Liturgy of the Word:

Is. 9:1-6;

Ps. 97:1, 2-3, 3, 4-6;

Eph. 1:3-6, 15-18;

Mt. 18:1-5, 10.

Some Notes from the ORDO: Today, we remember the Pontifical Work of the Holy Childhood. Children are told to pray, do good works, and offer sacrifices for the Missions. They are asked to recite one Our Father, Hail Mary, with the invocation, “St. Francis Xavier, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us and for all the children of the world.” Mass collections are sent to the Holy Father for the children of the world.

Some Notes on the Feast of Sto. Niño. On every 3rd Sunday of January, we celebrate the Christ Child, whose most popular images in the Philippines are the Sto. Niño de Cebu and the Sto. Niño de Praga. The celebration is both a religious and cultural event. It draws thousands of the faithful to Cebu for prayer and for the grand procession and colorful parade, replete with grand native costumes and dances. It is a celebration of faith, love and unity.

Along with Magellan’s Cross, the Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu is the oldest Christian artifact in the Philippines.

On 7 April 1521, the Spanish expedition of Ferdinand Magellan landed on Limasawa, southern Leyte. He met the local ruler, Rajah Kolambu, who introduced him to Rajah Humabon, ruler of Cebu island. Fr. Pedro de Valderrama, Magellan’s chaplain, converted and baptized Humabon, Humamay and Kolambu. Humabon was named Carlos, after the Spanish King Charles I. Humamay was given the name Juana, after Joanna of Castille. And Kolambu was named Juan. Together with them, about 540 were also baptized. Magellan gave Humabon and Humamay a bust of Christ as the “Ecce Homo,” an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Santo Niño. 

On behalf of Rajah Humabon, Magellan attacked Mactan Island. But in the battle with Lapu-Lapu on 27 April, Magellan was killed. The expedition returned to Spain. 

In 1565, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi’s expedition arrived to establish a colony to trade spices. But the Cebuanos resisted, the Spaniards. On April 27, 1565, Lopez opened fire on Cebu, and burnt the town. The next day, April 28, Juan Camus, found the image of the Sto. Niño in a pine box in the ruins. The Spaniards considered the survival of the statue as a miracle. 

A church made of bamboo and nipa palm was built to house the Sto. Niño on the spot where it was found. 

The present Basilica Minore del Santo Niño stands on the same spot. In 1921, as part of the 400th commemoration of Christianity in the Philippines, the icon of the Sto. Niño was canonically crowned. 100 years later, in 2021, the Basilica was declared a National Cultural Treasure on the Philippines. 

In 1989, the practice of “Traslacion” began. This is how it takes place. On the 9th day of novena Masses, a dawn procession is held. The image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de Cebu is brought to the Basilica Menor. It then travels with the Sto. Niño to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City, thus “reuniting” the Holy Family. 

On the morning of the “Visperas” (Eve), the images of the Sto. Niño and Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe are returned to Cebu in a fluvial parade that ends with a reenactment of the 1st Mass, wedding and Baptism in the nation at Cebu’s Pilgrim Center. A grand yet solemn procession in the afternoon follows, ending with Holy Mass. 

The Grand Sinulog is held the next day, Sunday, the Feast of the Sto. Niño. The Festival ends on Friday and is marked with the traditional “Hubò” (undress) rite. The Sto. Nino’s vestments and regalia are reverently removed and then dressed in a plainer set of robes with the regalia, while the priest intones a prayer. This leads to the singing of the refrain, “Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat.” The Philippine Navy honored the image as “Lord Admiral of the Sea,” acknowledging Christ’s lordship over seafarers, mariners, and marine ecology. 

The image of the Sto. Niño is a dark wood statue, approximately 12 inches tall. It depicts the Child Jesus, with a serene countenance, dressed as a Spanish monarch, bearing an imperial regalia, a golden crown, a cross-bearing orb (“globus cruciger”) a royal sceptre. Thus, the Child Jesus is depicted as Universal King and “Salvator Mundi” (Savior of the World).  It is the only canonically crowned image of Jesus Christ in the Philippines. He is the official Patron of the Church in the Philippines. Viva Pit Senyor!

Prayer — Almighty God, your only Son, begotten from all ages, humbled himself as a child in Nazareth and became subject to Mary and Joseph. Grant that we may learn from his example to embrace your will in all things and, holding fast to the dignity of all, serve our lowly brothers and sisters with open hands and gentle heart. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.