EDITORIAL - Happy New Year and advance Pit Senyor!

There must be a lot of reasons why the feast of the Holy Child Jesus or the Santo Niño is celebrated every January, on the third Sunday of the month to be precise. The Philippines right now could use another reason.

The Philippines, the only predominantly Christian country in Asia, has just been through a lot in the preceding year. 2013 has been a particularly devastating time especially for those who went through the 7.2-magnitude earthquake and Yolanda, the most powerful typhoon to hit land on record.

To many Filipinos, the year just past tested them beyond almost all human capacity to endure and survive. If there is any break from despair and hopelessness that anyone needs at this time, it is difficult to think of no other than the feast of the Santo Niño.

There is something in the Santo Niño that gives back freshness and hope to anyone who brings his troubles to His attention. Maybe it is in his child-like innocence. Maybe it is in the way people relate to their own dependence as children on the love and care of a parent, or someone bigger than themselves.

The Santo Niño has always been a refuge of those who need help and no one can really explain why. Those who bring their troubles to the Santo Niño will attest to the many small miracles that happen in their lives afterward.

We will leave the big miracles to the experts who are knowledgeable in these things. But there are those who feel a great sense of relief and confidence just by talking in their silent moments before the Holy Child. And that is a small miracle -- the miracle of knowing that all will be well.

And that is why it is very important, even propitious, that the feast of the Santo Niño always falls in January, the beginning of the year. Maybe that too is a small miracle that went unrecognized for generations. Maybe there is a reason why we need to come face to face with the Holy Child as we begin a new year.

Maybe we need healing from all that has happened in the past year. Maybe we need a crutch to help us move on. Maybe we need a simple reminder that things are not as bad as they may seem. Maybe we just need a reason to give thanks to God for everything. Happy New Year and advance Pit Senyor!