Chapter VI: Part 6

"In the fourth sortie or foray, six hundred and thirteen were baptized; in the next, two hundred and seventy; and in the last, two hundred and fifty-four. With these and other baptisms in this residence alone, three thousand six hundred and eighty persons were therefore made Christians, as I stated above; and many more might be converted if the earnestness with which they ask for baptism were appreciated. But our fathers proceed by inspiring them first to desire baptism, and to give proofs of their desires, and constraining them to learn the doctrine, to attend the church, and to abandon all their heathen rites, their paganism, and their polygamy; thus they become more thoroughly acquainted with and rooted in the faith."

Instances occurring in the mission of Dulac. Chapter LXXVIII.

The year one thousand six hundred and one also gave evidence of great increase and perfecting in the Christian community of Dulac, effected through the ordinary labors and occupations of four fathers and three brethren. These laborers, making their retreat at the appointed times, to practice the spiritual exercises (as is the custom in all those residences), repair thereafter with greater courage to their ministry to souls; and the results of their work thus correspond to their fervor. But, of all the means that they have employed, we must attribute their good fortune in winning souls to their exposing the most blessed sacrament in our churches, thus stimulating the devotion and respect with which it should be regarded; celebrating with solemn processions the feast of Corpus [Christi]; and inviting the faithful to the table and feast of heaven. As a result of these measures, the people were so fond of holy communion, and so greatly enjoyed receiving it, that on some feast-days the crowd was as great as in cities of Europe; and with so thorough preparation, by fasting, discipline, prayer, fervor, and confession, that it seemed to be a primitive church. Thus their esteem for our holy faith is so increased that few are those who do not ask for or desire baptism. Indeed, there are so many who seek it that during the two weeks of advent and Easter in 1601 more than seven hundred persons were baptized; and from the Easter of the previous year, 1600, there were counted in this mission-field more than two thousand and twenty persons baptized--and all this with great fervor, eagerness, and esteem for the new law which they profess with holy baptism.

The residence of Dulac has in its care, among many others, the two large villages called Dagami and San Salvador (which is Paloc), both populous; their people are well instructed and submissive, and our fathers have labored among them with great success. Father Melchior Hurtado writes that in San Salvador, during the celebration of the Christmas feast, almost eight hundred infidels were baptized, and that the confessions and communions were such as might be expected in Espana--so many, that the fathers could not attend to them all. This is occasion for much glory to our Lord, especially in a land so new, which the Society had entered but six years before to instruct its people, and had found them so obdurate, as I have already stated. From the letters of this father, and from others of Father Juan de Torres and Father Francisco Vicente, some special incidents have been drawn, which I shall here relate.

A father, passing through a little village belonging to that residence and inquiring who were Christians, was told of an old man who lived out in the country, alone in his little hut, and remained there unable to walk. The father gave orders that this man be brought to his presence, and asked him concerning his life, not expecting him to recall much of the doctrine; but he gave so good an account of himself as to leave the father astounded. Among other things the old man said: "Although I remain in this life with my body, my desires are in heaven; and so much so that at night I dream only of the things of the other life. There I see all the dwellers of heaven covered with splendor, and especially one, who excels all the others in brightness. O, father, would that I might be there, freed from this decaying and burdensome body!" The father showed him a print of the judgment, in which heaven was depicted with splendor and beauty, and then asked him if it looked like what he had seen. He answered, _Aba_, which is one of their words of surprise, and, as it were, of disdain. "That and nothing more, Father? Much more, much more!" Then the father wondered as he beheld the riches which God our Lord had deposited in that clod of earth; and he felt sure that, as the old man said, his only occupation thereafter would be to repeat "Jesus" and "Mary"--which would never leave his memory or his lips, until he should end this life and begin that which is eternal. Two of Ours, passing a wretched hut, found a man, who must have been more than eighty years old, stretched upon some reeds, unconscious and dying. So thin was his body that it was hardly more than skin adhering to bones; and so wasted that he seemed the living picture of death. In their pity for him they prayed our Lord to have compassion on that poor soul. In a short time he recovered consciousness, and gladly asked for the waters of holy baptism, which he greatly desired; this was plainly evident in the ardor with which he declared his belief in our holy faith. After being baptized, his senses were entranced, and he very sweetly invoked the most blessed name of Jesus, and that of Mary; and then he died.

One of our fathers desired to visit another sick man (who had, when in danger of death, been baptized by the schoolmaster of the village), but, with his many confessions and other duties, he had forgotten to do so. Afterward, while resting, he had heard loud wailing and outcries, such as they are wont to utter for their dead; and they came to tell him that the man had died. The father could not refrain from going to see him (although he left all the people in the church), deeply grieved that he had not seen the sick man before. But with great confidence (although everyone said that he was already dead), he approached the unconscious sick man, and said: "Clement" (such was his name), "dost thou hear us, my son?" He opened his eyes and said: "Yes, Father." Then the father bade him invoke the most blessed name of Jesus, and the most sweet name of Mary, and aided him with some nourishment; the sick man regained consciousness, and some strength, and at the end of a few days made his confession, and died in the Lord.

Ours had been asked to visit a sick man, and, when the visit to him was ended, the father, while descending from the house, was seized with the desire to ascertain if there were any other sick person in the vicinity. In the next house he found an old woman, an infidel, ninety years old, although not very sick; he approached her, gave her instruction, and baptized her. On the following day, when he was setting out from the village at the same hour, his heart would not allow him to depart without first visiting his sick people. He gained the little hut, and found therein a dead person, shrouded. He inquired who it was and they told him that it was Ana (the name of the woman whom he had baptized the day before). He continued his way, praising the divine Providence and judgments of God, who had thus predestined the lot of that soul. We were informed that a sick man lay at the point of death, far out from the village. The road thither was hard to descry in the darkness of the night, and abounded with serpents, which were continually encountered, stretched out in the road. In addition to this, a very broad river must be passed, with rapid current and full of crocodiles--which, when they become ravenous, rush upon anything. Yet all these obstacles were of less importance than one soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ; so the father went to visit his sick man, and, with a certain medicine, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, cured and comforted him. But the marvel was that on the way he found another sick person, a woman, apparently in less danger; he baptized her, and she died immediately, while the sick man, for whom the father had undertaken all that hardship, was healed.

An Indian, finding himself in the clutches and jaws of a crocodile, covered with wounds, and almost dead, began to invoke the most holy name of Jesus, which a little before he had heard in the sermon of a father; and our Lord was pleased that the savage beast should release him.

This befell a father and a brother while journeying along a sandy tract, greatly fatigued by the heat of the noonday sun, without any restorative or food, and parched with thirst--in short, deprived of everything that might serve them as a relief or comfort; yet enduring their suffering and with devout meditation offering to God that hardship, even desiring that it might be increased if his Majesty might thus be served. Unexpectedly and suddenly they descried a man seated in the midst of the sand, with a collation of fresh cocoanuts and other fruits; and so gracious and serene was his appearance that he inspired admiration and pleasure. When the fathers and those who accompanied them accepted from him those delicacies, refreshing their heated bodies and appeasing their hunger, this man displayed unusual satisfaction and joy, inviting them to partake of more, since what he possessed was theirs, and he was a servant of the Spaniards. With this they continued their journey (which otherwise would have been very wearisome), giving thanks to Him who had thus succored them in their dire necessity. Although at the time the father took little notice of this incident, afterward recalling the circumstances, as well as the gracious manner of the man, he became convinced that he must have been some angel. Nor was he far out of the way, considering the occasion on which he succored them, when they could not go any farther on account of the oppressive heat of the season, and the lack of food; the spot where they had encountered him, a place where it had never occurred that they found an Indian so solitary and, moreover, unknown; and then his gracious manner and serene countenance, and his generosity and liberality in sharing with them what he had, saying that it all belonged to the fathers, and that he was a servant of the Spaniards (at a time when there was not one Spaniard in the island): all this induces the belief that the incident was something more than ordinary, or, at least, a token of our Lord's especial providence. There can be no doubt that the incident was most pleasing to Him, on account of the unusual and extraordinary harvest which He permitted to be gathered in the village from which the father had that day set out. I shall not relate this in detail, in order not to repeat the same events, and to pass on to what yet remains to be narrated, which is much.

The many conversions to the Christian faith in Carigara and its district. Chapter LXXIV.

We deem it a special providence of our Lord that while the native language of the Indians of our various residences is the same, and it is easy for our workers to remove from one place to another, since they are not, in doing so, obliged to learn several tongues--there is, at the same time, such variety in the stations and missions. Some of them may be visited entirely by sea, such as those of Tinagon or Samar; others wholly by land, as the mission of Alangalang. Again, others may be reached partly by sea, partly by land, such as Dulac, Carigara, and Bohol. This is a great convenience, in assigning the missionaries according to the abilities and temperament of each, allotting to those who cannot journey by land, stations on the coast, and inland posts to those who can endure the hardships of the roads.

There is enough of such hardship in the residence of Alangalang, where four fathers and three brethren are employed, toiling in the vineyard of the Lord--journeying on foot (as is our custom there) under sun and shower, through swamps and rivers, with the water often waist-deep; yet with much consolation and joy in the Lord, for whose love are undertaken these and like hardships.

Our brethren live in those villages well content at seeing that our Lord is continually gaining souls to Himself, and inclining to His holy law the hearts of those who but a few years ago were living without God and without law. From the year 1600 to the year 1602, when I departed from those regions, two thousand six hundred and ninety-four persons had been baptized in that mission. They attend with great punctuality the sermons, masses, and other divine services, which in that mission are celebrated with greater splendor and more punctiliousness than in others, through the advantage which it has in three choirs of Indians, who [in this service] surpass many Spaniards. They are wont to sing the _Salve_ to our Lady; on some days, the litany; and on the Fridays of Lent the _Miserere_ to accompany the discipline--all of which indicates the faith which burns and glows in their souls.

To that residence of Alangalang are annexed those of Ogmuc and Carigara, with seven or eight other villages; through these our fathers have dispersed (having made their retreat, in the course of the year for the [spiritual] exercises), being assigned [to certain villages] to instruct their people. The superior, Father Mateo Sanchez, took charge of the newer villages, in order to build there churches and establish stations convenient for the affairs of those Christian churches--as he did in the village of Lingayon, and in others. On the way, he baptized in Barugo twenty-five adults, and in Carigara sixty-three.

At the residence of Ogmuc we had completed a church, one of the finest in that island, through the diligence and labors of Father Alonso Rodriguez, who spent a long time there. Father Francisco de Enzinas went to that residence, and baptized one hundred and two persons; of these eighty-one were adults, and among them some old men. These last asked for baptism, as it seemed, with reason, saying that they were already at the gates of death, and they ought to be most favored since they were most needy. They asked questions about the life eternal; and while the father was explaining to them the resurrection of the body he was aided, by a man recently baptized, with the simile of the serpent, which sheds and then renews its skin, and with other comparisons of that sort. On his road the same father visited a little village, called Baibai, and baptized there ninety persons, of whom eighty-seven were adults.

Father Alonso Rodriguez held another mission in a little village called Ugyao, where he baptized twenty-eight persons, among whom was the wife of the chief of the village; she was afterward an instrument for the conversion of many. He also sojourned in a village called Leite, whence he writes a letter to the father-visitor, which runs as follows: "The lord bishop was greatly consoled at the aspect of this village. The Indians seemed to him very tractable, and submissive to the things of our holy faith. They are continually in the church, morning and evening, frequenting the services to such an extent that the time I spent there seemed like a jubilee. I noticed among the chiefs much zeal in bringing me pagans that I might baptize them. During this visit and the next that I made there, I baptized one hundred and thirty-seven persons, who were children and old people. I was in Alangalang and was much pleased with the people there; indeed, everything in that island seemed to me to be from heaven. I cannot sufficiently thank our Lord for the signal favor that He has granted me in bringing me to this land, and employing me in this Catholic ministry--of which I feel myself most unworthy, often acknowledging this before our Lord, with tears and humiliation. I regard it as most lavish pay for many faithful services that our Lord should consent to employ one in these missions, and that one may behold His mercy toward these new Christians. I have just visited the people of Ugyao, and to live among them, enjoying the mercies which God conters upon them, seems to me like Paradise."

Such is the father's general account; I will illustrate the details by only two instances. While a father was sojourning in one of those seacoast villages, there arrived in a little boat a solitary Indian, to the astonishment of all, as he had neither feet nor hands. But God and his good angel aided him to steer the boat, and so he reached that place where the father was, and urgently asked him for baptism. The reason for this was, that he had heard a Spaniard say that those who were not Christians went to hell. The father baptized him with great satisfaction, and gave praises to our Lord that He had preserved this man on the sea, and had guided that little vessel and a man who was alone, and bereft of hands and feet. There were some persons--especially a Spaniard in whose charge he was--who earnestly desired that a certain Indian should become a Christian. This Spaniard sought to convert him by arguments and inducements, and by other efforts; but apparently he became steadily more hardened. At that time one of our brethren chanced (although it was not without divine Providence) to speak to him of the things of heaven; and all at once that soul turned in earnest toward our Lord. At his baptism the Spaniard acted as his godfather, and was much gratified at seeing his pious desire fulfilled.

Great benefits have resulted from the schools and the education of the children; for these pupils are, in their homes, teachers to their own parents, and in the villages through which they are scattered they arouse the people to devotion. A young boy, one of the singers in the church, thus replied to a Spaniard who communicated to him his evil desires, in order that the youth might help him to attain them: "Sir, I know of an excellent remedy for this temptation which thou art suffering. Do thou repeat a rosary to the Virgin Mary, and I will say another in thy behalf; thus thou wilt drive away these evil thoughts." Thus he who should by right have been the teacher was himself instructed by this new Christian.

Other events in the same residence of Alangalang and in Carigara. Chapter LXXV.

When a certain father was setting out from one of the villages that he had been visiting, in order to return to the chief town [of the mission], an incident befell him which the father himself relates, in a letter which is in part as follows: "In this village there was a sick man, an infidel, whom the father had visited, and provided with someone to instruct and catechize him for holy baptism. As the father thought that the malady was making but slow progress, he left the sick man thus. But God, who chose to comfort that soul so desirous for its salvation, caused such a change in the weather that, although the sky was serene and clear when they went to visit the sick man, a rainstorm suddenly arose, so violent that it seemed as if our Lord were constraining the father (as he did the glorious St. Benedict) to halt and abandon his journey in order that that soul might enter by the true way into heaven. With this he began to instruct the sick man very slowly; and, having taught him what was sufficient, gave him holy baptism, to the great consolation and joy of both. At once the rainstorm ceased, and the sky became so clear that the father, leaving that poor man much consoled--or, more correctly, rich in celestial gifts--made his journey very comfortably. A few days having passed without his making any inquiry about the sick man, an Indian came to the father, and said to him: 'Father, that Indian whom thou didst baptize, coming hither, our Lord has taken.'

"During Lent and Holy Week they performed their penances with great devotion, shedding their blood with such fervor that it became necessary to restrain them. So strong and ardent was their desire to do penance that those who could not procure woolen shirts would not go in the procession, waiting for those garments already stained with blood, in order that they might bathe these anew with their own. Nor was there less fervor among the children, who sought permission [to take the discipline], even at a very tender age, and became disconsolate indeed if it were denied them. These new Christians practiced another sort of penance during the last two weeks of Lent, which caused great edification. In the early evening they went out, clad in their woolen shirts; their hands extended in the form of a cross, were bound to a piece of wood; and from each hand hung a very heavy stone. In this manner they went about the village, halting finally at the church whence they had set out. There they remained a long time on their knees, offering their penance to God our Lord. The children had practiced this penance before; for during the Shrovetide festival (at which time there are so many disorders among our Christians of long standing) they formed themselves in pairs, and went forth with great devotion, having their hands extended, in the form of a cross, on a piece of wood, with heavy stones hanging at each side. For this purpose one child bound the other, accompanying him until he returned to the door of the church; there, unfastening the other's bonds, he himself took the stick and stones, and thus they again went forth, and he who had first borne the stones now accompanied the other. Thus did each one acquit his obligation to the other, with more devotion and understanding than the Shrovetide season demands from persons of greater age, judgment, and obligations. In this way does our Lord bestow upon them His mercy--as happened to a young boy, whose story, as it is very attractive, I am unwilling to omit. There was a child, about five or six years old, who was suffering from a disease of the eyes; the little one in his pain went to a father, to whom he tenderly made his plaint. The father, inasmuch as a few days before he had taught the child the _Ave Maria_, bade him enter the church, and on his knees to say that prayer and offer it to the most blessed Virgin, our Lady. The child did thus, and when his prayer was concluded went out from the church, and began to play contentedly with the other children of his age. The father, perceiving him so merry with the rest, called to him and asked him if he were well. He answered that as soon as he had said the _Ave Maria_ to our Lady, the pain left him and he became well."

Among the occasions when Ours have gone to make excursions into the country, and to despoil the enemy of his former possessions, there is one which Father Mateo Sanchez describes in a letter to the father vice-provincial, as follows: "The voyage of the fathers who were sailing for Ogmuc and Sebu proved to be unfortunate; for they suffered many hardships through contrary winds, being finally driven into a small bay, where they remained as long as their provisions lasted. When these were consumed, they determined, as the weather remained unfavorable, to return to Carigara. The two of us who remained had made, in the meantime, some important visits, especially in Tunga, where the village was in great excitement on account of some murders among the Indian chiefs. It pleased our Lord that our fathers should begin to calm and soothe the respective factions, and reconcile their differences, and establish friendly relations between them. Although this was not accomplished at once, the affair made gradual progress toward settlement; and even the murderers came to our fathers for protection, so that through our agency, peace might be restored and established. This affair was one of the greatest importance, for the island [of Leyte] was well-nigh in a state of insurrection, and overrun by bandits. Our Lord was pleased that by means of the gentleness and love with which we approached them, this condition of affairs should pass away like smoke, and the bandits be dispersed. There were twelve criminals, who, on account of the various murders that they had committed, were roaming in bands through the mountains and highways, sheltering the slaves and fugitives who joined them, as well as base women and notorious witches--who accompanied them either through love for evil, or in fear of punishment for their own heinous crimes. All these people have been reclaimed, and have come to our fathers--not only the men, but the women--asking for protection, pardon, and penance. Only one has failed to come, and he was the beginning and, as it were, the source of all this disturbance; but I hope that God, in His great mercy, will bring in this man. In truth, it will be very difficult for him to effect a reconciliation with the parties concerned and obtain a pardon, on account of their rank and wealth; for the murdered man (whose name was Humbas) was one of the most noted and valiant Indians in the island, and always had been, and was at the time, governor of the village of Ogyao [_sic_]. But since his sons were all Christians, and the eldest, Don Philipe Tipon, is an excellent man, greatly attached to us, and well instructed, and informed in the Christian religion, I promise myself that it will not be very difficult to obtain from him a pardon for this man, and reconcile them, and settle this affair as we have desired and sought for the greater glory of God." Thus writes Father Mateo Sanchez. [21]

The mission in Panamao. Chapter LXXVI.

Panamao [22] is one of the islands which lie adjacent to Leite, on its northern side, and is almost a continuation of the latter, since they are separated only by a strait so narrow that a ship can scarcely pass through it. As it contains a great abundance of trees, it is well adapted for shipbuilding, as are many others of these islands. On this account workmen were building there, in December of the year one thousand six hundred and one, the ship in which I departed from those islands, early in July of the year one thousand six hundred and two. As many Spaniards, Indians, and other peoples had gathered there for this work of construction, they furnished sufficient occupation to Father Francisco Vicente of our Society, who came from Carigara, or Alangalang, to visit them and provide for them spiritual consolation. The father arrived there at a juncture when our Lord had undertaken to prepare the hearts of all those people. They were indeed prepared, as by the Divine hand, by an occurrence which affrighted and horrified them. There was a Spanish speaking negro who entered the service of the captain there, and was accompanied by his wife. It became necessary for him to go away, to procure some articles necessary to the progress of the work. Returning one night, he found his wife with another man, and, maddened by jealousy, he killed the adulterer with a lance and wounded the woman, leaving her for dead. This was a deplorable occurrence, for the murdered man was a youth of comely parts and beloved by all; and to see him thus slain--a reputable man, without confession, and in such circumstances, by the hand of a negro--was sufficient to lead all to do penance. For assistance in this, it was necessary for Father Francisco Vicente to proceed to Panamao; and he, finding the harvest ready, was soon reaping, with his sermons, discourses, and confessions, the now ripened grain--as that father reports in one of his letters, which runs as follows: "I reached Panamao, on Saturday before the last Sunday of Advent, and we were welcomed by the captain with much affection and kindness. It is a large population which has been gathered there, of both Indians and Spaniards, and among them God our Lord gave us a goodly harvest of souls. On arriving there I sought to speak to them and show them my affection. At the outset, I undertook to have a church built; and this was done so that we said mass on the following day. I also preached to them on matters relating to sin, explaining to them its hideous and injurious nature--especially by recalling to their minds that recent example or sermon which our Lord had preached to them a short time before. They were all deeply moved, and resolved to ask me for confession and the cure for their souls. In order that so rich a prize should not be lost, I labored assiduously, preaching now to the Spaniards, now to the Indians. On that Sunday I preached three sermons, and tried, moreover, by special discourses to attract the headmen and chiefs, explaining to them how they ought to make confession. When they understood that I must go immediately after the first day of Easter, they entreated me to remain, if only until the third day, in order that they might make their confessions as they should. I consented to this; and from that hour, all the people, Spaniards as well as Indians, began to consecrate themselves with such devotion as to make me ashamed. I did not lose this opportunity--now encouraging and consoling them, now removing their difficulties, now instructing them; and striving most heartily to assist them. The confessions began before dawn, about four o'clock in the morning; and the people came with general confessions for a whole life or for many years, uttering them with tears and sobs. Indeed, it was necessary to loosen the reins and encourage them, for it was not necessary to seek, as is usually done, incentives to contrition and grief. During this mission some of the Spaniards were obliged to go away to another islet; some of them, in order not to lose this opportunity, hastened to confess, making up for the shortness of the time allowed them by their great devotion; others, who were deprived of even this satisfaction, deferred their confessions until my return, to their own great sorrow and with holy envy for those who remained. In truth, God knows best what went on in those souls: what I can say is, that I have never seen such tears, or conversions so sincere. There were persons who spent entire nights in weeping, with the crucifix in their hands. During the Easter season they were so withdrawn from worldly concerns that it seemed to be Holy Friday; and they did not leave their houses except to go to mass or to confer with me about the welfare of their souls. In their silence and downcast looks, and the grief which they felt within, they gave evidence of the mercies which our Lord had showed them, and the light which He was bestowing upon them, as they went from and to their houses. I experienced a thousand scruples in regard to calming and satisfying their consciences; but I gave a thousand thanks to God our Lord for having brought me to that place for the great good of so many souls. Certain persons assured me that they had never before seen the like. We continued to hear the confessions, so that they might be better prepared for Easter. Certainly, had I to purchase by dint of toil those moments of consolation, when I was administering to each one the sacrament of communion and seemed to read his very heart, a thousand journeys from Espana were little to give for that. I was to go on the fourth day of Easter, but that was impossible, for with earnest solicitations they entreated me to remain--and some, moreover, had not finished their confessions; it was therefore necessary to wait until Sunday. On that day we effected a reconciliation between the murderer and the adulteress, who embraced and pardoned each other and made their confession with much devotion. On Monday morning I was obliged, on account of my departure, to say mass shortly after two o'clock; and yet the service was not so secret as to prevent them from attending it, all being present, and manifesting great devotion. With tears and words they expressed their great regret at my departure, and made me promise that I would soon return to console them; and with this I came away, glorifying the Lord. I left, in process of erection, a little hospital for the sick and poor, which all aided with charitable offerings and personal attendance. Glory be to our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom proceed all things."

The death of Father Francisco Almerique, and other events in Manila. Chapter LXXVII.

At the end of that year, one thousand six hundred and one, Father Francisco Almerique ceased his labors, death claiming him while he was busily occupied, and full of joy and consolation therein. He had no illness save that occasioned by his very excessive labors, which for a period of almost twenty years had been so wasting and reducing his energies that the coming of hot weather carried him off, without strength to resist, in five days. At the time of his death he was engaged in forming villages, some of Indians and others of blacks. These latter are in Manila called Itas; he had lured them from a rugged mountain region, and persuaded them to settle in a lovely, peaceful spot, fertile and pleasant, about two or three leguas from Antipolo, giving to the new settlement the name of Santiago. First in Manila, and afterward in the mission of Taitai, he busied himself with the study of languages and the care of souls, to the very great satisfaction (as we have already said) of all those who had relations with him; for, on account of his great humility and gentleness, he was loved and sought for, followed and obeyed, honored and respected, and regarded as a saint. He never spared toil when the aid of souls was concerned, nor did he heed times and seasons; by day and by night, in rain or the sun's heat, and both far and near, forgetful of himself and his health, he indefatigably rendered his services to whomsoever called him. His most important occupation was to bring the people down from the mountains and thinly settled districts, drawing them by cords of love and gentleness. Such was his grace in this that as we have said, on more than one occasion entire villages would come to him; and, leaving to the care of others those whom he had already won, he devoted himself to winning and inviting other and new souls. Not a feast day or Sunday passed when he did not preach a sermon; and often he said mass twice and delivered two sermons, in two different villages. Inasmuch as those people usually had recourse to the father with all their affairs, it always happened at the end of mass that he remained to answer and console his Indians, with untiring patience, without touching food until past midday, or even two or three hours later. His soul went out toward some one of those poor creatures, and the meaner the Indian, the greater was his love. In this exercise and occupation, God our Lord communicated with him most familiarly and affectionately, the father holding Him ever before his mind by frequent and fervent prayer. This power he acquired in so high a degree that those who were in close intercourse with him affirm, in the words of the glorious St. Dionysus, that, _erat divina patiens_; and it called forth our admiration to behold in him the gift of prayer so lofty and sublime, united to a power of action so incessant and effective. In harmony with these characteristics was his peaceful and easy death, joyful and full of heavenly consolation. He died on the first Sunday of Advent at the college of Manila (whither I had taken him for medical treatment), after having received the most blessed sacraments with great devotion. His death occurred just as all the churches were ringing for the _Ave Marias_, on the second of December, 1601, the day of the glorious departure of the blessed father Francisco Xavier, whose true follower he ever was. His death was deeply felt and lamented, and his obsequies were celebrated with tears and solemn ceremonies; his body was deposited in the main chapel of our church at Manila, before the steps of the great altar.

At that time we were still pursuing our occupations in Manila among our neighbors, where our Lord was continually forwarding the progress of all our ministries, not only in those that pertained to divine worship and the salvation of souls, but in those which concerned learning and letters. To the Latin studies was added a course in philosophy, which was begun in that year by Father Miguel Gomez, who had previously taught it in Gandia. At the first lecture, which served to open the studies of that year and which was itself grave and learned, there assembled a goodly number of students, clergy, religious, and persons of other ranks; and dignity was lent to the occasion by the presence of the governor, president, and magistrates. The course was continued, with a membership of many students, and with the theses, conferences and other exercises which are customary to that branch of learning, wherein the students gave excellent proof of their talent and ability. The two congregations of La Anunciata (composed respectively of students and laymen), who continually emulated each other in their devotion and service to the most blessed Virgin, celebrated together the feast of the Annunciation with great splendor and dignity, and much devotion on their part and that of the people. The youth of this city were in the utmost need of a seminary where they could be withdrawn from the world and reared in virtue. Although this had been desired for years, it had been impossible to carry out the plan until the preceding year [_i.e._, 1600], when, with the divine favor, a seminary was begun, which chose as its patron the glorious St. Joseph. The institution was placed in charge of two members of the Society, a father and a brother. On the day of its foundation were assembled the royal Audiencia, [those who direct] the vacant Bishopric, the religious orders, and many other people of rank in this city. The collegians were clad in mantles of husi, which is a thin fabric like picote, [23] inclining toward violet, with insignia of red braid extending to the feet. They went out at the gate of the college to receive the royal Audiencia, and soon afterward in the chapel the archdeacon of Manila said the first mass, the acolytes being two of the above-mentioned collegians, Don Pedro Tello de Guzman, nephew of the president, and Don Antonio de Morga, son of Don Antonio de Morga, auditor of the royal Audiencia. At the conclusion of mass, two other collegians made harangues, giving an account of what was intended in the foundation of this college; wherewith they were well satisfied, and pleased with the work which the Society had undertaken. The collegians at the foundation of the institution were thirteen. That number has continued to increase until it has reached twenty, as at present, which is not an insignificant beginning in so new a land. Many people came to visit the college and its apartments, admiring its good order and plan, and praising this work, so serviceable to God our Lord, and to this commonwealth. They attend with punctuality the devotional exercises and the divisions of time according to the arrangements of the college, and thus derive profit in letters and in virtue. The Indians, too, repair to Ours, as they would to parents; and with the confidence of faithful children they make known their doubts and give account of their affairs. For instance: An Indian, on the day of the birth of Christ our Lord, was in his house contentedly repairing his boat and preparing to make a voyage the next day for matters concerning his occupation, when a certain person chanced to pass his house, who said to him: "How now? dost thou dare to work on Christmas day?" The other answered him, in jest: "Oh, yes! I have permission from Jesus Christ to do this." But his chastisement was not long delayed, for just when he was making ready for his voyage on that very day a violent and mortal illness attacked his family, sparing neither wife nor children, and laying him at the door of death, so that for three months he could not leave his house. He came to us in remorse, and acknowledging his guilt; and after telling us these things asked for advice, made his confession, and prepared for communion, through the efficacy of which he recovered his health, and was able to accomplish those things which, on account of his sins, our Lord had prevented him from doing.

While one of our brethren was sojourning in an Indian village far from that city [of Manila], two incidents occurred whereby was seen and manifested the supernatural virtue of the holy _Agnus Dei_, so famed for many other great miracles. Two women were quarreling, as is usual among barbarians and vulgar people. One of them was a famous witch, and in anger and passion she threatened the other woman with summary vengeance through her charms. She went home; and the poor Indian woman, entering her own house without fear of evil, was seized with a violent trembling throughout her body. In this paroxysm she arose from her husband's side while they were eating their food and fought desperately to throw herself down from the window. The husband ran, in his consternation, to save her, and called loudly to his neighbors for help. Three persons ran to her, and were hardly able to hold her. Our brother sent to ascertain what this disturbance meant, and when he learned what had happened he called the husband and gave him a little piece of the _Agnus_ in a reliquary, exhorting him at the same time to have faith, and promising that his wife would soon be healed. Then, upon his knees, the brother prayed our Lord to deign to grant his request, for the greater strengthening of the faith of those new Christians. The husband went home with the _Agnus_, and no sooner had he applied it to his wife, than she was freed of the trembling and terror and remained quite calm. This occurrence soon became public, and another Indian, who had been bewitched by the same Indian woman, on seeing this marvel was convinced that God granted health to those who invoked Him; accordingly, he asked for the same relic, and the result was conformable to his faith. Thus the people were confirmed in their faith, and grateful for the benefits received from the bounteous hand of the Lord.

The number of villages in the mission of Taitai, and the events therein of the year MDCII. Chapter LXXVIII.

The villages of San Iuan del Monte, Antipolo, and others, were instructed by Father Francisco Almerique and Father Tomas de Montoya, with the help of another priest who desired to enter our Society, and who busied himself in assisting us in this work to the great profit of the Indians, of whose language he had an excellent knowledge. These fathers were joined by Father Angelo Armano, who had gone hence two years before and had been detained in Manila compiling the history of the saints, whose relics, as we have said, had been deposited in our Church--a work which this father made very learned and eloquent. Having completed this task, he went to Antipolo, where he began the study and practice of the native language, with admirable results in all of those villages. On the death of Father Almerique (who was stronger than the rest), the burden of work so exhausted the others that, falling sick one by one, the entire load fell upon Father Angelo, who bravely sustained it for several months. This mission contains three principal villages, all of which are capitals of their respective districts, other villages being annexed and subordinate to each of these three. Each one of these villages requires and needs at least two priests with their usual assistants, in order to give adequate care to so many souls. San Iuan del Monte, which is a village of about four hundred inhabitants, has near it Dalig and Angono. Antipolo contains seven hundred houses, and has the two villages of Santa Cruz and Maihai. Santiago was then being settled, with more than four hundred inhabitants, and had in its vicinity other villages, especially two inhabited by blacks, or Itas. All those people were in charge of Father Angelo Armano, who, during Lent of the year one thousand six hundred and two, maintained them in great devotion and fervor without their losing sight, on that account, of their devotional exercises throughout that season, especially in Holy Week. During the latter period, the divine services were celebrated with great solemnity, and there were processions of blood in the two churches of San Juan and Antipolo, with a goodly number of confessions and communions. Another father--a middle-aged man, who knew the language--came from Manila to help in this work, with orders not to remain more than one week, on account of the need of priests in Manila. However, on the second day of Easter, the rector of Manila came with two other fathers who knew the language, on their vacation, very opportunely for concluding the confessions and communions in those villages. During the month that we spent there, there was a notable concourse of people who came to confess, and great was the number of communions. At that time there occurred to Father Pedro de Segura, who was one of those who had gone thither from Manila, an extraordinary incident in connection with the image of our blessed Father Ignatius. One morning, at daybreak, he was summoned in behalf of a woman who lay in a critical condition from childbirth, and wished to confess with Father Segura. While the father was dressing himself to go, he sent for an image of our father, to whom he professed great devotion--which had been increased by the outcome of the shipwrecks which we have described, in which he himself had been present. There was some delay in bringing the image, so that the father reached the sick woman first; and after he had confessed her the image arrived. The poor woman was much exhausted, and, according to the midwife, in extreme danger. The infant was dead, and as it lay obliquely in the womb, the mother could not obtain relief by expelling it. The father exhorted her to have confidence in our Lord, and placing the image before her, left her calling loudly to heaven in her anguish. A second time they called him to hear her confession; and the father, having done so and encouraged her as before, went away. As he was descending from the house the woman expelled the infant, to the wonder of all at seeing the dead child, and the mother living and free from so great a peril.

The people of Antipolo celebrated with great solemnity the feast of the most blessed sacrament, which was attended by the people of our mission as well as of many others. A dialogue in the Tagal language was spoken by the children of the seminary with much cleverness and indication of ability, and to the satisfaction and pleasure of the hearers. This seminary is making great progress in both spiritual and temporal affairs. It is aided by the Indians, with generous alms for its maintenance; and (what is of even greater value) they act with such harmony and edification that they may well serve as an example to the Spanish youth. Some of these pupils are of signal virtue, and our Lord shows them many favors. Every day they go to hear mass, or, in case there is no one to say it, to commend themselves to our Lord in the church. They regularly go from their houses reciting aloud the Christian doctrine; and, upon reaching the church, they conclude it upon their knees. They celebrate the feasts with much solemn pomp and music (for the seminary can furnish good music); and they practice there reading and writing, and other honorable and virtuous exercises. The hospital is making excellent progress, and the Confraternities assign each week those of their members who are to care for the service of the sick, doing this, as I have said, with great alacrity and devotion.

The new residence of Silan and its Christians. Chapter LXXIX.

This new field of Silan was assigned to the Society of Jesus from the year 1599, as the people of those villages, among whom were some Christians, were without a priest to minister to them, although they were but a day's journey from Manila. [24] There are five villages, which contain about one thousand five hundred inhabitants, besides the many other people who, as is their custom, are separated and dispersed through the country districts, in their cultivated lands. These villages are in the tingues, as they call them, of Cavite, among some mountains; the climate there is very moderate, and in no season of the year is there excessive heat--rather, the mountains render it cooler. The people are simple, tractable, and well inclined toward all good things. The first members of the Society who went expressly to instruct them and to settle there were Father Gregorio Lopez and Father Pedro de Segura, who went in the year 1601. In previous months and years some of us had gone there for a short time, as we had visited other places, on a mission or by way of recreation; and by the friendly reception that they gave us and the results which, by Divine grace, were accomplished among them, we were encouraged to establish among them in that year a regular mission, stationing there the two fathers whom I have mentioned. Through the teaching and good example of those fathers they abandoned some of their evil practices, and applied themselves to the Christian customs with good will and pleasure; and many (for there were no Christians among them) received holy baptism.

Not only do they attend their own mass and sermon on Sundays (never missing one of these services), but on Saturdays they go to hear that in honor of our Lady, which is said for them with as much solemnity as that on Sundays. They were greatly encouraged in the observance of these masses and feasts by the following incident which occurred at that time: A woman, who was very eager to finish the weaving of a piece of cloth, sat down at her loom one Sunday to work thereon; afterward, upon returning to her task, she found the cloth all eaten away by moths. She herself made this known, with the full knowledge that it had been a chastisement and penalty for that offense of hers. To assist us in instructing the large number of catechumens in those villages, and in teaching the doctrine to the innumerable children who assemble at the mission from all the settlements, our Lord provided for that work an Indian blind in body but truly enlightened of soul, who, with great faith, charity, and love for the things of God, instructs those who wish to be baptized, catechizing them morning and night in the church. He is so expert in the catechism that none of us could excel him therein. Consequently, they come from his charge marvelously well instructed; and, although he is blind, he is so watchful over the large number of catechumens in his charge, that he notes if even one person is absent, and reports it to the father. The first time when he received communion, which was on the feast of our Lady, he displayed such profound respect and reverence that his body trembled while receiving the holy sacrament, and so great devotion that the sight of it inspired that emotion in others. This man deserves all the greater credit for what he is doing, for having gone from one extreme to another; formerly he was one of the heathen priests, whom they here call catalones, and now he has become a preacher of our holy faith. This he relates, while uttering fervent thanks and exalting the great favors and benefits which God has bestowed upon him.