Nazareno 2024: Faith in the New Generation

It’s not often you see the new generation of kids and professionals out in the open to profess their devotions to religious symbols such as the Black Nazarene, but they are a lot more than we think..

In Laguna, a group of devotees who call themselves the “Alagad ni Lolo Uweng” have devoted themselves to the image of a dead Christ that was found in Laguna Lake. They have been preparing for the upcoming Traslacion on January 9.

Under the leadership of Dannie Oscar Cruz, a Nazareno devotee since 2012, the group has conducted activities and hosted events for the Black Nazarene in Laguna during the pandemic. They also took part during the Dalaw Nazareno in 2022 and 2023, taking charge and secured the image during its visit to the Lolo Uweng Parish in both years.

A 27-year-old whose age falls between the Millennials and Generation Z, Dannie led the group in their activities, and will do so again for the 2024 Traslacion.

Dannie has been a devotee of the Black Nazarene in 2012 and attending Traslacions up to the last 2020 procession, beginning with a prayer asking for more time for his father, who was diagnosed with colon cancer.

“Nagdecide ako na pumunta sa Quiapo at nalaman ko na yung isa kong tita ay devotee pala ng Nazareno, so sinama niya ako doon at doon nag start lahat,” he said.

While his father died in May of the same year, Dannie chose to continue his devotion as a way of gratitude and for further prayers of his peers.

“Hindi ko pinutol ang pag debosyon ko sa kanya kasi sa January to May, binigay niya pa rin ang panalangin ko. Nabigyan ng buhay [ang tatay ko]. So, hindi doon natapos ang pagiging deboto ko,” said David.

“Every year na pumupunta ako sa Quiapo, hindi para sa akin yung debosyon na sinasadya ko dun. So parang ako, tumitingin ako ng pwedeng tulungan na kahit sa dasal matulungan ko sila,” he shared.

Dannie said that his motivation was keeping the proliferation of faith during the pandemic, and plans to continue to do so in his role as the leader of ‘Alagad ni Lolo Huweng’.

“Gusto ko maramdaman nila na hindi sila nag iisa, na wag kayong matakot, na kahit ano man ang mangyare meron tayong Diyos. Kung ano yung paniniwala niyo, eto na yun. Pare parehas tayo ng paniniwala na di niya tayo iiwan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Angelo Hernandez and Zac Landicho, both 25, embraced their devotion to the Nazareno from their own families.

Zac, who would be attending the Traslacion for the very first time in 2024, admitted he briefly lost his faith in Christ before.

It was while mourning the passing of his grandmother when he eventually fell back to his faith, devoting his prayers to the Black Nazarene in 2022 to help him overcome his grief.

“Nung namatay po (ang lola ko) ng 2022, gumuho po yung mundo ko. Nalumpo po ako ng sobra [at] nagkaroon po ako ng anxiety. Nangyari po naghanap po ako ng makakapitan at sa Nazareno po ako kumapit,” said Zac.

Nowadays, Zac devotes his prayers to his family and for attaining his degree in computer science.

To Zac, the Traslacion  symbolizes a crowd of angels devoting their faith and singing their praises to Christ.

For his first year, he joined Alagad ni Lolo Uweng in preparing himself physically and spiritually for the grand procession on January 9.

“Inaano po namin yan sa pangungumpisal, sa pagsisimba, tapos sa sobrang saya po namin dahil sasalang po kaming official balangay member at ito po ay sa ilalim ng alagad ni lolo uweng. Hinahanda po sarili namin hindi lang pisikal, pati po spiritwal,” he said.

Angelo said he recalled the daily 8:00 p.m. mass to the Black Nazarene in 2018, back when he was serving as a Sangguniang Kabataan official.

“Every 8 p.m. talagang nagkakaroon kami ng pagdadasal, pero yung pagdadasal na yun sinasama na rin namin ang pang hihingi ng tulong kay Poong Nazareno. Tuloy pa rin ang pagiging devotee namin pa rin sa kanya kahit na wala man yung Traslacion. Every year, ang importante naman kasi diyan ay yung devotees na talagang nasa kanya,” he said.

His motivation in keeping the faith was his gratitude to the Nazarene. He believes the risk he and his group face during the procession is a worthy sacrifice.

“Ang ginagawa namin, naihatid namin pagpapasalamat natin sa kanya. Kasi di naman siya araw - araw namin ginagawa. So, kahit pa magbigay kami kahit isang araw, maibigay namin buong araw namin para sa kanya,” Angelo said.

“May nangyayari na hindi maganda. May naaaksidente, may namatay na rin. Talagang di ko na masisi ang tao kasi gusto rin nilang maramdaman ang paghihirap ng Diyos, at tsaka naniniwala pa rin kami sa panalangin, paniniwala namin sa kanya,” he added.

For Angelo, faith in the Nazarene signifies that no matter the reason, people return to God.

“Doon pa rin yun. Babagsak parin sila sa Panginoon na Diyos,” he said.

Rhaina Bianca Satira, 16-year-old senior high school student, said she was making her own preparations for the Traslacion despite not being able to attend the grand procession on January 9 due to her classes.

“Naexpress po namin ng group namin na Alagad ni Lolo Uweng ang devotion sa Black Nazarene sa pamamagitan po ng pag momotorcade at mga feeding program na nagpapakain po sa deboto,” she said.

She had been a devotee of the Black Nazarene since she could remember, partly due to the influence of her family.

While she has never attended the Traslacion, she has participated in local events and prayer celebrations to express her devotion in her own way.

“Kaya po nananatili po akong deboto sa Black Nazarene dahil po mahalaga ang pananampalataya bilang Katoliko at masarap po kasing makita sa dami ng tao ay nagkakaisa po kami dahil sa Poong Hesus,” she said.

Rhaina said she looks forward to attending the Nazareno procession in the near future.

Gen Z: No reason to hide

According to Dannie’s observations, members of Generation Z seem to be scared or hesitant in displaying their faith.

While there were Gen Z who are open in showing their devotion, he said he often wonders why many are so hesitant.

“Siguro dahil sa nahihiya sila. ‘Yan nga din ang gusto kong malaman, na bakit kapag sumasama ka sa isang religious group or religious event parang nahihiya ka ipakita sa kanila ang ginagawa mo?” he said.

Dannie believes there are more Gen Z devotees out there since he saw a good number during the Grand Marian Procession in Intramuros last December.

He hopes for Gen Z devotees to continue their walk of faith without any reservations.

“Masayang makita kasi kahit ganun pa rin, na sa Gen Z na sila, yung lalim ng paniniwala nila sa pinaniniwalaan nila sa mga santo o santa o mga birhen andoon talaga. Pinapakita nila na walang pag aalinlangan,” he said.

Rhaina and Zac both believe that there were more of their Gen Z peers waiting and hoped they could join the procession on January 9 with them.

“Hindi lang po talaga expressive or showy yung mga Gen Z po ngayon kaya akala po ng iba ay hindi na po religious and devoted po yung mga Gen Z, and takot lang po sila na ipakita naniniwala sila pero may pananampalataya parin po sila,” Rhaina said.

“Huwag mahiya. Katulad ko, hindi sapat lang ang nanampalataya. Mas maganda maging bahagi tayo kaya sumama na din ako sa Alagad ni Lolo Uweng, dahil masarap na kaisa tayo sa gawain kikilos tayo sa pagpapalawak ng pananampalataya ng iba,” Zac added.

Angelo supports the efforts of other Gen Z devotees and said that they have been doing their part in ensuring the proliferation of faith in the new generation remains.

“Advice ko lang din sa lahat hinihikayat ko kayo sa January 9, attend tayo sa traslacion. Wag po tayong mahiya na ipakita sa tao na tayo ay deboto at wag din tayong mahiya na tayo ay maging deboto ng Diyos, sapagkat ang Diyos ay nagpapakahirap satin. So dapat lang natin maranasan yun. Ituloy lang natin ang pagpapasalamat sa Diyos. ‘Yun lang naman ang importante,” he said.

Alagad ni Lolo Uweng will be present in Quiapo to perform their duties as volunteer-devotees to the Black Nazarene on January 8 and will attend the procession on January 9, after which they plan to return to their parish to prepare for their local Traslacion festivities.

“Sa amin na deboto sa bandang Laguna sa South ay makasaysayan ituring [na] nadalaw kami [ng Nazareno]. Ang motivation namin lahat ay ipakita sa lahat na ngayon, kung sino ba talaga yung nandoon, si Hesus yung ipapakita natin ngayon lahat,” Dannie said. —RF, GMA Integrated News