Today I escorted in motorcycle the Street Dancing in celebration of the declaration of the St. Martin of Tours Parish here in our rustic town as a Diocesan Shrine for the Mahal na Poon ng Krus sa Wawa. I was telling myself it could be a great material for my blog today.The declaration of our Parish church as a Diocesan Shrine is long overdue. But it only materialized during the incumbency of our current parish priest, Fr. Jovi. The Mahal na Poon ng Krus sa Wawa has long been a legend in this place. The cross is wooden black allegedly found by a fisherman floating at the delta of the Wawa River several hundred years ago. He got the black cross. The residents would procession it in the Wawa River every anniversary of its discovery. Then there were stories of miracles attributed to it. Floods and droughts did not make a heavy toll on the residents each time that a 9-day ligiran would be dedicated to the black cross.
The cross would be brought back once more to the Wawa River in flamboyant fluvial procession. The well decorated, motorized boat that carries the cross eventually was called Pagoda. there had been years that the Pagoda was three-tiered. At times it was either higher or lower than that.From then on, there was this strong devotion of people that it's feast of discovery even eclipsed the feast of the Parish patron saint, St. Martin of Tours. The feast drew people from all walks of life, even those from afar.
Tomorrow, the Parish Church would be consecrated as the Diocesan Shrine of the Mahal na Krus sa Wawa.
It is a way of elevating the consciousness of people on the Cross.
