Viva Santo Niño!

“ God, the Creator of all things, is so full of mercy and compassion that whatever may be the grace for which we stretch out our hands, we shall not fail to receive it.” - St Bernard

First Reading: 1 Samuel 3:3B-10, 19

Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, “Here I am.” Samuel ran to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called me.” “I did not call you, “ Eli said. “Go back to sleep.” So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. “Here I am, “ he said. “You called me.” But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”

At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet. The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.

Responsorial Psalm: PS 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

Second Reading: 1 Cor 6:13C-15A, 17-20

Brothers and sisters:

The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body; God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.

Gospel: John 1:35-42

John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said,

“Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus.

Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?”

They said to him, “Rabbi” — which translated means Teacher —, “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they went and saw where Jesus was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus.

Reflection
By Nicola S. Albano

The Gospel message today is a continuation of the Gospel message last week.“This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””

By saying this, St. John the Baptist humbled himself in the lowest position during that time. God is calling us to be humble. Even Jesus, the King of Kings, came from a very humble family. He was born in a manger.

Why is Jesus called the Lamb of God? In Biblical times, people would offer a lamb as a sacrifice at the temple. Symbolically, God sacrificed Jesus in order for us to be redeemed from our sins.   

Today, we also celebrate the Feast of the Santo Niño. The belief of the Santo Niño instituted the Christian faith in the Philippines. Today we celebrate the 450th year of the finding of the image of the Santo Niño de Cebu [1565-2015], the 450 years of Presence of the Augustinians in the Philippines [1565-2015], and the 50th Anniversary of the Santo Niño Church as a basilica minore [1965-2015).

I have been blessed to do a pilgrimage to the Church of Our Lady Victorious (Panny Marie Vitezne) in Prague for my birthday in 2011. It has a small statue of Santo Niño de Praga. The Santo Niño receives clothing from believers all over the world. Santo Niño came to Prague from Spain sometime after 1555 as a wedding gift for one of the Spanish princesses who married a prominent Czech nobleman Vratislav of Pernstejn. The miraculous image of the vulnerable infant traveling through dangerous paths and overcoming adversities was very powerful in Prague as well as in the Philippines and the rest of the world.

Prayer

Father, may our devotion to Santo Niño brings us closer to You. Like a child, may we trust You completely and look at the world with wonder and joyfully receive the tons of blessings You make available for all of us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.