Part 1
Filipino Devotions
Ever Since Magellan landed in the Philippines, we had all turned to the light. The Filipinos, who at that time were participating in polytheistic religions, quickly turned to the light of Christianity. The Filipino people were unique thanks to their rich cultural background and this had made the Filipino Catholics unique.
The Filipino people, in general, are a very loyal people as they have great devotions to religious figures. The devotion that the Filipino people are most known for is their devotion to the Child Jesus or more popularly known locally as the Santo Nino.
Santo Niño
The Santo Niño, the Holy Child in English, is a figure of the Child Jesus which is venerated by Filipinos all over the world though most of its devotees are from the province of Cebu. The Santo Niño is usually clad with expensive and flashy clothing which is usually lined with jewelry. The statue has been in Cebu since 1565 and is the oldest relic in the country. It is housed in the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño which is located in Cebu City.
The Santo Nino is one of the most popular figures in the Philippines
The Spaniards returned in 1565 and another war broke out though heavy artilleries and cannons forced the natives to flee which lead to the razing of their village. The soldiers then went through the ashes of the village and found the image of the Santo Niño. They authenticated their discovery through the diary of Pigafetta and upon its enshrinement; millions of people have flocked to Cebu in search of gifts from its miraculous powers. The Feast of the Santo Niño is celebrated on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Epiphany.
Black Nazarene
The Black Nazarene is the patron saint of Quiapo, a small but popular area of Manila that is also home to many establishments such as the Quiapo market and several other stores that line the streets. The Black Nazarene is a life sized image of a “black” Jesus Christ carrying the cross and since the year 1787, it has been housed in the St. John de Baptist Church or the Minor Basilica. The statue is only brought out on two occasions, its Feast Day, which is celebrated on January 9 an d on Good Friday.
The Black Nazarene during its annual Feast Day procession
Our Lady of Penafrancia
Every third Saturday of September, Naga City, which is located in the Bicol Region, celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. Whether rich or poor, Bicolanos will be in Naga City to meet their families and friends to celebrate the feast but most importantly, to venerate the Virgin of Peñafrancia, whom they fondly call Ina. On the first day of the novena, the image of the Virgin, which is a copy of the Madonna located in Peñafrancia, Spain, is transferred from its shrine to the Naga City Cathedral. On the last day of the novena, the image returns to her shrine through the Naga River route. This procession fills the banks of the river with spectators and devotees who chant “Viva La Virgen” upon the arrival of the image. After the flatboat reaches its destination, the devotees again chant"Viva la Virgen" and the image is carried back in a procession of thousands to the cathedral.
Our Lady of Penafrancia traces her Philippine roots to the Spanish colonial period. In the 18th century, the Covarrubias family, a Spanish political family, settled in Cavite and during their stay, one of their sons, Miguel, a seminarian studying in the Universidad de Santo Tomas, grew severely ill. He and his family prayed to Our Lady of Penafrancia for his recovery and made a vow that if he would be cured, he would erect a chapel by the bank of the Pasig River in Manila. He was eventually was ordained a priest, after his miraculous recovery, though not in Manila but in Naga City by Bishop Andres Gonzalez. In order to keep his promise, he asked the natives surrounding Mt. Isarog to construct a chapel built with local materials such as nipa and bamboo by the bank of the Bikol River in Naga. Stories of miraculous events began to spread and the devotees began to grow in number.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Our Lady of Perpetual Help is an image of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus in her arms as the Archangels Michael and Gabriel hold the articles of the passion, the cross and the nails. St. Luke is said to have been the original artist of this image.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help first came to the Philippines in 1906 through the Redemptorist priests as part of their mission to spread the devotion. American soldiers in Iloilo though popularized the habit of the novena after learning it from their respective parishes in Massachusetts and it was eventually adopted by St. Clement's Parish in Iloilo in 1948.
Novena prayers and mass every Wednesday are held to honor Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The Baclaran Church known as the Christian Church with the largest population and the Marian Shrine in the Philippines, attracts several hundred thousands of people who wish to show devotion. Our Lady of Perpetual Help celebrates her feast on June 27 and on this date, devotees gather in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baclaran for thanksgiving and to pray for their intercessions. There is also a University named after Our Lady of Perpetual Help, located in Las Pinas city in the Philippines.
Our Lady of Manaoag
The veneration of Our Lady of Manaoag began with the holy Augustinian fathers in charge of the spiritual administration of the Manaoag town in the early 17th century. The ivory image of Our Lady of Manaoag was brought to Philippine shores by Padre Juan de San Jacinto from Spain via the Acapulco galleon trade.
According to folklore, a native man was journeying home and heard a Lady's mysterious voice. He was stunned upon seeing the radiant Lady clutching a Rosary on her right hand and a Child on her left as she stood on a cloud veiling a treetop. The man then fell on his knees and he soon told the people of what he had seen. After that incident, on the spot where the Lady appeared, a church was built in her honor. It was called "Manaoag" and a town quickly grew around it. Legend has it that the town was born from the Virgin’s call, thus the term, "taoag", which is Filipino for "to call", was used to name the town.
During World War II, the Church was damaged by four bombs that were planted above the church. Three bombs detonated on the plaza and the facade, destroying them both. The last bomb landed in the sanctuary, but miraculously failed to detonate.
Part 2
Other Filipino Religions
Though millions of Filipinos are devout Catholics, the love and belief of some for Christianity ended up getting lost in translation and some of these men turned to founding new heretic Christian religions. The two most prominent religions, Iglesia ni Cristo and the Aglipayan Church or Philippine independent Church, have thousands of followers throughout the nation.
The Aglipayan Church
The Philippine Revolution in 1896 to 1901 was a movement to separate Filipino and Spanish ties. Christianity was widespread in the Philippines by now and many Filipinos had become priests and la men of the faith. Filipino priests and friars were treated with less respect than that of the ruling Spanish at the time. Around this time a man named Gregorio Aglipay was studying to become a priest. He was denied priesthood for not following the code a man should follow to become a priest. He was angered by this and through unethical and unapproved ways became a priest. He soon came into a high-ranking position within the Catholic Church and tried to establish a national Church together with Don Isabelo de los Reyes. Together they formed the Philippine Independent Church or Aglipayan Church in 1902.
Gregorio Aglipay, founder of the Aglipayan Church
It’s been over 100 years since the Aglipayan Church has been formed and has changed the course of Philippine history. The Aglipayan Church takes up about 4 percent of the Philippine population. It may be a small number as compared to Catholics but it is something we cannot ignore. We as fellow Filipinos and brothers in Christ should treat our Aglipayan Brothers and sisters with respect and dignity.
“The Aglipayan Church” Joseph Giaime, Sinag-Tala publishers Manila, 1979
Iglesia ni Cristo
The first Iglesia ni Cristo chapel
Iglesia ni Cristo is Catholic in its roots but has very different beliefs than its source. The Church teaches that there is only one true God who is God the Father. They believe Jesus Christ was the true God’s son and man in his nature. The Holy Spirit for them is the True God’s power and not a person in God. The Members of Iglesia ni Cristo do not venerate the Virgin Mary. They believe that unity is essential and shows they are the true religion of God. The last major teaching of Iglesia that goes against the faith says that those who are not part of the faith are damned to hell.
Igelsia ni Cristo has over 1 million members. They span from the Philippines all the way to America. They are a group within our country that we cannot deny and after nearly 100 years the religion is still going strong and continues to grow in number. The church continues to be unified in this day and age and that is one thing the Catholic Church in the Philippines and all over parts of the world must emulate.
Adventists
Adventist work started slowly in the Philippines, when the first Adventist missionary, a literature evangelist, arrived in the Philippines in 1905. And he was followed by several more missionary families the next year. And now today there are nearly 600,000 Adventists that live and worship in the Philippines. As the Adventist Church grew, many educational and health-care institutions sprang up, such as the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, that serves the Adventists in the Philippines.
Domesday is what they call the second coming of Christ. From the early days even until now, they have had an uncountable number of predictions for the day that the world would end, and since we are all still alive, that means that they are very flawed. Adventism is the belief in the return of Christ, who would the world to an end and judge mankind. This belief was based on a false interpretation of some passages in the Bible. Modern day Adventism originated from a man named William Miller, who came from low Hampton, New York and he prophesized that Advent(the coming of Jesus Christ) would come at 1843.
The Adventist movement split into seven groups or “churches” and the most prominent one is the Seventh-day Adventists or the Marantha. These Adventists comprise a protestant sect that relies on the Bible as its sole authority on faith and practice. They also believed that the seventh day of the week, Saturday, should be the Holy day of rest. Adventism can be traced back to the time of the apostles, because at around that time they were already expecting imminent the return of Jesus Christ. This is why some of these Adventists sold their properties and some stopped working, and to think that this happened because of some misinterpretations of the words of Christ. It was because of St. Paul that Christians stayed loyal and faithful during that time and weren’t confused by these Adventist ideas, and they eagerly awaited the coming of Jesus Christ.
Mormonism
The Mormons, also known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is a church that is very similar to the Lutheran Church. The term "Mormon" is taken from the title of the Book of Mormon, which was a sacred text that the Mormons believe to have been translated from golden plates revealed by an angel to Joseph Smith, Jr. and it was published in 1830. According to the text of the Book of Mormon, Mormon was the name of a fourth century prophet who compiled and prepeared many records of his ancestors into the Book of Mormon.
One of the more famous mormons was Brigham Young and he was known as the "American Moses," because, like the Biblical figure, Young led his followers, the Mormon pioneers, in an exodus through a desert, to what they saw as a promised land. He was one the more influential Mormons.
The Mormons believe in the fullness of the Everlasting Gospel. They show their absolute trust only in the Bible and they study it intensely. Their members are very knowledgeable of the Bible and many of them quote the Bible by heart, a very powerful skill that helps them convert people and bring them to their Church,
The population of the Mormons has grown to over 10 millions people all over the world, and surprisingly 600 thousand of those people come from the Philippines. Mormonism in the Philippines is the 4rd largest population in the world and it is still growing.
“Mormons” Joseph Giaime, Sinag-Tala publishers Manila, 1980
Born Again Christian
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.”, that is where the Born Again label comes from. However only outsiders call them Born Again Christians, to each other they refer to themselves as Christians.
The following is an interview between one of our editors, Kevin Habaluyas and a Born Again Christian, Raphael Mutuc;
Habaluyas: So how does it feel to be a born again Christian in a school like Southridge?
Mutuc: It’s pretty normal, there are a lot of us in Southridge too.
Habaluyas: Anyway, so what is the most important teaching in your belief?
Mutuc: That the Bible is the sole authority, Sola Scriptura.
Habaluyas: So what about the Pope? Do you believe in his power?
Mutuc: Well not really, he is a good leader but not infallible and not the church authority.
Habaluyas: So is your religion something that is only here in the Philippines?
Mutuc: No there are many other all over the world.
Habaluyas: So where did it originate from?
Mutuc: Well it can be traced back to Luther.
Habaluyas: So do you believe that Jesus Christ is both God and man?
Mutuc: Yes.
Habaluyas: So does that make Mary the Mother of God?
Mutuc: Yes but we do not venerate her.
Habaluyas: How about the saints?
Mutuc: Yes we do, but not the same as your saints. Not necessarily those canonized by the Pope.
Habaluyas: Oh and how about the veneration of icons and images of God?
Mutuc: We do, but not for the home.
Habaluyas: Do you follow the sacraments? Like Baptism?
Mutuc: Yes but it’s not for Original Sin, it’s so a person is aware that he is a Christian.
Habaluyas: So how do you get rid of Original Sin?
Mutuc: We have this thing called an Acceptance Prayer.
Habaluyas: Any other sacraments you have?
Mutuc: We have Eucharist and Confession too.
Conclusion
In this section we've learned about the various devotions that people participate in and other religious sects that have come up in the Philippines. The important thing that we should do is to fortify our our faith and our beliefs. The devotions are a good practice because they show the sacrifice that people are willing to do and it brings us closer to God. On the other hand when it comes to other religious sects we should know our religion well so we do not fall into other erroneous beliefs. All in all the Philippines is a great example of a Catholic nation because of the various devotions and it being dominantly Catholic.
Study Questions
1. From what country did the Santo Nino, Black Nazarene and Our Lady of Penafrancia originally come from? Answer: Spain
2. Which shrine in the Philippines houses Our Lady of Perpetual Help? Answer: Baclaran Church
3. What is the equivalence of the Pope in the Aglipayan Church? Answer: Obispo Maximo
4. Who is the founder of Iglesia ni Cristo? Answer: Felix Manalo
Practical Exercises
1. Based on what you have read regarding the different religions in the Philippines, make a table which lists down their beliefs and splits them into heresy and truth. Identify which religions come closest to Catholicism and which heretic religions are similar to one another.
2. The Philippine church is one with millions of followers and several rivals. Using what you have read in this chapter as a basis, formulate a written defense method against the other religions that have sprung up. Use as many examples as possible in your defense.
From the Catechism
842 “The Church's bond with non-Christian religions is in the first place the common origin and end of the human race: All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city. . .”
832 "The Church of Christ is really present in all legitimately organized local groups of the faithful, which, in so far as they are united to their pastors, are also quite appropriately called Churches in the New Testament.... In them the faithful are gathered together through the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, and the mystery of the Lord's Supper is celebrated.... In these communities, though they may often be small and poor, or existing in the diaspora, Christ is present, through whose power and influence the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is constituted."
References
http://www.santoninodecebu.org/history.html
http://www.rcam.org/feastday/feast_black_nazarene.htm
http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_festivals/penafrancia_viva_la_virgen.html
“The Aglipayan Church” Joseph Giaime, Sinag-Tala publishers Manila, 1979
“Ni Iglesia Ni Cristo” Joseph Giaime, Sinag-Tala publishers Manila, 1980
Credits
(Manzano, Ronaldo Federico S.)
Part 1
Study Questions 1-4
Practical Exercises 1 & 2
(Habaluyas, Kevin Robert R.)
Sub Section: Mormons
Sub Section: Born Again
References
Conclusion
(Puno, Ricardo Luis S.)
Sub Section: Iglesia ni Cristo
Sub Section: Aglipayan Church
References
Introduction
(De Leon, Luis Miguel P.)
Sub Section: Marantha
References
Catechism Points
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