00:00One of the oldest traditions of the Catholics is the procession.
00:10It is one of the ways to show the great faith in God.
00:17In our churches in Siquijor, the procession has not yet begun.
00:23That is why their traditions are closed every day.
00:27It is very important for us to follow the traditions.
00:30Let's find out in the story of Nicoay.
00:36In the barangay of Tacloban, Siquijor,
00:39the image of the Virgin Mary is slowly being wrapped and prayed by St. Rosario.
00:49Their procession and rosary every early morning,
00:53it is very important to follow the traditions.
00:56At first, I was afraid because someone was walking beside the road.
01:06At 4 a.m.,
01:09the procession of the group of Francisca Sumalpong begins.
01:13This rosary is a prayer for our Lord Jesus Christ.
01:19It is a shared prayer for the people of Siquijor.
01:24That is how Siquijor will be clear.
01:28They have been doing this procession every day for three decades.
01:31We do it every early morning from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m.
01:36The reason for this is to worship God and through the Virgin Mary
01:40so that the people here in our area will know how to pray and how to do the rosary.
01:49As time went by, only four people were left to pray for their group.
01:55We were a lot back then, but now we are less because some are dead,
02:01some are sick, and some are senior citizens.
02:06The group has no intention to be afraid.
02:09Some say that they are one world.
02:13Why do we do this early in the morning so that there will be no disturbance?
02:17We want our prayers to be true to God.
02:21I can say to those who are afraid of us,
02:24join us so that you will know what we are doing.
02:29Our religion is Catholic-Romanian.
02:33You should know that the dawn rosary is one of the devotions to the Virgin Mary
02:39that began in the 13th century.
02:41Explained by the resident priest of Siquijor, Reverend Father Leonardo Tan.
02:46In Siquijor, we are known to be very religious.
02:49And Siquijor is 95% Roman Catholic Church.
02:56That is why this tradition of giving honor to the Blessed Virgin Mary
03:01is done during dawn time.
03:04And then after that, they have to transfer the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary
03:10from house to house.
03:13We wake up at 3.30 a.m., we drink coffee,
03:17then we dress up and bring rosary and candle
03:21so that we can go to our chapel.
03:24The rosary is the highest next to the Eucharistic celebration.
03:28And when we pray the rosary, we will always be protected by the Blessed Virgin Mary.
03:33Father Leonardo usually does this during the month of October
03:37or the month of St. Rosario.
03:39But for the people of Siquijor, this is a prayer that they can do every day.
03:45It is not a dying tradition but was practiced by the old folk,
03:51the old way of, shall we say, devotions.
03:55It's a tradition that continually being used by the church
04:01and encouraged as a way for holiness in life.
04:05According to cultural anthropologist Nestor Castro,
04:08their way of worship is not considered a cult.
04:12Usually, a cult is a religious group that has different practices.
04:19It is not done by mainstream Catholic groups.
04:23But the term cult has a derogatory meaning.
04:28So, maybe they should be careful in judging that they are a cult.
04:34Another characteristic of a cult is if the members have blind loyalty.
04:39We do not know if others are forced by the order of a leader.
04:44If that is the case, it is a cult.
04:47But if they do not willingly do the rosary, then it is difficult to say it is a cult.
04:54Even though it is just a few people who do it,
04:57the group of Francisca wanted to live the rosary in Siquijor.
05:01It is really important for us to do the rosary.
05:04For those who want to join, it is possible for everyone.
05:07There is no such thing as an initiation. It is just a prayer to God.
05:12Now, I am not afraid because I know that I am praying for them.
05:19Every human being has a desire to be in connection with the higher ups.
05:25For us Catholics, the devotion leads us to the closer union with God.
05:32We will see that they will really live out their devotions.
05:41There are many ways to pray.
05:43Learn to respect any religion or tradition.
05:48I am Nico Juaje, and that is the story you need to know.
05:56For more information, visit www.osho.com
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