EDITORIAL - Processions must be solemn

Anyone who has participated in or watched the processions of both the Black Nazarene of Quiapo and the Santo Niño of Cebu will likely notice the whale of a difference in the conduct of either activity.

Without meaning to be disrespectful, irreverent or sacrilegious, the procession of the Black Nazarene cannot but be described as pure mayhem. Watching the swirling and surging mass of humanity around the Black Nazarene, one is reminded of bacteria multiplying out of control.

The carriage that should have been intended for the Black Nazarene alone is so full of people the icon ends up getting obscured and invisible. But that is not all as every now and then somebody literally swims over the human sea to clamber up the carriage for a touchdown.

Maybe there's no stopping such an intense display of human passion for the Black Nazarene but it is difficult to believe that nothing can be done to at least free up the carriage to give the icon the respect and dignity it deserves.

If one truly believes in God, it should not be difficult to believe as well that prayers and devotion need not be expressed bodily with emphasis on touch or proximity. Certainly God will not discriminate against those who merely stand at the sides.

Thankfully, faith and devotion to the Santo Niño in Cebu has not reached such wild and unruly proportions. It is not clear if Cebuanos are just different or that Cebu just doesn't have such an unwieldy number of people. Whatever, it is great that we do our thing our way.

At the very least, processions of  the Santo Niño have not lost their solemnity to the crowds. The hundreds of thousands of devotees who follow the procession or watch from the sides still do so with heads bowed in prayer.

The discipline and order that characterize Santo Niño processions help reinforce the distinction between the human and the divine, the supplicants and the saving grace. There is no mixing up of everything into one sweltering mass where everyone is a god unto himself.