THE INCREDIBLE MIRACLE STORY OF THE BLACK NAZARENE (A Personal Account) That You would bestow upon us true peace, humility, and charity.......That You would give us perseverance in grace and in Your holy service.......That You would deliver us from unclean thoughts, the temptations of the devil, and everlasting damnation.......That You would unite us to the company of Your Saints.......we beseech You, hear us. Almighty and Eternal God, Because of Your unending and unconditional love for us as our Father, You have sent Your Divine Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, To die on the cross for our sins, to redeem and save us. Grant that we may so venerate the Price of our salvation. Many times we have abandoned You, but after repenting for having offended You, now on our knees, we come to You to say that we adore You with fervor and devotion. Please forgive us for all our sins and omissions. Help us to walk the way of Your commandments and to serve You in our neighbors. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen. FACTS: The largest procession. The procession of the Black Nazarene is the largest procession in the Philippines. It takes place on the 9th of January and on Good Friday through the streets of Quiapo, Manilas historic downtown. Historically, this tradition actually dates all the way back to the 17th century where thousands of barefooted men (and even female devotees) march through the streets following the life-sized, black wooden statue of Jesus of Nazarene carrying the cross as it glide its way from and to its permanent home which is the Quiapo Church. Black? The Black Nazarene statue is more than 200 years old. During the Spanish colonial period, missionaries brought the icon from Mexico to Manila. During the trip however, there was a fire on board the galleon ship carrying the icon and though the image was blackened by the fire, it was never burnt or charred. The Saint John the Baptist Church, or most commonly known as the Quiapo Church, has housed the image since 1787. Miraculous? There have been numerous accounts of miracles attributed to the Black Nazarene, from the simplest to the most surreal. I can only attest to my personal story about how my sister (who was then 3 years old and who had been dead for more than 8 hours due to acute pneumonia at the Childrens Medical Center) had come back to life after an old man (still unidentified until now and whose look resembled very much of the Black Nazarene himself) came to her death bed uninvited, whispered something in her ear which not one of us in the room including the nurses was lucky to hear, and, in a sudden turn of event which left all of us speechless and our eyes wide in bewilderment, life flowed once more into her erstwhile frigid body made strongly apparent by her loud and vibrant cry. And the old man? He walked away and seemingly vanished in thin smoke for no one had seen him again -- whether in the hospital or elsewhere. Of course, this story will sound completely insane or even outrageously impossible most especially to the non-believers. But like one of St. Augustines famous quotes: To the faithful, no explanation is needed; to the doubtful, no amount of explanation is ever enough. HAPPY FEAST DAY NUESTRO PADRE JESUS NAZARENO! Viva SEÑOR!
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:54:46 +0000