Yesterday was the start of the Novena mass fo Sto Nino de Cebu. As a devotee, I have completed the 9 days novena for the past few years with no fail. So I thought of doing the same this year. Although, like every year, completing the 9 days is never a promise. There are a lot of hindrances, may it be the insane traffic, too much crowd, or conflict of schedule. I can only try my best.

On my first day of the Novena, I went with my colleague since Its my office day. Good thing we have 2 managers who's also a Sto Nino devotee and was kind enough to offer us a ride to the downtown area. 6 of us were then divided into 2 cars and agreed to attend the 7pm last mass at Sto Nino church.


Traffic was insane as cars are barely moving, bumper to bumper. Another challenge is the parking space. The streets were quite full so we had no choice but to park a little farther away from the church.

We were the first group to arrive but because of the crowd, we weren't able to wait for the second batch and decided to go our own instead.

We opted to stay outside the church proper because the guards required visitors to present a valid ID which we left in the car. Every Sinulog, the church always implement stricter rules for safety and security knowing that thousands, if not millions, of devotees are attending the mass.

What's meant to be will always be

After the mass, when we were just about to leave the vicinity, we found our colleagues in the 2nd batch. Due to the crowd, we were no longer expecting to see them but we did. It was then I realized, what's meant to be will always find its way. I am still amazed by this phenomenon.

Regardless of the inconveniences, I'm thankful we were able to attend the first day of the Novena successfully.

This year, I can't promise to complete the 9 day novena, but I will really try my best.

That's it for today's blog. See you in my next one!

Sending some love and light

With love,

Jane