A Gesture of Faith

CEBU, Philippines – Holding several candles in her hand, she began to move and utter her prayers. The 78-year-old 'Nang Juaning had made a solemn pledge to perform the traditional "sinulog" prayer dance during the Fiesta Señor, for the rest of her life. Only that now she had to struggle harder to do the ritual.

She has been doing it since her teens. She does not only do the "sinulog" for herself or loved ones; she also does it for others who contract her service. People come to her with their petitions, they who do not know or too shy to perform the dance.

'Nang Juaning notices a decrease in the number of people contracting her "sinulog" service. But she does not relent in offering it; she is always there in case someone needs her help - always ready with her candles and dancing feet. The old woman claims that her faith in God has strengthened through the years, while her body has gradually weakened from age.

This septuagenarian is just one of the multitudes that flock to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Nino at Sinulog time - men and women, young and old, all of them with one thing in common: faith.

But what is "faith" exactly? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as "a strong belief and trust in someone or something, or to the existence thereof, even with no tangible proof."

It is not easy to understand how one can believe so deeply in something that can't be seen nor touched. People dance the "sinulog" for hours, in a kind of prayerful trance, with only their strong faith sustaining them physically. Some make their way from the church door to the altar on their knees; others make it a point not to miss a single Sunday in attending mass at church, no matter the weather. 

Faith is that unique quality, indeed. It energizes the faithful to do what are otherwise monotonous or tiresome things. It's a force that perks up one's slumbering spirit, to view life beyond his personal struggles and miseries. Faith even has a practical side, some say, claiming that it's through prayers that God grants the desires of their hearts. 

'Nang Juaning almost died in a sea accident. In that hopeless situation, she prayed and offered her life to God. She was saved from certain death. And she "knew" without the slightest tinge of doubt that it was the work of God.

And so she commits her life to prayer, particularly to performing the "sinulog" for as long as her body will allow. "Mao g'yud ni ang akong panaad, nga kada tuig bisa'g tiguwang na ko, ari gihapon ko, mag-sinulog" (This is my vow that every year, even at my age, I will still be here to do the 'sinulog'), she said.

It sure is a sacrifice for 'Nang Juaning to do what she has committed herself to do. She's doing it as a gesture of faith.