Fr. Alladin Luzon celebrates the Send-off Mass of the images of Señor Santo Niño and Our Lady of Guadalupe at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Mandaue City on January 17, 2020 | Rosalie O. Abatayo and Gerard Francisco
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — Devotees of the Señor Santo Niño and the Virgin Mary filled the National Shrine of Saint Joseph on Friday evening, January 17, 2020.
Inside the church, the seats, aisle and even the front floor were filled with devotees.
Thousands more of devotees filled the church grounds while the queue of devotees wanting to venerate the images before they are sent off to Lapu-Lapu City stretched and snaked its way to the surrounding streets.
As the Send-off Mass started at 11 p.m., the faithful surrounding the church was at least 6,000-people strong.
Amid the throng of faithful who came, Fr. Aladdin Luzon of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, who officiated the Send-off Mass, called on the devotees to do more than just attend the religious events to show their faith.
Fr. Luzon said the strength of their devotions should be the foundation of their change for the better.
“Mag-unsa man na ang kada adlaw ka straignt nga nagsimba pero wala nakapausab kanimo?” Fr. Luzon asked.
(What will it matter if you go to church and attend Mass but this has not changed you for the better?)
“Sayang ang gugma sa Diyos ug ang iyang kaayo kung di nato matagaan og appropriate response,” he added.
(The love of God and his goodness would all be wasted if we could not give it an appropriate response.)
Fr. Luzon also said that the devotees should carry with their devotion the faith that Señor Santo Niño would bring them healing and the solutions to their problems. | dbs