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4 - National Shrine of Our
Lady of La Salette-
Silang. Cavite
PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
The Philippines is a rich haven for religious shrines. Filipinos naturally express affinity to them. They look to Shrines as their second homes and yearly look forward to visiting them as they would to close relations and friends.
Shrines take a special part in the culture of Filipinos who
are by nature religious. In the indigenous Filipino
mind, God is not one who is far and separate from the
mundane activities of man.
Neither God is to believed to be up there in some unreachable distant place. God is present in the most common of places - in the mountains and rivers, in the rice fields and fishing grounds, in the trees and caves. Human space is also God's space. It is keeping with Divine Revelation that nature bespeaks of the presence of God. That He should manifest Himself in some specific site at some specific moment is, to a Filipino's mind, as natural as the blowing of the wind and the dropping of the rain. Shrines as places of God's manifestation has become part of Filipino religiosity.
La Salette Shrine is one of those places.
Through all these years, it has become a concourse to all sorts of people; they come from varied cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. They originate from the different regions bringing along with them different needs and intentions which entail a suitably oriented pastoral program.
Seen as the ideal for the fulfillment of Mary's call and of the Congregation's Charism, (La Salette is less known for physical healing than spiritual wholeness) sacramental ministry takes central focus, along with preaching and devotional activities. Daily masses are offered. A regular schedule of confession is kept. This is one important aspect because majority of the pilgrims come for the purpose of experiencing pardon for their sins and therefore reconciling with God and men. Hence, reconciliation is the major theme. |
