Nazareno: One great devotion

My father told me that it had been his devotion to go to Quiapo during the Feast of the Black Nazarene when he was in college at Manuel L. Quezon University. He used to watch the bands who marched along the location of their university. He even tried watching the devoted crowd who push their limit just to touch the Black Nazarene.  After seeing how deadly it was, he never watched it again in person.

After more that two decades, I experienced living on the shoe of my father. It was my first year in college when I started my devotion to the Black Nazarene. Since I used to study along Mendiola, classes were normally suspended every January 9 of the year. We usually go to Quiapo early morning to avoid too much crowd. After saying a prayer to the Black Nazarene, my father and I would normally proceed along the street were Excelente, the famous ham store, is located. We would wait until the band march began. This was the only feast that I attended where marching bands from all over the country would come together to play and set the place in a very festive mood. Different colors and different sounds flock the area. After enjoying their performance, we would go home and would continue in watching the procession of the Black Nazarene through the live coverage of the different news channel.

Since then, it has been my tradition and devotion to go to Quiapo every January 9. Every year I went to Quiapo, I always feel the outpour of God's power and might. I can say that it is the feast where God united every Catholic from all walks of life. It is the day where social class is disregarded. Everyone celebrates, pray and devote themselves to the Lord leading to one goal which is to praise and thank the Father for His undying and unending love for us. 

As a write this blog, the Black Nazarene is being carried and processed by several devotees back to Quiapo Church. With the great number of devotees present, the Black Nazarene is still along the street where National Museum is located. It is estimated that the Black Nazarene will be at the Quiapo Church by 3:00am tomorrow, at most.

Photos taken at the last year's Feast of the Black Nazarene (January 9, 2011)