder-Counselor, guide us.

Viva Sto. Nino!

Main source: eudistsphilippines.com...

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