They did not forget their God

Title

Creator

Ilio, Dominador I.

Language

English

Year

1947

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

THEY DID NOT FORGET THEIR GOD Dominador I. Ilio IN THE DAYS of the oc cupation, the men of the un derground, especially the guerrillas who had their headquarters in the hills, were notoriously branded as “outlaws,” and “bandits” by lhe Japanese, and many of the inhabitants in the occu pied zones believed that it was so. They were portrayed as lawless elements, unprin cipled ruffians, men who dis regarded the conventions of society, who forgot their God. On the contrary, however, it can be maintained that the men who joined the resis tance were they who loved peace and order, who were steadfast in the embrace of the principles of liberty, and who believed that the Al mighty is ever on the. side of the just, the meek and libertv-loving. The men in the resistance did not forget God during those days, perilous and dark though they were. In fact, knowing that they were on the cause of justice, free dom. and peace, they were confident that God was their squad leader. The higher headquarters of guerrilla organizations did not neglect the moral welfare of each and every man either. For as in any military organ ization, there was constituted a service to take charge of it. Taking specifically the Panay guerrilla organization headed by Brig.-Gep. Macario Peralta, Jr., there was in that outfit a unit, the Chaplain Service, which took care of the moral and religious obli gations of the men. There were chaplains assigned for the various regiments of the military organization. 25 THE CROSS So that, it was not uncom mon then during the guerri lla days of masses being said in the middle of the wilder ness, the priest saying the service on an improvised plat form for an altar, tht uni verse for the cathedral, the blue firmament for the ca thedral dome, the huge trunks of trees for the cathe dral columns embellished by nature’s prodigiousness. And the chaplain’s job was just as difficult as an infan tryman’s or an aidman. His weapons were the edifying words, his paraphernalia were as heavy as those of the com mon soldiers. The various units of his organization beinc situated several moun tains away from each other, the priest had to trudge through long mountain dist ances to accomplish his mis sion. A mass is scheduled to h<» said in the bivouac area of “B” Company one Sundew; an invocation is to be deliv ered during the program in a troop school in the 3rd Bat talion on Tuesday, the pa tients in the collecting hos pital will be visited Friday, etc. Nor did the chaplains just stay in the rear areas dur ing combats. When the Panay guerrilleros conducted the allout offensive against the enemy entrenched in Iloilo City in February 1945, the chaplains marched with the men up to the line of depart ure where just before the HHour they gave words of en couragement and helped to bolster up the morale of the men. They visited the men in the trenches, helping the of ficers buoy up the spirits of the soldiers under heavy stress and strain. And when the fight was thickest, they were th'ere, too, at hand to extend words of comfort to the sick and the wounded, and to administer the last rituals on the bodies of them who gave the supremest sacrifice. SAFETY FIRST Renaud, a French Senator, registered at a hotel and paid a month’s rent. The owner asked him if he would take a receipt. “A receipt is unnecessary," said Renaud; “God witnessed the pay ment.” "Do you believe in God?" sneered the hotel keeper. “Most assuredly,” replied Renaud. “Don’t you?” “Mbst assuredly not, Monsieur!” “In that case,” said Renaud, “please make a receipt for me.”

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