A RESÅT

This is such a forgotten custom that I rarely ever hear it in Guam or the other Mariana islands.

Yet, I heard it in California!

At the Guam clubhouse, at the start of a nobena.

The techa (prayer leader) is saying, "A resåt. Maila' ya ta fan nobena." "Let us pray. Let us pray the novena."

The phrase "A resåt" is borrowed from the Spanish "A rezar," which means "To prayer," or "Let us pray."

It's like a verbal bell to tell the people to quiet down and compose themselves for prayer.

In the old days, this meant people were to stop talking and to kneel down.

People knelt to pray.

REZAR

(Spanish for "to pray")

Another lady at a rosary calls out "A RESÅT!"

One more time, at another nobena.