Cycle C - Year II:

17 January 2016: Feast of the Sto. Nino
(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Read  Luke 2:41-52


The Sto. Nino: the human face of God!

Every baby born is a clear sign that God has not grown tired of the human race. Filipinos are known for their fondness and special affection for children in the family.

The Church celebrates this Sunday the Feast of the Sto. Nino, who is the human face of God as a little Child. Filipinos revere the image of the Holy Child or the Sto Nino throughout the country. The devotion to the Holy Child is said to be the oldest and one of the most popular in the Philippines, recalling the birth of the Catholic faith in our country in 1521. The Holy See granted us special permission to celebrate the Feast of the Sto. Nino every third Sunday of January, which falls on the 17th this year 2016.

The Feast of the Holy Child is a celebration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That is, God came to us as a child to show us how to become children of God, and how we must entrust our lives to our heavenly Father. God chose to make Himself visible in Jesus as an appealing child in order to draw us to Himself. He sees in their eyes the reflection of freshness and holiness in God's kingdom.

In the Gospel narrative, we read about Jesus going up to the Temple for his first Passover at the dawn of his manhood (usually the age of twelve for Jewish males.) This shows that although He is still in His youth, Jesus already recognized that He has been given a call by His heavenly Father. We an see this in His response to the anxious  inquiry of His mother Mary: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

This Gospel incident reminds us that our devotion to the Holy Child should not stop at His infancy. Because the Holy Child we revere in today's feast grew up to be Jesus of Nazareth who inaugurates the kingdom of God by His preaching, healing and missionary work. So, too, our devotion to the Sto. Nino must grow and deepen so that we become witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ by our words and good examples of Christian living. In other words, our devotion to the Sto. Nino must bear good fruits in practical life. For our heavenly Father also calls each of us to a unique task and mission in this life. All we need is to understand and cooperate with God's plan in our lives. And the Lord will give us the grace to say "yes" to His will and grace to persevere in our calling.

May the Feast of the Sto. Nino inspire us to have a special love for the "little ones" in our midst: the poor, defenseless, persecuted, and all those who rely on God for their support. And may our devotion to the Sto. Nino also grow so that we become witnesses of Christ and missionaries for His saving work on earth.

A Blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!