Santo Niño, come to us!

As the glow and glare of Christmas fade and the big bang of New Year dies down, the rumble of Sinulog drums begins to fill the air keeping alive the people’s festive mood.

Santo Niño! We offer ourselves to you, and all roads lead to your shrine. Bless us, who seek your graces!

Thousands of us come for these graces – the poor, the humble, yes, the lowly come to you for their hearts beat for the divine, while the mighty have nothing but doubts and disdain. The sick and sickly too come to you, seeking solace from sufferings, crying for better things, sighing for wellness of being.

Votive candles we light to send up smoke for saints’ delight. Hosts in heaven, help! these legs are weary dancing, dancing for your blessings, hope for hopeless, faith for faithless.

Son of Mary, be kind to us – this feast day give us money, give us cash!

Songs we sing so loud and clear. “Kanamo malooy ka unta nga kanimo nangilaba…” And we raise our hands, wave these left and right, hearts inspired and faith afire.

Child of God, we’re sure you love the sight. We come from far and near, our songs are our incense and myrrh! Year end, year out, we come to sing out our faith, our hopes and fears, but most of all for the bounty of the year.

Who stays the storm from rampaging into this land? Who holds the waters from buffeting the shores? Who scatters the clouds to soften the rain? Who reins in the pestilence or calm the shaking earth? Child of Cebu, we are dear to you and you are dear to us. Listen then to our songs, rejoice in our offerings. This feast day and every day, we sing our praise to you.

We know you’re with us. One time you were a child lost in the crowd and sought the comfort of a pious man. He lifted you up then to see the multitude as they trek the street in homage to your icon. You were excited like other children, then disappeared from the fellow’s sight his cap on your head. Later, as the man prayed in your church you left the cap by his side to show him it was you who was with him in the street.

We know you are a living saint, who sometimes leave your pedestal to wander among men. At one time you brought food to a candle vendor’s kids, who could not come home early because she was hearing your mass. Her kids were fast asleep when she came home having feasted the food a dark child brought. Of course, who else would do this but the Child of God?

Santo Niño, we’ll be there with you as you make your sounds in our streets. We’ll bring our kids to teach them to pay homage to you. We’ll walk them with you all the way through with prayers in our lips. We will get tired of course but it will be a sweet weariness. As long as you walk with us everything will be all right.

Surely, with you, dear Child of God, everything will be all right in this country – despite callous politicians and self-serving leaders, despite unemployed breadwinners and hungry families, despite conflicts in the mountains and in coastal lands. Through all these we will endure because you are with us.

Some of those who seek to lead us, please weed them out – the carpetbaggers, the cheats and the hypocrites. You will unmask them and disclose the venom in their mouths. You will unveil the canker in their hearts so the people will know and shun their kind.

But the pure-hearted ones you will anoint. They whose heart beat with people’s hearts, the good, the just and the saintly – you will lift them up for the people to see and choose. You will make them prevail.

And among us, your faithfuls, let love reign in our hearts. You are the bread of life and love is you call. But our hearts are hardened and many don’t hear your call. So we go on with our selfish ways, brothers wolfing brothers, slaughtering each other with words or swords. One bread one wine – where’s our oneness as a people?

This feast day, Santo Niño, come to us in the wretchedness of our ways. The world has become too much with us and many are led astray. Come to us, even as we dance for vanity and false graciousness. Come to us, even if faith is faint and doubts defies.

This feast day, dear Child Jesus, our Brother Cebuano, come to us, come to us….

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