Hundreds join Black Nazarene procession

HUNDREDS of Kagay-anons on Friday waved white and maroon handkerchiefs to honor the replica of a centuries-old statue of the suffering Black Nazarene.

Some were in tears while others cried "Viva Nazareno" as the procession wind its way to the Nazareno Parish Church in Barangay Lapasan from St. Augustine Cathedral where a mass officiated by Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma was heard. But unlike their counterparts in Quiapo in Manila where hundreds of devotees were injured, Friday's procession in Cagayan de Oro was "relatively peaceful."

City Police Director Isagani Genabe estimated the number of those who joined the procession at 6,000.

Security was tight, however, with a contingent of Philippine Army soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division providing the muscle and shield to keep the crowd away from the revered religious icon.

The procession snarled vehicular traffic in the roads designated by the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) as alternative routes.

Weighing about 250 kilos, the religious icon was carried on the shoulders of "Translacions" or official escorts.

Devotees from Quiapo, who came all the way to Cagayan de Oro City, taught locals how to carry the icon by swaying it along the way.

"Kailangang i-sway ng konti ang imahe sa pagkarga para hindi masyadong mabigatan ang nagkakarga sa Poong Nazareno. Nakasanayan na rin yan--naging tradisyon na ang ganyang pagkarga ng imahe," Edgar Domillasin, a Black Nazarene devotee told the locals.

A ring of student cadets, soldiers and lay members encircled the "Translacions" as they bodily carried the icon through Velez Street and Claro M. Recto Avenue before entering the Nazareno Parish Church.

"Ang ako lang nga makita nako ang imahe. Bisan gani iyang anino lang, ok na," Juliet Trevas, another devotee, said.

Jonathan Bernales, a resident of Barangay Lapasan who came with his 70-year-old mother, was amazed by the big turnout of devotees.

"Wala ko ma-expect nga ingon ani ka daghan sa tawo ang mosunod ug nagtuo ko nga sunod tuig doblehon pa ang kadaghanon sa karon nga nisunod," Bernales said.

Brisk business

Vendors have a field day selling bottles of cold water, peanuts and foodstuffs. But the hottest items are the white and maroon handkerchiefs brought by Quiapo vendors who are devotees themselves and who came all the way from Manila.

"Last Thursday afternoon ako dumating dito sa Cagayan de Oro at sa awa ng Panginoon okey naman po ang benta," 32-year-old Policarpio Villota, who hails from Quiapo, told Sun.Star.

Villota is among the 11 vendors from Quiapo who sell the handkerchiefs to local devotees.

"Pareho lang ng pananampalataya sa Black Nazarene ang mga tao sa Cagayan de Oro at sa Maynila, at ang pagtanggap nila sa presensiya ng imahen," he said.

Villota said he plans to stay in the city for a few days more since devotees will continue to flock at the Nazareno Parish Church, where the replica of the Black Nazarene from Quiapo will be permanently enshrined.

Right devotion

Monsignor Rey Manuel Monsanto, parish priest of the Nazareno Church, warned devotees not to resort to religious fanaticism when they revere the Black Nazarene.

"We should not lose sight of what is important. Ang importante nga pinaagi sa atong debosyon kang Señor Nazareno, maghinulsol kita sa atong mga sala ingon man sa pagpakabana ug pagpas-an sa krus sa atong mga isig kaingon," Monsanto said.

Monsanto said devotees should learn that the Black Nazarene is a symbol of sacrifice and repentance.

The Church is discouraging local devotees to emulate the behavior of Black Nazarene devotees in Manila where scores are injured in its yearly tumultuous procession.

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website that the way atonement shown by some devotees in Quiapo is “excessive.”

Devotees briefly interrupted the procession of the Black Nazarene in Manila Friday as they untimely rushed to touch the reputed miraculous image while a mass for the Black Nazarene was ongoing.

The cardinal stopped the ceremony but the devotees didn’t seem to mind.

Rosales said these problems happen when devotees get too emotional.

“That’s the devotion we want to purify. When one’s emotion gets too high, it takes over the reason, the holiness of the event and the devotion,” he said.

Devotion is good, he said, “but if you see them climbing, scampering... do you want that? Of course not.”

“We want to let them express their own devotion in a quiet and very humane way with charity for others and without disturbing others,” he added.

The Manila archbishop said “fanaticism” has no place in image of Christ “and that exactly what we have been telling the people.”

“We still have a long way to go and there are many things to purify even in religious matters because there are excesses,” Rosales said.
Source:Sunstar Daily