Be like a little child, be Like Me

(Excerpt from the Homily of Most Reverend Romulo G. Valles, D.D., on the 55th Feast of the Sto. Niño at the Shrine of the Holy Infant Jesus of Prague, Shrine Hills, Matina, Davao City, January 15, 2023.)

First nga pamalandong in this beautiful day is this, dili ni new but today I would invite us, invite you to thank the Lord for the gift of faith, for the gift of the Christian faith, for the gift of the Catholic faith in us. In particular because the devotion to the Sto. Niño reminds us of a little bit more than five centuries ago, 500 years ago when in God’s mysterious ways the faith was brought to the Philippines. First contact of Christianity among our forefathers, katigulangan nga mga Pilipino but wonders of wonders from then on the faith has survived not in the sense nga hambugero kaayo ta but let’s tell ourselves kita lang ingon niini sa Asia nga strong in keeping the faith and has ever since [been] like that, like today you come here young and old, mga bata unya karon mga propesyonal, simple people different walks of life we are here for example in this shrine showing sa atong pagmahal sa atong pagtoo because your coming here today certainly tell me that you come today, that faith has inspired you in life, ang pagtoo has made you strong. You have many many stories of faith, dili maihap na, but yet you come today I’m very sure showing maybe dili mo maka explain like nako kay mao manay training namo but maybe you can explain but you know very well that faith is a gift for each one of you, that the Lord in the child Jesus has already come in our midst, ang batang Hesus is that mystery of God from the heavens coming to live amongst us and fast forward, not only the child Jesus, fast forward ang mystery nga grabe; that child Jesus became Jesus of Nazareth and hung on the cross for us. Do not forget mao ning naay misa, this Sto. Niño became the Jesus of Calvary and in our name that child Jesus who became the Jesus of Calvary he faced a terrible enemy which is death. He faced death on the cross and defeated death in his resurrection and that resurrection is possibly ours and that is why we come here, you, believing that in Jesus we may have life to the full.

Next… nagsaka ko dinhi unsay akong nakita, daghang mga grupo: murag lolo, lola unya anak unya mga apo, daghan pito, unom, lima, pagkanindot tan-awon, because why is it that miabot kining faith hantod karon after 500 years because we Filipinos, kamo have been able to hand on the faith from one generation to the next kamo nagdala sa inyong mga apo, mga anak, mga binalaye, whole family labaw pana sa seminar by coming here year after year, we teach the next generation sa pagmahal sa atong pagtoo.

…Apil nana sa inyong mission, kada tuig you teach not by yawyaw, by wali but you simply teach, “let’s go to the shrine” and they will learn to love that faith like you do.

In today’s liturgy, we have a very important item, the disciples asked Jesus “kinsa man ang sikat sa kingdom, sa langit or kinsa may angayan sa langit.” Then we heard a beautiful answer, “unless you become like children, unless you become a little child, unless you become a niño and niña and unless you become a holy child yourself,” meaning, in the gospel today from St. Matthew, truly a child, and what is the main characteristic of a child? Truly dependent on the parents.

Unless you become a little child, dili ka pwede sa langit because the basic character of a man of faith, this faith nga gihisgutan is that like a child, we entrust ourselves, we trust in the Lord to take care of us. Now today, we celebrate the feast of that child Jesus. Would you remember that in Calvary when Jesus was hanging on the cross, like a child he said, “Father unto you I entrust my spirit.” Dili siya child Jesus sa Bethlehem but that big man on the cross 33 years old, but yet he acted in the midst of misery and death masaligon like a child, “tatay, papa, father, to you isalig ko ang akong kaugalingon.” From Bethlehem to Calvary, Jesus is our example of being truly a child busa challenge natong tanan karon, again every year, we come to the shrine, we become like children we have challenges in life, daghan kaayo, we come to the shrine with pains in our hearts, maybe we come to the shrine also after 2 years with joy and victory, mixed….but all in all we come to the shrine today renewed and reminded that we are truly God’s children. He came to be with us as a child so that we will know the way, he was asked today, “unsaon man pagkasikat nato sa langit? His answer: “become like a little child, become like me.”