If the celebration last year left we with questions as to how come the number of devotees of the Black Nazarene keeps growing and do all of these devotees really know what they are doing, I guess this year, as I brave myself again in facing the challenges of capturing some bits and pieces of one of the most celebrated feast in the country, the Feast of the Black Nazarene 2013 leave with simple joy and amazement as to how miraculously every thing goes in its right place.
Compared to last year, this year's procession took a little less shorter. From the longest 22-hour procession, this year, the procession only lasted for 18 hours, so by 1:30 in the morning of January 10, the replica of the Black Nazarene was finally back, safe and sound, to its place inside the Basilica of the the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila.
Having a family who's a devotee of the said patron, it s a tradition for us to visit the church see the procession even if we all hail from the neighboring district, Tondo. It was my father who's very active to this kind of stuff back then, so don't ask me to whom I get the habit. But then again, more than a habit, seeing and praying on to the Nazarene on this festive day is actually an eye-opener.
Once again, the avenues of Manila City was flooded the colors maroon and golden yellow as the country celebrates the 2012 Feast of the Black Nazarene.
Attending this year's celebration feel so different for a devotee like me, because the man who encouraged and thought me things about this tradition is already gone. It's kinda painful to see the church and the people, but we have to move on, I have to move on, just like the procession of the Black Nazarene, which is attended by millions of devotees every year.
Today, I attended the 10:30 a.m. mass. By this time, the Basilica of the Black Nazarene is already full of devotees from the different parts of the world. And as if I have any other choice, I pushed myself in just to get inside and see the altar. As expected, it was grand and looks so mystical.
