The great comfort which the religious commonly felt in their ministry
both in life and in death
[In spite of the sufferings of the religious in this region--the heat,
the strangeness, the homesickness, the poverty of their life--they had
great joy in their work. The aniteras, or priestesses of the devil,
who became Christians, often told them that as soon as they came to
heathen villages the devil left the houses in which he was worshiped,
which were wretched little hovels. They dreamed that they saw their
anitos in the form of carabaos, or buffaloes, and of black men;
and that they likewise suffered greatly at such times, because the
devil was so much their owner that he used to enter them visibly--one
of them, who was the mistress of the others, saying that he entered
her in the form of a shadow, and in that way gave his oracles. The
aniteras were, as the Indians said, beside themselves and out of
their minds at such times. Many miracles were wrought by the fathers,
and they had great joy in the marvels which the Lord showed them
in permitting them to save by holy baptism children and others who
were at the point of death, from eternal damnation. The bishop of
Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Diego de Soria, writing to his great friend,
father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Cathalina, or Navarro, on March 24,
1608, said that when they had come from the province of Ylocos, they
had been detained in a port for two weeks by as heavy a storm as if
they had been in Segovia itself, and that they had suffered much on
the road; but that now they felt consoled by what they had found in
the province, which was a perfect picture of Pangasinan. He reported
that in the mountains of Fotol and Alamonag they had confirmed more
than six hundred Indians; and that even the little boys and girls knew
the definition of the sacrament of confirmation. He reports that the
religious of the province are very harmonious, especially those who
came from the college of Alcala, to which they purpose sending a golden
cup worth a thousand pesos, hoping that the college may pay for it with
missionaries, which will not be simony. He goes on to say that he had
been three days in the village, and that they had already confirmed
eight or nine thousand Indians. The cup of gold was sent, but never
reached its destination. His remarks with reference to the college
of Alcala are due to the fact that several of the religious who came
over on various expeditions had been supplied by that college. Among
them were some of the most devoted of the missionaries--for instance,
the bishop himself, father Fray Bernardo de Sancta Cathalina, and
father Fray Juan Cobo. The report of this father may well be followed
by that of father Fray Francisco de San Joseph, or Blancas, [2] who
wrote from this province of Nueva Segovia to the father provincial,
father Fray Miguel de San Jacintho. His letter is given in full by
Aduarte; the substance of it is as follows: "I have seen with my own
eyes something of what I have read in the letters of your Reverence
with regard to the great need of ministers here, and to the desire of
the people for them. We found the inhabitants kindly and peaceful, and
delighted to see us. When we disembarked at one of the heathen villages
on the way, some of the children ran to kiss our scapulars. Some of
the boys ran before us, reciting the prayers very well, not because
they had been taught, but because they had picked them up from a
couple of our boys whom they had seen several times. Yet in spite of
all this they will be lost and damned, for lack of friars. The wife
of the governor of this village was very ill; and desiring to die
a Christian, she had herself carried to the village of Pia, which
is a Christian village about a day's journey from hers. Father Fray
Pedro was at Pipig, a village near there, at the time, so that he was
in time to baptize her." In another letter to the same provincial,
he said: "Your Reverence might see here this morning a company of
old men learning the doctrines of Christianity; another of girls;
another of married women; another of young boys--giving praises
to God like so many choirs of angels, proclaiming His doctrine and
learning it to prepare themselves for baptism." Father Fray Jacintho
de San Geronimo, [3] who is still living, writes a letter to a friend
of his in Nueva España, which is dated on the last day of the feast
of the Resurrection, in 1607. It is substantially as follows: "I am
at present in the province of Nueva Segovia, in great happiness to
see the desire of the people to become Christians. Our poverty and
disinterestedness have caused them to have great confidence in us. I
would not change my lot for any other in the world, in spite of the
hardness of our life here." The same father wrote another letter to
a friend in Manila, to the following effect: "There are more than
four thousand souls in this village, not the eighth part of whom are
Christians, though all desire to become so. On Holy Saturday three of
us baptized six hundred persons." The date of this letter was April 2,
1607. Although this father had been but a short time in the province,
he had already learned enough of the language for such great results,
and could rejoice in the fruit of his labors. From all this it is
plain that the missionaries in this region who are busied with the
ministry of souls have no need of España nor of anything Spanish
for their comfort, except companions to help them in the work. As
there is no rule without an exception, it must be so in this case;
but if any missionary is unhappy here, it is generally because he has
failed in his obligations and become lukewarm in his devotions. Those
that can speak the language and thereby convert souls are happy
in their work; and those who cannot learn the language should
accordingly be unhappy. But the Lord is not so poor as that, as will
be sufficiently shown by a letter from father Fray Garcia de Oroz,
written from Nueva Segovia to a brother at Manila: "Though I have been
told that I would be very unhappy and discouraged by the difficulty of
learning the language, and though I find that it is very difficult to
me because of my age and lack of memory, I am not disconsolate; because
merely to be in company with a father who is a master of the language,
and to act as his confessor, will greatly serve our Lord. This region
is a pleasant one, and my health is good in it during the winter, which
lasts from the beginning of October to March. It resembles the climate
of Valencia during the same period, having cool and fresh nights. A
great part of the country is very open, and the mountains are not high
or rugged. Some of the convents are on the shore of the sea; others,
on the bank of a copious river, which is navigated by canoes for a
distance of sixty leguas up the river. No one has reached the head of
it, or knows where the spring is." The happiness of the missionaries
in their work will be plain from what has been said. As a result of
having lived devoted lives they died happy deaths, rejoicing in their
firm hope that they were going to enjoy the Lord whom they had served,
and for whom they had abandoned their parents, kinsmen, native lands,
and the ease which they might have enjoyed in España.]