Santo Niño and the overturning of values
In the past few days, I attended the Novena Mass in anticipation of the Feast of Santo Niño. In my reflection, Santo Niño presents three key messages that simultaneously make him a magnet of love.
First, Santo Niño and the engaged God. In Santo Niño, we encounter God choosing to be present in the form of a child. He is the most perfect representation of what French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas calls 'the Other,' manifested in the form of a hungry, orphaned, naked, and stranger child. Santo Niño invites the Church to orient its theological concepts and practices towards engaging with the liberation of 'the Other' as its goal. The God believed in through theology is an engaged God. His holiness is not defined by a static separation from the profane world but by entering the world as a source of inspiration and transformative power. The God within Santo Niño is the one who involves himself in the history of humanity.
The human response to such a God is an involved response. Faith, fundamentally, is about engaging in the movement of God's involvement.
The German theologian Johann Baptist Metz expressed that the most appropriate human attitude towards an engaged God is 'open-eye mysticism'. This implies that people find God in the midst of the world: Looking at the world without turning away from it. It means seeking the face of Santo Niño in the midst of the poor who have lost their faces and listening to him in the midst of people who long to be heard. If we are devout in our devotion to Santo Niño but, at the same time, indifferent to hungry children, we are actually 'not doing well.' Our way of life must align with our faith.
Second, Santo Niño and the revolution of power. God in Santo Niño is a God who intends to revolutionize human concepts of power. Santo Niño is so loved, not because of all his strength and omnipotence. He is loved because he dares to descend from all his majesty in heaven, unite himself with poor children, and side with the victims, who are often forgotten even by their own families.
He dares to revolutionize service and sharply redefine concepts of power. He turns muddy paths into palaces, prioritizes the hungry, and dresses in tatters when the world is already entangled in hedonism. He makes himself a friend to those often marginalized, even by their own families. "Even if a mother forgets you, I will not forget you because you belong to me" (Is. 49:15–16). With this, Santo Niño is igniting what we call the revolution of power: Becoming a king through self-surrender. He is a king through the path of sacrifice and self-surrender.
Pope Francis emphasizes this option when he says, "I prefer a Church that is dirty and smells because it is close to the poor, rather than a church that is elegant and clean but keeps a distance from the poor by building walls." Santo Niño wants us to be a Church that is dirty due to a shared sense of solidarity with our suffering neighbors, and not a church wounded by gossip and prejudice. He desires us to be a Church that smells of the sweat and toil of striving together for goodness, not a Church that is fragrant because everyone is pursuing their own prosperity.
Third, Santo Niño and humility. God in Santo Niño symbolizes gentleness and humility. This aligns with his words: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart." (Mat. 11:29) There is never Catholicism without gentleness and humility. Santo Niño reminds us of the gap between the loving rule of God and the world's rule full of manipulation. When the world's rule is marked by luxury; he is dressed in tatters, and even his robe is taken away from him. When the world's rule is marked by grand buildings, he doesn't even have a place to lay his head. When the world's ruler easily manipulates the truth for personal gain, he becomes a victim of hatred and jealousy.
I think it is precisely this overturning of values that makes Santo Niño a magnet of love. He encourages people to engage with the world in all its complexity rather than escape from it. Being Catholic is not just about being familiar with rituals but also about participating in Santo Niño's prophetic vision, which is to dive into the world and be a channel of God's love in the midst of the world.