The Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, D.D. Archbishop of Caceres, delivered his message during the gathering of Multi-Agency Cooperation Group and the Memorandum of Agreement Signing at the Legaspi Hall of the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Penafrancia, Balatas Road, Naga City on August 12, 2024.
“Dios marhay na hapon po sa gabos. Enot, an pagpasalamat sa presencia kan lambang saro. Bako ini aro-aldaw na nangyayari na kita, different agencies, would come together. But on a particular occasion, like Peñafrancia, which has become an annual event, we come together.
Sa ibang lugar may mga Buddhist temples asin pagduman sa mga Buddhist temples you are amazed at the architecture and the religious sentiment that you experience. But you are not a Buddhist; you go there to appreciate the culture and the heritage of the people.
On September, bako man sana pong Katoliko an nagdidigdi. When we come together, some of us are believers and devotees, but we come together as a people taking care of a culture and heritage of a people. But of course, this culture and heritage that we have is imminently religious and spiritual. Not all who come here are devotees. Nevertheless, we all appreciate the deep religious cultural tradition of the people of Bikol, and non-Bicolanos.
I believe this is because we have come together not only as Catholics, not only as devotees, but also as a people. That is why the presence of both the church and the government and various agencies is very much a welcome event for all of us.
Those of us, who are devotees, honor Our Lady, whose canonical coronation we will commemorate which happened 100 years ago. This festivities of the devotion that happens every September, which brings more than a million pilgrims and tourists, did not happen yesterday. It is a religious tradition that we have taken cared of as a people for more than three centuries, because we have celebrated already the 300 years of our devotion to Our Lady in 2010.
But also because we come here as a people. Magturugang kita. Asin nadangog ta na an mga serbisyo na satuyang itatao, para sa lambang saro na mapa pasiring digdi. We care for each other because we are brothers and sisters.
This is the very sentiment, I believe, na digdi kita na-oogma nin huli ta sa satong pagtarabangan, ano man saimong ahensya, ano man an saimong lado , ano man an office o department asin agency, we come together to ensure the safety of our people, the safety of devotees, the safety of the place. Everyday man, nagta-trabaho kita sa satong mga opisina, nagseserbisyo kita, pero sa aldaw na ini kan Septiembre, in a more visible manner, we come together. So that this experience which does not happen every day, the experience of people coming together to express and to share the faith, to share our common humanity, is something that we are able to witness and to see the different agencies in Naga, in the province, in the region and in the country , working together to ensure the safety of those who would come. Certainly this is something that has to be commended.
This is my first time as Archbishop, to be part of this. I was part of this as an ordinary priest.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our local government headed by Mayor Nelson Legacion and Vice Mayor Nene de Asis, and our the different uniformed personnel, the different offices , the civic groups, the press, and all of you who are present here. We do our work in a particular place. But what is amazing is that the contribution of each department and of each person contributes to the whole enterprise which happen these days of the Peñafrancia. And this is something that is truly, truly amazing and something we have to be grateful for.
Sa satong pagromdom sa centenary of the coronation, sa puso kaini iyo an pasasalamat. Pasasalamat huli ta padagos man kitang ina-antabayanan. Pasasalamat huli ta mayo man ibang katuyuhan ini kundi pagiromdomon kita na kita gabos magturugang. Asin an pag –uswag kan saro, pag-uswag kan gabos. An kulog nin saro,kulog kan gabos.
And here, we come from different agencies and the people who come, dai ta man kabisto, dai ta man kadugo pero sa puso ta, our goal is towards assisting, to help, to assist. And that is what we call the spirit of our common humanity.
Pasiring man po digdi an global direction. Kun mahiling ta po, an espwerso ta, we have a continued desire for us to be united. Dai logod kita mag-ontok na paghanapon an pagtarabangan, an paglingkod sa lambang saro so that we will truly experience the joy and the fullness of what it is to be a human person.
Sa saindo po, sa satuya, sa paghiras kan expertise, paghiras kan talent and skills , duman sa agency, where we belong, we feel we are truly alive. There is meaning in the work that we do. There is meaning in the mission and in the service na ini-atang sato. Asin ining Peñafrancia is one of those moments when we all come together and contribute what has been gifted to us so that we may all enjoy the devotion, the days of the festivities knowing that we are safe, knowing that everybody is doing his best that everybody be safe and knowing that everyone is thinking about the other.
And that is true devotion. When we think about others and when we give ourselves for others.
Thus, in the name of the Archdiocese of Caceres, my sincerely gratitude to all of you and we invoke God’s blessings and the intercession of Ina so that the Lord will bless you, your work, your mission, your family. And may the Lord bless our city, our province and our country. Dios Mabalos po.”
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