“Dancing Niño” a sign, not a miracle

CEBU, Philippines - Over a week since the reported dancing of the image of Santo Niño in the town of Barili, some of the devotees could still not fathom their experience.

Sixty-two-year-old Edisio Cambabad is firm that the image of the Holy Child he carried on his hands danced on its own.

The image he was referring to was the wooden replica of Santo Niño de Cebu housed inside the Virgen delos Remedios chapel in Barangay Patupat.

Residents celebrate the annual feast of their patroness every December 18, but this year, they decided to hold for the first time a celebration in honor of the Child Jesus.

Coinciding with the weeklong commemoration of the “kaplag” or the discovery of the Holy image in Cebu City, the faithful of Barangay Patupat held a nine-day novena from April 20 – the day after the “Dacing Niño” phenomenon.

Yesterday was the actual celebration that was marked through a Eucharistic celebration.

In a visit to the chapel, The FREEMAN chanced upon Cambabad who patiently waited for the Holy Mass to start.

Until now, he admitted the phenomenon kept him puzzled.

“Nanglimbawot akong balhibo. Wala ko kasabot sa akong gibati. Kahilakon ko tungod kay buhi kaayo siya. Nisayaw siya sa akong mga kamot. Nakapangutana ko sa akong kaugalingon nga tinuod ba nga nagmilagro kini?” he asked.

For Monsignor Rolando Jimenez, Sta. Ana Parish Priest in Barili, he considers the phenomenon as a sign rather than a miracle.

Jimenez, who is tasked by the Archdiocese of Cebu to look into the matter, officiated the concelebrated Mass yesterday and talked with the local Catholic community afterwards.

He explained to them that “private revelation” or a message from God mediated through the Santo Niño image is only for one’s self to keep and to decipher the message.

“Ang kani nga mga katingalahang buhat o mas gitawag nato nga private revelation, kun kitay gipakitaan niini, dili maayo nga atong ipanabi sa uban, it is a personal encounter for you,” said Jimenez.

“Ang mensahe sa Ginoo, tingali naa na siya’y tawag sa usa’g-usa kanato. Maybe that is a special call sa Ginoo nato… ang tawag nato ini is maybe an invitation for us to know Christ better as he reveals himself in the Gospels,” he added, as he lamented that some Catholics have not yet understood the true essence of their faith.

Jimenez said he wanted to emphasize that people don’t need miracles to believe as these have been demonstrated a long time ago through Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

“We should always strive to search and make sense of our faith through full, conscious, active participation of the Holy Eucharist,” he said.

An experience may really have happened, but this private revelation is not supposed to be imposed on other people, Jimenez further said.

“Dili man na nimo malalis nga iya nang nasinati. That may be true for that person pero ang iyang experience kun iyang i-impose sa uban, that’s another story,” he explained further.

As to their investigation, he said he still cannot give a conclusive statement since they are still assessing the ambivalent manifestations of the phenomena to the people involved.

Jimenez said good signs surfaced along with the supposed miracle like what the faithful of Virgen delos Remedios chapel in Barangay Patupat have shown by gathering in a Holy Mass.

“How do you test whether a phenomenon come to the good spirit or bad spirit? That still has to be judged. If it promotes peace and harmony, that is a good sign. If it promotes commotion or disturbance, that is from the bad spirit,” he said. (FREEMAN)