Nazareno ‘panata’ that saved a marriage, built a family
HELP FROM ABOVE John Paul Geron holds an image of Jesus Nazareno on his way home from a Mass at the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno in Quiapo, Manila, on Thursday, January 9, 2025. INQUIRER.net / Kurt Dela Peña
MANILA, Philippines – John Paul Geron can still remember how intense his prayer was to Jesus Nazareno when he and his wife separated for a few months.
“Araw-araw, talagang dumudulog ako sa Señor (Everyday, I really prayed to the Señor),” he said.
He told INQUIRER.net that he has been a devotee of the Nazareno since he was a child, but his devotion got deeper in 2021, when his marriage had a breakdown, resulting in an eight-month split.
A 42-year-old resident of Pulilan, Bulacan, Geron brought with him a small replica of Jesus Nazareno as he attended the Mass at the Quiapo Church on Thursday, Jan. 9, saying it was where he drew strength when the problem came.
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Article continues after this advertisement“Hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko pero nagtiwala ako sa Jesus Nazareno (I did not know what to do, but I trusted Jesus Nazareno),” he said while walking down Quezon Boulevard.
Article continues after this advertisementHe said he wanted to bring his wife and child to the Quiapo Church, too, so that they could all say thank you to the Señor for bringing them back together. However, his wife had to take care of their child, who was still too young.
GRANTED PRAYER Joren Calara and her husband, together with their child, on their way to Quiapo Church, walking barefoot from Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City on Thursday, January 9, 2025. INQUIRER.net / Kurt Dela Peña
Like Geron, 23-year-old Joren Calara of Old Balara, Quezon City, has something to be grateful for — the gift of a happy and complete family, saying it is everything she prayed for, especially in every Traslacion that she attended.
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She and her husband walked together from Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City to the Quiapo Church while carrying what she described as Jesus Nazareno’s greatest blessing to them—a child.
“Sobra-sobra ang pasasalamat ko kaya talagang ‘di namin alintana ang pagod (I am so grateful that is why we do not care even if we get tired),” Calara told INQUIRER.net.
Calara pointed out that Jesus Nazareno really heard and eventually granted her prayers.
