Divine Child Jesus: thousands of people celebrated 90 years of this devotion that was born in Colombia

With a completely full square, about ten thousand people celebrated yesterday the 90 years of devotion to the divine Niño Jesús, who was born in the neighborhood twenty of Julio de Bogotá by the hand of the Salesian priest Juan del Rizzo and where he extended to other countries.

It was a celebration that began nine days before with the prayer of the traditional novena and that continued with several activities on Saturday 6, such as lunch provided to a thousand children from the Salesian houses and the Mass chaired by the auxiliary bishop of Bogotá, Mons. Alejandro Díaz García.

On the central day, which takes place on the first Sunday of September, the sanctuary was visited from the morning by thousands of faithful, who came to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, participate in one of the various scheduled Eucharist and, why not, pray in front of the original image of the divine child, exhibited in a chapel in the back of the temple.

The main mass was held at noon by Fr. Rubén Darío Jaramillo, superior of the Salesiana San Pedro Claver de Bogotá province, accompanied by several priests of the sanctuary.

As every year, the Eucharist was preceded by the procession of the image of the divine child through the streets of the Twenty of July neighborhood. On this occasion, the Anda departed from the María Micaela citadel and was carried by a group of Mexican pilgrims.

Although at times a slight rain fell, the faithful accompanied the route with the prayer of the rosary and several songs, while in front there were small members of the friends of the divine child – one of the various Salesian pastorals – who were dressed in suits similar to the image.

The procession culminated in the entry of the image to the main square of the Sanctuary of the Divine Child, where it was received with the repair of the bells and applause of the thousands of people who await the beginning of the central Eucharist.

Witness

In his homily, Fr. Jaramillo highlighted the devotion to the divine child, “that we have been cultivating for 90 years” and that congregates thousands of people so that “with faith, with devotion” they present their intentions.

“Who is the Child Jesus?” Asked the priest, and then explain that, as the Gospel says, it is “the one who grew in grace, wisdom and holiness. He who is put to lift the nations bringing salvation.”

But it is also that “which is also full of wisdom by talking with the teachers of the law”, and who already as an adult points out that whoever is not willing to take his cross and follow him cannot be his disciple.

“This is how the child who has grown up and that begins his public mission is presented by calling us to his follow -up. Then, celebrating the feast of the Child Jesus, we have to ask him to reach us the grace of knowing how to listen to his word, the invitation to follow him with faithfulness,” he said.

To do this, he explained, Catholics need to part with everything that ties them to things in the world and that can be an obstacle to the relationship with Christ. “He asks us to review if we really are able to refuse ourselves.”

In that sense, the Salesian priest encouraged to ask God to grant the faithful “the abundance of his spirit.”

“Let us ask the Lord to this, celebrating the feast of the Child Jesus who instills in us the abundance of the spirit as he did in Mary Most Holy (…), which grants us the grace to experience that growth that Jesus experiences” in grace, wisdom and holiness.

In the case of Colombia, Fr. Jaramillo said that only then can a country grace, wisdom and holiness be built. “Only in this way will we overcome lies, deception, falsehood, corruption only will be the Colombian humanity that the Lord wants,” he said.

The ceremony culminated with the blessing of the images of the divine child that the faithful led to the Mass.

Currently, this devotion is present in several countries, such as Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Ecuador and others.