Mother, why must they be so unruly?
Why the pagan revelry? Truly,
This traslacion from your Basilica
Is no procession! 'Tis a Mardi Gras!
With this irreverence, how can one pray?
For years, they have been doing it this way---
A swaying, dancing, drunken parody
Of what a real procession ought to be!
"Have you forgotten, son, that pagans, too,
Are Christ's own brethren? Beloved, just like you?
Wasn't my Peñafrancia chapel built
Nor guile, who dwelt beyond the sound of bells
Yet yearned for all God's Holy Word foretells!
And why be grim and gloomy all the while?
Is there no room for laughter or a smile?"
"They, too, do pray. Oftentimes unseen
By mortal eyes. And how they love their Queen!
So overwhelmed by gratitude are they,
They shout their hearts out! It's their Mother's day!
Why can't they have the Mardi Gras they want?
Should processions be so sacrosanct?
Why not---for pagan, devotee, or priest---
A Marian, merry-making on my Feast?"
*Handiong, Sept. 9, 1992
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