Fewer devotees join rainy Walk for Jesus
SOME devotees of the Sto. Niño attended the Penitential Walk for Jesus yesterday dawn to ask for help, healing and blessings. Arnold Jon Nudalo went just to say thanks.
Cradling a Sto. Niño image the size of a child, Nudalo went to thank the Child Jesus for a wonderful gift: the chance to work in Oman as a professional welder.
The 27-year-old high school graduate said he thought that his plan to work abroad had failed af- ter the applications he sent to several companies went unanswered for a year.
He went to the Basilica last November and prayed to the Sto. Niño to ask for His help in getting a job, Nudalo said.
A month later, he got a call from one of the agencies, informing him that he was hired.
Braving the rain yesterday during the procession, Nudalo said everything was worth it.
“Para nako, mao ra niy
akong way nga makapasalamat ko ni Sto. Niño. Kay kung dili tungod niya, dili ko mahatagan ug chance nga makatrabaho sa gawas (For me, this is the only way I can thank the Child Jesus. If it were not for him, I wouldn’t be given the chance to work abroad),” he said.
In his homily yesterday, Fr. Pacifico Nohara Jr., the newly installed rector and prior of the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño, said there are devotees who seek the Sto. Niño’s blessings but when they receive them, they forget to give thanks.
“Karong mga panahona, lisud ang paghatag og pasalamat sa mga grasya nga nadawat. Sa dihang makadawat na sa grasya, maglipaylipay dayon, nakalimot kung asa gikan nang grasyaha (These days, it’s difficult for some to give thanks for all the blessings we receive. When we are blessed with something, we tend to celebrate and forget where the blessings came from),” Nojara said.
He urged devotees and pilgrims who receive their blessings to never forget to give thanks.
Nohara also reminded the faithful that their love for the Sto. Niño should be translated into actual love for children, especially those in dire need.
“Nagkadaiyang hulagway ang mga imahen sa Sto. Niño nga atong gidala sa procession. Giampingan, gimahal nato ang imahen. Apan wa kita’y pagpakabana sa kahimtang sa mga kabataan sa atong katilingban (We bring with us different images of the Sto. Niño. We take good care of them and love them, but we ignore the children in the streets),” Nohara said.
After the mass, Nohara told reporters that he was overwhelmed by the intense faith of the Cebuanos who braved the rains just to attend the first novena mass.
He hopes that devotees and pilgrims will continue to attend the next eight novena masses before the Fiesta Señor celebration on Jan. 15.
Despite the heavy rain, the police said around 40,000 Sto. Niño devotees joined the procession.
Last year, the crowd who attended the dawn procession was estimated at 300,000 plus.
“The Walk with Jesus was generally peaceful and we didn’t have any incidents recorded,” said Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) Director Senior Supt. Joel Doria.
Some 240 police officers, including personnel from the Cebu City Government, were deployed. Twenty patrol cars were likewise dispatched.
Doria said that every corner of the grand parade and solemn procession routes will have a mobile patrol and uniformed personnel stationed nearby.
The police are to stay six meters away from the crowd during the parade and the procession.
He encouraged the public to report suspicious-looking packages or persons during the Sinulog celebration.
For his part, Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, who attended the activity, said there were enough responders who were deployed to the procession route. Their “exemplary” efforts contributed to the peaceful holding of the procession, he said.
Tumulak said that yesterday’s procession was the first time that the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office did not record any medical incident, perhaps because of the cold rainy weather early yesterday.