Sto. Nino, symbol of humility

Feast of the Sto. Nino in the Philippines
Gospel: Mark 10: 13-16

On the solemn Feast of the Sto. Nino, we are reminded to enliven our faith instead of letting it remain stagnant because of negative effects of popular religiosity. Among the wrong notions of practicing the faith is treating the image of the Sto. Nino as a good luck charm. The devotion to the Infant Jesus brings a much deeper theology than the one mentioned.

First, Jesus' infancy and childhood is all about humility, poverty, and obedience. it is never about crowns, power or wealth. May we be reminded that despite the things that we own, we rely totally on God for our existence.

Secondly, Jesus' infancy brings out the glory of God the Father. Like St. Paul who said, "I boast of my weakness" because God becomes his strength, so too we proclaim God's majesty and glory through our nothingness, otherwise, we are acting like little gods in this world; we don't have time to serve our Father simply because we are so busy creating our own worlds.

and thirdly, the gospel reminds us not to cause scandal to the next generation simply because of serving as wrong examples to them. The reality of social sin is bringing havoc over the moral and spiritual growth of our children. Who would then among our children recognize the Fatherhood of God if we as adults don't give good examples of Christian servanthood to them?

Let us imitate the ways of Jesus - humble and obedient, giving glory to the Father, and serving as good example to others.