By Teodoro Bacani Jr.

I am glad that last Saturday, this newspaper came out with an editorial on the need to educate our Catholic faithful on the devotion to the Black Nazarene so as to correct fanatical and superstitious practices and attitudes. Another devotion where Filipino Catholics need further education towards maturity is the even more popular devotion to the Santo Niño or Holy Child.

We Filipinos have the privilege of celebrating the feast of the Santo Niño on the third Sunday of October. This privilege is unique in the whole Catholic world, and it was given to the Philippines because of the special ties of the history of evangelization with the image of the Holy Child and the popularity of the devotion to him in our country. The story of the image of the Santo Niño goes back to the baptism of Rajah Humabon and his wife, who was given the baptismal name Juana. Magellan gave Princess Juana an image of the Santo Niño. When, after more than 40 years, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu, the inhabitants ran away. Entering the burnt village, one of the soldiers found in a baul (chest) the wrapped image of the same Santo Niño. This discovery was taken as a good sign by Legazpi and his men, and the first settlement was put under the auspices of the Santo Nino. That image is kept today in the Basilica of the Santo Niño in Cebu.

Now the devotion to the Santo Niño is spread throughout the country, and the images of the Santo Niño proliferate even in such places as Quiapo, the center of the devotion to the Black Nazarene. But there is greater need of instruction about the Santo Niño than about the Black Nazarene.

For one thing, those devoted to the Black Nazarene know that the Black Nazarene is the suffering Jesus. The identification of Jesus with the Black Nazarene is clear to the devotees. But, believe it or not, there are many Catholics who do not identify the Santo Niño with Jesus. I have discovered this in several instances. I have asked Catholics during retreats or seminars when the birthday of Jesus was. They easily answered, “Dec. 25.” But when I asked them when the birthday of the Santo Niño was, many were hard put to find the answer. Some answered, Jan. 18, or another date in January. It is clear, therefore, that for these people, the Santo Niño and the Child Jesus are not identical.

Second, as in the case of the Black Nazarene, there is often an exaggerated focus on the image of the Santo Niño. The image is considered to be identical with the Santo Niño who is represented by it. One bishop told us this story: There was once a procession of all the images of the Santo Niño venerated in the Visayas. During the procession, the carroza of the Santo Niño de Cebu tilted, with the danger of the image falling. The people were supposed to have shouted, “Sto. Niño de Tacloban, save the Sto. Niño de Cebu!”

Third, there is a great danger of the Santo Niño becoming a domesticated god. I may be completely wrong, but it seems to me that some devotees treat the image of the Santo Niño almost as a pet, or a doll, rather than as a representation of the Incarnate Lord. Hence, these devotees delight in dolling up the Santo Niño and clothing the image so that it becomes like a charming but undemanding child.

And fourth, there is the superstitious belief that if you give a Santo Niño image as a gift, it is good luck to the recipient. It is supposed to bring even better luck if it is dressed in green (the color of the dollar)!

But the devotion to the Sto. Niño can be a real help towards genuine holiness. People can devote themselves to the Sto. Niño (represented by the image) because they believe that even as an infant, the Child Jesus was already God the Son become human for all of us. Jesus was truly adorable even as a child because from the moment of his conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was already the Son of God made man for our salvation.

The devotion to the Santo Niño can also help us deal more justly and charitably with each other. For devotees of the Santo Niño, the image of the Santo Niño is of great importance and is to be treated with the greatest care and respect. But it can be pointed out to them that living little children and other human beings are even more genuine images of the Son of God than the Santo Niño images made of wood, fiberglass or stone. Hence, every child and every human being is to be treated with the greatest respect and care, especially since our Lord Jesus taught us that whatever we do to the least of his brothers and sisters we do to Jesus himself, and whatever we neglect to do to the least of his brothers and sisters we neglect to do to Jesus himself. But unfortunately, there are people who would in no way countenance damaging or breaking to pieces an image of the Santo Niño but would not hesitate to violate the human rights of their fellow human beings, especially if they are powerless, or would not hesitate to destroy the good name of another person.

Popular devotions like the one to the Santo Niño are not for our entertainment but for our continuing conversion. Let us cultivate this precious devotion to the Santo Niño in a way that makes of the feast not a religious extravaganza but a stimulus to continuing conversion.