"Viva Pit Señor! Happy Feast of the Santo Niño! If you walk the streets of Cebu, Kalibo, Tondo, or really any town in the Philippines t...
"Viva Pit Señor! Happy Feast of the Santo Niño!
If you walk the streets of Cebu, Kalibo, Tondo, or really any town in the Philippines today, the air is electric. You hear the beating of drums, you see the colorful costumes, and you see people raising their statues of the Holy Child.
But have you ever stopped to think about the dance of the Sinulog? It is a very specific movement. It is not a straight run to the finish line. It is: Two steps forward, one step back.
And isn’t that the perfect picture of the Filipino life?
We work hard abroad to build a house—two steps forward. Then a family member gets sick and savings are wiped out—one step back. We finally recover from a typhoon—two steps forward. Then inflation hits or a new crisis arrives—one step back.
Whatever you are going through right now, whether you are in the 'two steps forward' phase of success, or the 'one step back' phase of struggle, the message of the Santo Niño is the same. We keep dancing. We keep moving. Not because we are strong, but because we are holding the hand of a God who became a Child.
To navigate this dance of life, I want to share three words with you today, all starting with the letter S: Smallness, Surrender, and Significance.
The first word is Smallness.
In our society, we are obsessed with being 'big.' We want 'Big Time' connections, big houses, big titles. We want to be the 'Boss,' the 'Madam,' the 'Sir.' But today, the God of the Universe reveals Himself not as a mighty warrior or a terrifying judge, but as a small, helpless baby.
In the Gospel, Jesus says, 'Let the children come to me... for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.'
There is a concept in Filipino games we call the 'saling-pusa.' The saling-pusa is the little kid who is allowed to join the basketball game or the tag game, not because they are good, not because they scored points, but simply because they are loved by the older ones. They play by grace.
My friends, in the eyes of God, we are all saling-pusa. We don't enter heaven because we are 'big' or important. We enter because we admit our Smallness. We admit that without God, we can’t make the shot. Humility is simply acknowledging that God is the Big One, and I am the little one. And that is okay.
The second word is Surrender.
Have you ever seen a Filipino Tatay (father) playing with his toddler? He throws the child up in the air. Now, if I threw you up in the air, you would scream in terror. You would panic. But the child? The child laughs! Why?
Because the child knows who is catching him.
The child has total trust in the strength of the father’s arms. That is Surrender.
As adults, we lose this. We lie awake at night worrying about the future. We worry about our visa applications, our medical results, our children’s tuition. We try to control everything. But the Santo Niño invites us to have the heart of that child.
When we shout 'Pit Señor!'—which comes from 'Sangpit sa Señor' or 'Call upon the Lord'—we are essentially lifting our hands like that toddler and saying, 'Lord, I am throwing my life into the air. I cannot control where I land. But I trust that Your arms are there to catch me.'
Surrender is not giving up; it is giving over. It is saying, 'Lord, You are the King. You take the steering wheel.'
The last word is Significance.
In a world that judges you by what you have, the Santo Niño reminds you of who you are.
I remember a story of an OFW mother who came home after years of working in the Middle East. She had heavy balikbayan boxes filled with chocolates, shoes, and toys. When she arrived at the airport, her little son ran past the boxes, ignored the chocolates, and wrapped his arms around her legs, crying, 'Mama, Mama!'
The boy didn't care about the goods; he cared about the relationship.
God looks at us the same way. We think we need to bring Him 'boxes' of achievements—our donations, our awards, our successful careers—to be valuable to Him. But God says, 'No. You are my child. That is enough.'
Your Significance does not come from your job title. It doesn't come from your bank account. It comes from the fact that the King of Kings chose to become a child like you, to be your brother. You are royalty because you are His.
So, brothers and sisters, as we go back to the dance of life—two steps forward, one step back—do not be afraid.
Embrace your Smallness; you don't have to carry the world, God is already carrying it. Practice Surrender; let God catch you when you fall. And remember your Significance; you are a beloved child of the Father.
Viva Pit Señor!"
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