Last August 13, the Archdiocese of Caceres formally presented to the public the grand program for the 300th or Tercentenary celebration of the devotion to Our INA, the Lady of Peñafrancia. The local church sums up the celebration of a people's devotion to INA with a word profound with meaning: mabalos. The Tercentenary celebration is an occasion for gratitude towards our indebtedness to this gift of devotion.
The program reflects this: thrusts towards devotees' renewal and re-affirmation of the gift of devotion are aimed at evoking this sense of gratitude, of being indebted for being the people to which a special relationship with INA had been entrusted. In this regard, the intensification of catechesis in schools and parishes, the launching of the three-year thematic spiritual itinerary for local communities, as well as the dialogue with the Naga City government, helped correct if not "purify" misapprehensions about the celebration of INA's fiesta.
In the case of the dialogue with the Naga City government, the Archdiocese was able to clarify to local government officials the religious nature of the celebration, hereby countering their mistaken view -shared by many, unfortunately enough-that the Fiesta is basically an occasion for commercial activities and profit-making. With the agreement that activities like "street parties" and beauty pageants are to be prohibited during the novena week due to not only their lack of relevance but to their detrimental effects to the religious celebration itself, the dialogue proved fruitful in improving this year's observance of our devotion to INA. It contributed substantially in instilling a sense of indebtedness for a devotion that was given 300 years ago.
The Tercentenary Celebration of our devotion to INA (it is not a celebration of the image of INA, as some have confusingly thought) is a momentous occurrence, a "once in a lifetime event" as intimated by the local church. We are offered the opportunity to take part in it, to be able to join others as a community, in thanking God for a devotion that has been shared by previous generations to ours today. The Tercentenary Celebration offers us the opportunity to be able to say as a people, with all the blessings that have been bestowed on us: MABALOS.