CBCP exec: Honor Santo Niño through ordinary acts of faith

Amid various celebrations by Filipinos honoring the Santo Niño (Child Jesus) on Sunday, a Catholic Church official reminded the faithful the best way to honor the patron is with small ordinary acts of faith. Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Youth executive secretary Fr. Conegundo Garganta said devotees should follow the example of the Boy Jesus of being obedient to the Father's will. “Let us go beyond our shallow ways of revering the Sto. Niño. This year of faith, the Sto. Niño inspires us to assess the quality of the faith that we claim to have,” he said, according to an article posted Sunday on the CBCP news site. On Sunday, Filipinos in various parts of the country participate in various festivities in honor of the Santo Niño, including the Sinulog in Cebu, Caracol in Cavite, and the Buling-Buling in Manila. Filipinos in Iloilo will have their turn next week with the Dinagyang Festival. Most of these festivities have also become tourist attractions. But Garganta said Catholics should learn to celebrate and revere the Sto. Niño not only emotionally. He suggested the Santo Niño’s small size should invite everyone to do small, ordinary and usual acts to grow deeply in faith. “The Santo Niño would initially attract us because of its cuteness. But it should not end there because behind the Child Jesus is a bigger mission of carrying out God’s plan for the salvation of [humanity],” he said. “This is why the Sto. Niño also invites us to partake in the Child Jesus’ mission through small, ordinary or usual ways to grow deep in the faith,” he added. Garganta said many Santo Niño devotees miss out on the examples set by the Child Jesus – that small acts offered to God never go unnoticed. “The ordinary, small ones are the easiest to embrace and adopt. The child Jesus’ readiness to carry out the will of God despite his age and miniature gestures teaches us that basic thing,” he added. — LBG, GMA News