The Lord is with us throughout our lifetime

On January 18, Cebu and other provinces in the Philippines will celebrate the Feast of Santo Nino or the Child Jesus. Instead of the solemn prayers of gratitude for God’s stepping down on earth to become one of us, the celebration is done in carnival fashion. Let us trace the deeper significance of this feast.

God’s promise to redeem mankind from his weakness is the central theme of the Bible. Even before one’s birth God’s plan for every person has been laid down.

From the beginning, God created heaven and earth and all the life within them as recorded in Bible history, and offered it to Adam and Eve, mankind’s parents. When they disobeyed the Father, they were banished from paradise, consequently losing the gifts of immortality and full knowledge.

But God’s covenant continued. He promised a Savior. Thus, God Almighty and His prophets in the Old Testament repeatedly reminded the people to observe the laws that bind men to God. As His children, we are meant to observe the Golden Rule: “Do not do unto others what you do not wish done unto you.”

Unfortunately, man’s lower nature dominated. Brothers fought brothers. Wars were waged among neighboring countries. Greed, arrogance and tyranny enslaved the people of many lands.

In the “middle of time”, the Savior was born. The most widely used calendar, the Gregorian calendar, is marked in the middle by the birth of Christ. Thus, the years before Our Lord was born are followed by the initials BC or before Christ, and the years after Our Lord’s life on earth are marked AD or anno domini.

The need for discriminating true from false messages

The esoteric teachings point out that the spirit world has positive and negative forces. The negative spirits are usually pretenders who enjoy stirring up the gullibility of people. They enter a lovely statue of Our Lady, Our Lord or Santo Niño and give familiar messages, usually threatening and fearsome warnings.

It will be wise for one, therefore, to watch out for Santo Niños who are gibberish and childish, who their mentors claim “ask’ for toys and goodies to eat. They also make false claims about their power. The real Santo Niño would encourage people to do their part – by praying. He would not claim to give instant remedy to problems requested by petitioners.

The true spirits give very sober and hopeful messages. They never cause divisions among the faithful.

Jesus could speak as an infant to Mary

These excerpts are taken from the book, The Life of Mary As Seen by the Mystics, compiled by Raphael Brown from the visions and private revelations of St. Elizabeth of Schoenau (1127?-1164), St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), Ven. Mother Mary of Agreda (1602-1665), and Sister Anna Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824).

The Divine Child spoke only when alone with His mother until He reached the age of one year. Then, He decided to break His silence and spoke to His foster father. One day, when Mary and Joseph were talking together with deep reverence about the marvelous goodness of God, the Child Jesus resting in His Mother’s arms said to St. Joseph in a clear voice: “My father.”  Upon hearing the Infant God call him “father”, Joseph, his heart thrilling with new love, gratitude and joy, fell on his knees before Jesus. 

Then Jesus continued: “I have come from Heaven upon this earth in order to be the Light of the world and in order to rescue it from the darkness of sin; to seek and to know My sheep, as a good shepherd, to give them the nourishment of eternal life to teach them the way to Heaven, and to open its gates, which had been closed by their sins. And I desire that you both be children of the Light, which you have so close to you.”*

Jesus’ tunic and footwear

“Clothe Me, My Mother, in a tunic of a lowly and ordinary color. This alone will I wear, and it shall grow with Me. Over this garment they shall cast lots at My Death… Men shall see that I was born and wish to live poor and destitute of visible things, which being earthly, oppress and darken the heart of man.

But, Mary replied: “My Son and my Lord, Thy Mother has not the heart to allow Thee to go barefoot at this tender age. Permit me, my Love, to provide some kind of covering to protect Thy feet. I also fear that the rough garment which Thou asked of me will wound Thy tender body if Thou wearest no linen beneath.

“My Mother, I will permit a slight and ordinary covering for My feet until the time of My public preaching for I must do that barefoot. But I do not wish to wear linen.”

Mary therefore set about at once preparing her Son’s robe. She obtained some natural and uncolored wool and spinning it very finely with her own hands, she wove it on a small loom into a one-piece garment without any seam. At her request its color was changed to a unique mixture of brown and silver-gray. She also made a half-tunic as undergarment and a pair of strong sandals.

Although Mary had taken no measurement beforehand, the robe fitted Him perfectly, covering His feet without hindering Him in walking and the sleeves extended to the middle of His hands.*

Jesus’ first steps on this earth

Then Mary gently placed the Infant God on His feet for the first time and He took His first steps on this earth. He was by far the most beautiful Child who has ever lived. Upon seeing Him standing there in His plain and humble robe, the angels marveled while Mary and Joseph were filled with new love and joy.

Now that the Child Jesus could walk, he began to retire and spend certain hours in prayer in His Mother’s room. As she silently wondered whether she should stay with Him at such times, He said to her: “My Mother, remain with me always in order to imitate Me in My actions, for I have chosen you as the vessel and model of all perfection.”

Birth is the most powerful moment of life

Life is a gift of God. When a baby is born, he is filled with potentials ready to be ignited. “To become” a human being nature enables the child to walk and speak spontaneously without a teacher.

By three, the child is ready to be scholastically directed in a preschool. A century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori discovered the key to develop this “secret teacher” of a preschooler. Given a prepared work environment filled with Practical Life, Sensorial and Cultural apparata, the three- to five-year old children acquires love for work, order, obedience, self-confidence and independence.

Let us not ignore this stage of life. It is filled with power of both mind and body enough to sustain one’s whole lifetime. They are the gifts of soul: “There are gifts, My child, which I would give you, as you grow in consciousness to receive. There are first of all, gifts of spirit, of soul; and as you are able to receive unto yourself these, My most golden gifts for you, they shall so transform your life that all material things necessary for its completeness, will follow in due time…” (Quiet Talks with the Master by Eva Bell Werber)

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