Despite the rains, devotees in Naga City pushed through with the traditional procession of Jesus Nazareno replicas on the eve of its feast day.
Lydia Corod, an 83-year-old original member of the Hijos De Nazareno-Lerma group formed in 1972, was unable to join the procession this year but expressed her joy that the devotion to the Lord has been passed on to her family.
Her granddaughter, Liezlyn, carried the image, which Lydia had requested from her sibling, believing it would heal her ailments.
“Yun lang ang mga kahilingan ko, makatapos ang mga bata pag-aral, tapos makalakad ako,” she said.
[My only requests are for my children to finish their studies and for me to be able to walk again.]
The replicas were carried through several Naga streets that were flooded during Typhoon Kristine, including General Luna Street and Igualdad Street, where water levels in some areas reached chest height.
With each step, the devotees, both young and old, prayed for an end to calamities and for good weather during the 36th Feast of the Nazareno in the Archdiocese of Caceres on Thursday.
The procession was briefly halted when the Nazareno’s carriage exceeded the vertical clearance of an overpass near the market. The cross had to be temporarily removed and carried by several devotees until they passed the area.
Nico Sirio III, president of Hijos de Nazareno-Lerma, said that even if it rains tonight, the activities will continue as planned in fulfillment of this year’s feast theme.
“Mas hinahangad ng Panginoon ang pagsunod kaysa paghahandog. Ang sabi ng Panginoon ang gusto niya ay ‘yong pagsunod, ‘yung obedience kung saan mas naipapakita ang humility na si Jesus Nazareno dahil sa pagsunod sa kagustuhan ng Ama kaya pinasan niya ang krus para sa ating lahat para iligtas tayo sa ating kasalanan,” he explained.
[The Lord desires obedience more than offerings. The Lord says that what He wants is obedience, humility, like Jesus Nazareno who, in obedience to the Father’s will, carried the cross for all of us to save us from our sins.]
Plaza Quezon, which was originally designated as the venue for the blessing of the replicas at the end of the procession, is under construction. Instead, the activity, along with the “pahalik”, was moved back to the Holy Cross Parish.
Meanwhile, Biak-na-Bato Street will be closed from 5 PM to 11 PM today for a concelebrated mass led by Caceres Archbishop Rex Alarcon.
The annual La Mirata or ‘dungaw’, or the meeting of the images of Jesus Nazareno and Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, will take place at the San Francisco Church during tonight’s procession. I Jonathan Magistrado