Beneath the revelry is faith

January is not just the month that follows “the most wonderful time of the year;” it is, to many, a time of devotion — not just with the Traslacion, but also the feast of the Sto. Nino.

Years back, in the small town of Mogpog tucked away in Marinduque, our family was fortunate to be gifted with a Sto. Nino by our Tiyo Benny and Tiya Dely Hodreal.

I remember the day the figure arrived at home — we were awestruck, somehow in disbelief that “Nonoy” (as we came to call our Sto. Nino) could be carved as beautifully as the one smiling in front of us. It was a moment of immediate conversion to a deeper devotion and greater love for the Lord.

From then on, I would walk to church after class every day to pray before Nonoy. I was hardly a teener then. Even in high school, these daily visits became a part of me.

When times were difficult, I would quietly cry in front of Him. A Little Boy became my friend, my confidante, my succor. When a classmate in high school found out about my devotion, she gifted me with a prayer book of the Sto. Nino.

Today, I remain as devoted as I was decades back.

To further honor Nonoy, we started a Street Dance Festival three years ago. Last week, returning home to Mogpog to close the gaps of the preparation, the conversation turned to why we were doing what we were doing. I was astounded that the people around me had stories of their own to share about their experiences with Nonoy.

Kuya Bogs Luarca (former Las Pinas Land Transportation Office chief and current vice president of the Mogpog Central School Alumni Association Inc. - MCSAAi) revealed that although he had practically begged off from joining the celebration, he changed his mind in the eleventh hour because the delicate medical procedure he was supposed to undergo was canceled. He needed no surgery after all.

The room fell silent. Then Dorothy Serrano, another MCSAAi officer, broke the spell. Teary-eyed and voice cracking, she recalled how full of worry she was about meeting some commitments in the previous year. For reasons she had not dwelled upon then, Dorothy was able to cope and never missed a single obligation. She tried to understand how she managed it in 2025.  In a moment of sheer enlightenment, she confided, “The only thing I did differently was I devoted my time  to helping in the nine-day novena and in the feast of the Sto. Nino.” Dorothy was already crying by the time she offered to sponsor the children’s nine-day novena for the Sto. Niño FOREVER.

That moment gave me a sense of inexplicable joy, knowing that the seeds of devotion for Nonoy sowed by our family were bearing fruits.

Through Tiyo Benny and Tiya Dely, Papa and Mama and now, through my sisters Cheeney and Chingkee, faith in the Little Boy is growing stronger and spreading faster.

To my friends and to countless others I will not name, your devotion, your sacrifices and even your unspoken cries for help are certainly known and heard by the Sto. Nino. For those who have yet to believe, BELIEVE!