The Cultural Significance of The Black Nazarene in Filipino Devotional Practices, Essays (university) of Religious Studies

Download The Cultural Significance of The Black Nazarene in Filipino Devotional Practices and more Essays (university) Religious Studies in PDF only on Docsity! THE CULTURAL BELIEFS OF DEVOTEES OF THE BLACK NAZARENE a. Every year, Filipinos celebrate The Black Nazarene on January 5. Veneration of the Black Nazarene is rooted among Filipinos who strongly identify with the passion and suffering of Christ the image depicts. Many devotees of the Black Nazarene relate their poverty and daily struggles to the Passion of Christ. The feast of the Black Nazarene became a tradition since 1650’s and celebrated it with a grand procession called Traslacion, where millions of devotees would jostle their way to touch the carriage carrying the venerated statue as they believe doing so could bring healing, answer prayers, or lead to miracles. b. Generally, people refer to a ‘miracle’ when pertaining to phenomena that goes beyond what logic tells us. As for the filipino people, especially the ones who are living in Luzon, a lot of them had experienced such miracles in their lives since the day they served and worshiped the Black Nazarene, and that made them passionate devotees until now. For instance, a devotee named Virginia Cantos was diagnosed with tongue cancer 36 years ago. She was scheduled to have an operation at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) hospital, only to find out the surgeon wasn’t available. Instead of going back to the hospital, she vowed to complete nine days of going to mass at Quiapo Church. Even with less threatening health problems, Virginia would go straight to Quiapo instead of a doctor's clinic. Now, she’s already 71 years old living well and healthy. c. Based on this activity, | had come to realize that Religion can be a key factor in the cultural identity of many people, influencing their behavior and traditions. Such as the filipino devotees of The Black Nazareth, their rituals, sacrifices, and prayers are one of the many ways that they can show their allegiance to that particular belief. These belief and practices influenced not only their entire community, but also the entire nation.