Sto. Niño, model for the family

Listening to the Spirit

O Señor Santo Niño, You are our king and our God, we worship you, you are our strong Defender, we turn to you; You are the Patron of Cebu and Philippines, we come to you; You have made extraordinary wonders. Through your miraculous Image in these chosen islands, remember us. Look down at this poor soul that comes to You for help. Lead us with your wisdom, discipline us with Your Truth, console us with Your Tenderness, protect us with Your Might.

We consecrate today our thoughts to You, only with You shall they be occupied; our words, only of you shall they speak; our sufferings, that we may endure them for your sake. We beg You, Señor Santo Niño, illumine our understanding, kindle our will, cleanse our body, sanctify our soul. We wish what you wish, because you wish, as you wish, as long as you wish.

Grant us, Señor Santo Niño, that we may feel love toward You, be strict toward ourselves, be zealous toward our fellowmen, and rightly despise the things of the world. Help us to overcome sensuality with strict discipline, avariciousness with generosity, anger with gentleness, indolence with zealous industry. Make us wise in counsel, courageous in danger, patient in adversity, humble in prosperity.

Teach us, dear Santo Niño, how worthless is the world, how sublime is heaven, how brief is time, how long is eternity. Grant us, lastly, that we may remember You, adore You, and serve You here on earth that we may be happy with You forever and ever in Heaven. Amen.

Listening to the Word

Lk 2:41-52

Each year, Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them, and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

Reflection

Viva Señor Sto. Niño! This year we continue celebrating the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. One of the great reminders of this celebration is the image of Sto. Niño, because Ferdinand Magellan gave the statue of the Sto. Niño to Queen Humamay, the wife of King Humabon of Cebu. Aside from the 500 years of Christianity celebration, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) proclaimed 2022 as the Year of the Family. Sto. Niño can be a good model for Filipino families. Maybe when Ferdinand Magellan gave the Sto. Niño to this couple (King Humabon and Queen Humamay), he fully realized the importance of Sto. Niño for the families.

In the gospel for this liturgical Feast, the Sto. Niño is brought to the temple by his parents. Because of the faithful practice of Mary and Joseph to go to the temple, it became the interest of Jesus to stay in the Father’s house. How I wish that more and more parents would bring their children while they are still young to the church and involve them in the activities of the church. I remember when I was a boy, my mother used to bring me to the church every Sunday. Because of my regular church attendance at the Mass, my desire to become an altar server developed. From then the desire to become a priest was born.

The Sto. Niño, according to the gospel, was “in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers”. For the young Jesus, cultivating the faith is not for “adults only” but also for the young ones. There are many nominal Catholics here in the Philippines because for them faith is “for adults only”, “for pious people only” and for the “manangs or manongs” in the parish only. Every time I celebrate funeral masses in the funeral homes, I always have a problem finding someone who can read the Scripture readings because most of the family members will have immediate excuses such as an eye problem or something else. To be a lector for some of them is a task for elderly people.

The Sto. Niño was “obedient to his parents”. He observed the 5th Commandment. He did not only honor his parents but he also obeyed them. Once a boy told me, “Father, I don’t like the way my parents are treating me sometimes, but I love them and I obey them”. Maybe Jesus was annoyed at what Mary said to him, but “he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them, and his mother kept all these things in her heart.”

In this Year of the Family, let us go to the Sto. Niño: he will teach us at least three things: firstly, while the children are still young let them be in the father’s house; secondly, faith is not for adults only, but for all and everyone; thirdly, children must be obedient to and love their parents. May Sto. Niño magnetize and draw all the families in the whole world to his heart.

Viva Señor Sto. Niño!!!