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| A tribute to the Virgin Mary, prominently displayed in the center of my host family's house. |
As dusk rolls around each evening, the church bells ring out and call everyone to attention. It's 6:00 pm and thus time to pray the Angelus. In my house, everyone stops what they are doing and enters the living room to bow before "Mamma Mary." As if it were the voice of God himself, the verses of prayer penetrate the town, amplified by a sound system fit for Giants Stadium. Heads bowed, hands clasped, the townspeople respond to each verse and carry out three Hail Mary’s. The prayer closes with an Amen, the sign of the cross, and mano (a Filipino tradition where you ask for blessings from your elders). I stand silently throughout this ritual each night since it is spoken in the local language, Kinaray-a. I do, however, go up to my Nanay and Tatay afterwards, greet them good evening and ask for their blessing.
In my town, here in the Western Visayas of the Philippines, the Angelus is prayed at six pm, every night, like clockwork. After the Angelus, everyone in my house typically returns to whatever they were doing, but the mysterious voice drones on for a solid thirty minutes more, reciting a full rosary. I find this all so striking. If I were a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, where I was originally assigned, I surely would have expected this type of daily, religious experience through the Muslim call to prayer. Here though, where the religion practiced is my own, I find myself taken aback by the abundance of these Catholic rituals. The presence of public prayer here is quite remarkable, especially coming from a place where almost all acts of religion occur in a church, on Sundays.
A friend of mine from the States once asked me on facebook if I thought Filipinos truly believe, or if they’re simply going through the motions. Immediately, my Filipina friend responded, “Filipinos have a 100% faith!!!” And actually, I think that’s true. There’s so much I can say about Catholicism and faith in the Philippines, but for now, I’ll just leave you with this brief story:
“China could have easily destroyed us, but do you know why we’ve stayed safe during the Philippines-China conflict?”
“Ummm, no. Why?” I asked my co-worker.
“Because we have God on our side. The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia.”
Conclusion: Filipino faith. It’s stronger than China.
