From Devotion to Contemplation and Mission

On top of the hill of Matina is located the shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague. It is popularly called the “Sto. Niňo Shrine”. Thousands of devotees tirelessly climb the shrine hill just to do their piety, devotion, and prayer to the Holy Infant Jesus.

As a short background, the Sto. Niňo shine came to be by the devotion made by the Santos Family in 1968. They built it in their own property. The image of the Holy Infant of Prague in Davao City is an exact replica of the Holy Infant of Prague venerated in the Carmelite Monastery and Shrine of Our Lady of Victories in Prague, Czech Republic. The famous promise made by the Holy Infant Jesus is “The more you honor me, the more I will bless you”; when Fr Cyril honored the Divine Childhood of Jesus, true enough the Lord is faithful to His promise, the Lord blessed him a hundredfold.

In this relaxing sanctuary, devotional prayers and masses to the Holy Infant of Prague in Davao City were held in order to accommodate people coming from different parts of the country.

This year, on January 15-16, during its 54th feast, the Sto. Niňo Shrine is closed. The organizer decided not to pursue the usual activities due to the continuous threat made by the Pandemic COVID-19. This is to avoid the mass gathering during that time when thousands of devotees of the Sto. Niňo will assemble on that occasion and location.

Since the coming of the said image to Shrine hills, followers are increasing in numbers, and the prominence of the Holy Infant Jesus became popularly known throughout the locality of Davao City and its neighboring cities and provinces. Testimonies from devotees of the Holy Infant Jesus became widespread and the gathering of the large crowd of people has become customary in the Shrine area. Pilgrimages are made by different individuals who began to flock to the shrine in search of refuge and assistance from the Holy Child and the God who once became a Child and identified himself with us.

Furthermore, the image of the Sto. Niňo is visible in many homes, at the little altar of the offices and vehicles who are devout themselves and ask for the guidance of the Holy Infant Jesus. The Sto. Niňo have gained a special place in every heart of the faithful. Nevertheless, the sad reality, sometimes we are warm about presenting images of our faith but the irony of it is this: Our faith remains an exterior display and it did not fathom into the heart. It is very important that one’s devotions lead to contemplation and mission. It always leads to the right praise to God, represented by the image that one is holding on to.

Finally, the significance and importance of the devotion to Sto. Niňo is to recognize our being children in front of God. It means, recognizing one’s weaknesses, one’s shortcomings, one’s nothingness, and one’s need for God. Letting oneself be guided and recognize the goodness he has done for one’s life and build total trust and full confidence in His goodness.

May the feast of the Holy Infant of Prague in Davao City every January 15, its anniversary of the arrival of the image to Matina Shrine hills, everyone is invited to discover the Holy Child and to imitate Him in his childlike qualities. Through this devotion to the Child Jesus, we may be able to become true children of God, which one needs to accept in order to enter into the Kingdom of God. (Bro. Soren Abellanosa)