One hundred years and a month later

The Centenary of the Canonical Coronation of Our Lady of Peñafrancia was long over. The streets have been cleaned, expensive flowers that adorned the andases had dried up and their once alluring bright colors succumbed to brown. Posters and banners had been put away or consigned to the landfill, and the hangover had been replaced with new ones; the once much anticipated event is now a thing in the past.

But wait! After all that pomp and expensive flowers adorned on her andases, came a huge surprise that caught many localities unprepared. The river and the streets where devotees lovingly adored the image of Ina, and where voyadores jockeyed for positions for a ringside place in the procession came the deluge of murky, brackish water that inundated many homes and had taken and threatened lives.

Some streets were flooded with neck-high water by super typhoon Kristine, invaded homes, malls, and other commercial establishments, and sent families and employees scampering for dry places. Places of worship were not spared cursing the wind to high heavens. Some found themselves squatting on their galvanized roofings while others found safety in evacuation centers. Power was lost throughout the Metro and neighboring localities.

It was truly unprecedented! The blame game began instantly and lingered with the water that was still at knee-high in some places days later, and still deep in some areas that rendered traffic at a standstill. Those who prayed for deliverance must have felt a huge letdown after showing Ina’s feast with a celebration that was fit for a queen.

The amount of rain that fell on the seat of the devotion and suffragan sites was two-months’ worth according to the weather people that no amount of flood control structures could withstand the onslaught that came like a thief in the night; so sudden and rose so quickly in the middle of the night. Even the invocation of the highest form of prayer, the Oratio Emperata, fell on deaf ears.

Many felt so helpless, distraught, and so alone even days after the catastrophic weather disturbance . Was there a metaphysical message here that some tried to exploit as a religious end game? Or was this a consequence of people’s neglect, of lack of preparedness, lack of foresight, or all the above? In the days ahead when situations reach some normalcy that the painful memories of such tragedy will be charged to experience and move on to a new normal.

Perhaps, it is worthwhile revisiting Archbishop Rex Alarcon’s message that was publicized weeks before the centenary event. I’m sure many could no longer remember the meat of his prophetic letter to the devotees that provided a map, if you will, going forward. His message consisted of 19 lines plus the salutary chant of Viva to the Virgin and the Divino Rostro.

The first two paragraphs explained the significance of the special event. The third paragraph praised the special relationship between Ina and her devotees and how she has always been our constant companion and refuge through life’s difficulties. “In times of calamities – typhoons, earthquakes, and other disasters, we turn to her.” It begs the question, what happened?

The next paragraph, which is a short one, was reassuring. “As we walk with Ina towards the future, let us journey together amidst this rapidly changing world. She walks with us and never abandons, as she never abandoned Jesus until the cross.” The next paragraph is line 13, is the most important one that could have been easily missed by devotees but is fitting now.

“Guided by her, let us embrace the mission of going to the farthest and neglected areas to seek our needy brothers and sisters.”

This is the most compelling line of the archbishop’s message because it really reminds us of the true value of devotion to Ina – to bring us closer to Jesus, to God. In the context of this far-reaching event of biblical proportion, the hardest hit or affected by this calamity are the poor who were either perched on the roof or wading through the flood hopelessly looking for safety. Politicians began distributing relief goods, some warm porridge to sooth the aching tummy from starvation.

The dire situation never stopped people from exacting political revenge by demonizing government leaders for what they perceived as governmental failure and neglect while forgetting that the trash floating around was the same trash piled on their yards or the streets. As if humans are capable of walking on water who can dry a flood-soaked market structure by their mere ability to part the water and accommodate the flood.

Perhaps the real message here, apart from the metaphysical one, is for people to wake up and understand this changing world” brought about by climate change, by global warming that mankind helps materialize. Polar caps are melting at a rapid pace and contributing significantly to the rising ocean waters, to more violent and super typhoons. It is happening everywhere that even the most advanced civilizations aren’t spared from the wrath of nature.

The Virgin Mary is the Queen of Heavens, the Guardian of Creation. All the environmental degradation – polluted rivers, denuded mountains from mining, the polluted air we breathe was created by human’s lust for material things, lust for power – factors that bring out the motherly side to punish and scold her greedy and uncaring children. Perhaps God has scolded her too for allowing God’s creation to be defiled and the extraordinary occurrence is God’s way of showing displeasure.

Perhaps we can also divine what Ina wants by unleashing the rampaging waters everywhere to highlight the plight of the poor. Poverty has been around in Bicol since the beginning of the devotion that has gotten worse overtime. Perhaps Our Lady of Peñafrancia has had enough of the annual rituals that resembles more like a traditional fiesta celebration for the entertainment and self-fulfillment of those who profess deep religious piety. That the pomp and fanciful million-peso efforts to please Ina with extravagant flowers and celebration ends up displeasing her and could best be spent on uplifting the lives of poor devotees.

More importantly, Ina is telling us that her son is unhappy with this annual celebration in the context of his Sermon at the Mount where he gave the disciples strict guidelines for good behavior when they find themselves in a position of privilege. During the Peñafrancia celebration, the armchair quarterbacks, those who have achieved a position of privilege often see the unruly behavior of drunk voyadores as “poor in spirit.” Criticism is what they get versus lifting them up.

The Beatitudes are often understood as Jesus’ way of turning the social pyramid upside down by reassuring the meek, the poor, the persecuted and the peacemakers that they will inherit Jesus’ Kingdom here on earth. Although worldly success passed them by, they can live a righteous life with one another by being good to each other. Not the government (Caesar’s Roman Empire at that time) but by helping each other out.