Living with Christ- JANUARY ISSUE 2025

Let us welcome this New Year with our great devotion to the Sto. Niño!

Let us begin this year by reminding ourselves of our faith in the Child Jesus – a gift that we received from Spanish friars in 1521.

Cebu Sto. Nino Shrine rector, Father Albert Benedict Soliman, OSA, inspires us to trust in the Lord like an innocent child does. We, Filipinos, have a unique devotion to the Sto. Niño because of its features as a child. “The Filipino Catholic sees in that image of the Infant Jesus a haven of refuge, a rock of stability and, above all, a magnet of love… drawing all close to him...”, he wrote in the editorial.

Fr. Jboy Gonzales, SJ likewise reminds us in his reflection on the Feast of the Magi of God’s universal love, a love that knows no boundaries. God’s welcoming love is for all, rich or poor, Gentile or Jew, servant or free.

In Family in Daily Life, Ms. Cecilia Daguno compares our childhood with the childhood of Christ. Christ’s childhood attests to Jesus Christ’s humanity after having grown in an ordinary community, having ordinary kids as playmates!

In Our Local Church, Ms. Flora Albornoz reflects on the significance of the devotion to the Black Nazarene in the modern world. In a fast changing world, where devotion and piety are slowly slipping away, there are reasons to stay in touch with traditions – with devotion to the Black Nazarene.

Lastly, Alan Dialogo puts premium on the Word of God as one’s encounter with God himself. By reading the Scriptures, one’s encounter with Christ becomes more genuine and concrete. It also deepens one’s faith in Christ.