Tagle urges faithful to be humble like Sto. Nino

Catholic devotees raise their images of the Infant Jesus known as Sto. Nino during a Mass officiated by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, to celebrate His feast day, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014 at Manila’s Tondo district. Tagle appealed to the Catholic faithful to emulate the Sto. Niño for His child-like humility. AP

MANILA, Philippines—Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Sunday appealed to the Catholic faithful to emulate the Sto. Niño for His child-like humility.

At a Mass marking the feast of the Sto. Niño in Tondo, Manila, Tagle said true devotion to the Holy Child starts with humility, which is the key to heaven and eternity.

“Let us emulate His humility. Even if you have 2,000 images of the Sto. Niño, you’re not emulating the Child Jesus if you are too proud, kapag punong-puno ka ng kayabangan (if you are full of yourself),” he told the congregation of the Sto. Niño de Tondo Parochial Church.

He stressed that it is not enough that devotees own or hold an image of the Sto. Niño.

“Kung hawak natin Siya, tularan natin Siya (If we possess an image of the Sto. Niño, let us follow in the footsteps of the Holy Child),” he said. “Jesus was being like a child in His complete obedience to His Heavenly Father, in His humility, and in His mercifulness to others, especially the poor, and that’s what the Sto. Niño wants us to emulate.”

Tagle said real devotion to the Sto. Niño also calls for conversion.

“Unless we change our ways and return to being ‘like children,’ we will never experience the kingdom of God,” the archbishop said.

The feast of the Child Jesus is celebrated in many parts of the country in remembrance of the virtues of Jesus Christ as a child.

Devotees attribute successes and miracles to the Sto. Niño, believing that worshipping the Child Jesus will give them good luck or grant them protection.

Tagle said emulating the virtues of the Child Jesus and showing obedience to the Holy Father would bring a ray of hope in the country.

This hope and solidarity, according to the archbishop, was very visible after the destruction brought by the recent calamities.

“I deeply appreciate those who showed modesty and solidarity to the victims of recent disasters that hit the country,” Tagle said of the volunteers to the relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Visayas.

Because of this “selflessness,” help and hope overwhelmed the survivors in the devastated areas especially in Palo, Leyte; and Guiuan, Eastern Samar, the archbishop noted.

Thousands of Sto. Niño devotees gathered in Tondo on Sunday, bringing with them images of the Holy Child to celebrate His feast day.