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The large majority of the families (94.7%) in the Prelature of Libmanan have members who all belong to the Roman Catholic Church. The rest are those families who are non-Catholics (2.7%), and those whose members are Catholics and non-Catholics (2.6%). The Catholic faith in the area has been flourishing for more than four centuries. The life of the Bicolanos is shaped by their deeply religious character. It revolves around in pious devotional practices. Among them are the Holy Rosary (Block Rosary), the Novena to Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia, Cenaculo, Penitential Procession, Pasyon, Santacruzan, Parish Fiesta, and Flores de Mayo. Their pious devotions have contributed to the tremendous work of evangelization.
In parish life, the participation of the people is seen in their regular Sunday Mass, their membership in the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and in the other mandated religious organizations. Membership in them is an expression of their service to their fellowmen and belongingness to the community. However, the majority of the Catholics are priest-centered. In fact, only few Catholics are actively participating in the Church activities. Most of the parishes lack lay leaders, lay ministers and trained catechists. The parishioners have not been fully informed and educated about their faith. More often their faith is mixed with superstitions. Thus, many Catholics are “sacramentalized but not evangelized.” The sense of community of the parish is only seen during the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist and other devotional practices. Outside them, the community life is rarely observed. Supposedly, social apostolate and programs that will nurture a sense of community are very limited in the parishes. The existing gap between the rich and the poor hampers fellowship in the parish because the people’s faith tends to be individualistic. |
