Sunday Gospel Reflection
Feast of the Sto. Niño
Mark 10:13-16
Batobalani sa Gugma
Bro. JM Nuqui
It was in the summer of 2016 when I first visited Cebu. I actually looked forward to it, not only because I do get to spend time with my family, but I also get to visit the wonderful spots I usually see in my elementary history textbooks. The night strolls, Cebu lechon, Magellan’s Cross, Fort San Pedro, and a lot more were really a marvel to the senses. But of all the places we’ve been, I won’t forget my experience when we were in the Basilica del Sto. Niño.
Instead of the usual bowing or doing the sign of the cross, I noticed that people simply wave whenever they pass by the church. And during that moment, I had a lot of questions in mind. Bakit sila kumakaway? Bakit kinakawayan si Sto. Niño? Bakit sila kumakaway sa bata? Deep in my thoughts and caught off guard, I found myself waving at the Niño. Sa gitna ng napakaraming taong kumakaway sa batang Hesus, nakita ko ang aking sariling kumakaway, sumasamo, at nagdadasal sa Kanya. Truly, the hand is the expression of the condition of the heart.
Traditionally, the waving of hands during the singing of “Batobalani sa Gugma” is the most emotional part of a mass at the Basilica. And people wave their hands for various reasons: surrender, pleading, supplication, expression of joy and gratitude, reaching out, and even the most obvious reason of why we wave our hands—the act of saying hi or hello to God.
Batobalani sa gugma. Magnet of love. I believe our devotion to the Sto. Niño is beautifully encapsulated by this term. Whenever we are with a child, we aren’t afraid to make wacky faces, or even make fun of ourselves. We strip off our masks for why pretend to be someone we’re not in front of a child? At sa mata, ngiti, at tawa ng bata, nararamdaman natin na tayo’y tanggap at minamahal maging sino pa man tayo. And in front of the Sto. Niño, we believe that our prayers are listened to, not because of our own merits, but because we are loved. Pag-ibig ang nagdadala sa atin na sumamo sa Sto. Niño. Pag-ibig ang hatid sa atin ng batang Hesus.
My dear friends, on this feast of the Sto. Niño, we are also called to be “batobalani sa gugma.” We are called to be magnets of love ourselves. Tayo rin ay tinatawag na magmahal tulad ng isang bata—that kind of loving without bias or prejudice, yung pag-ibig na hindi na namimili o pinipilit. It is my hope and prayer that in our loving we, too, may become love itself. We pray that we may always have a heart that of a child, that of the Sto. Niño.
Kanamo malooy Ka unta nga kanimo nanggilaba! Viva Pit Senyor!
