The Little Apostle of the Mountain Province. Vol. XVII, No.4 September 1940

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Title
The Little Apostle of the Mountain Province. Vol. XVII, No.4 September 1940
Issue Date
Vol. XVII (No. 4) September 1940
Year
1940
Language
English
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7-;HE · LITTLE APOSTLE /'/ OF THE MOUNTAIN PROVINCE VOL.. XVII, No. 4 SEPTEMBE;R 1940 VOL. XVII, No. 4 - UT OMNES UNUM SIN'T! - SEPTEMBER 1940 A Catechist I N the October issue, 1924, of The Little Apostle, Very Rev. 0. Vandewalle described the work of a Catechist in the Mountain Province. We deem it opportune. to publish once more this interesting article written sixteen years ago by the Founder and first Editor of our mission magazine: "A Catechist is the legs, the lungs, the brain and the heart of the missionary priest among the heathens. He is the precursor, and apostle of the priest and is for the Missiona~y what John and Peter were to Christ: he is Missionary, minus the power of the priest, but a Missionary with some power which a foreign priest lacks among pagans. "The Missionary, as Jes us in the Holy Land, wanders around through valleys and mountains, stopping a few days here and preaching a week there, instructing, encouraging, sowing the good seed on the barren field of the -pagan's ignorance and heathen morality. "What does the poor lgorrote i.mdersbmd about God, His infinite goodness, justice and mercy? What does he know about Christ, the Saviour and the practice and belief in His divine doctrine? The Igorrote never or rarely studies, reading for the most part is unknown to him, and his untrained brain, hardened by years of intellectual rest and rust, is hardly fit to receive the sublime godly instructions, which tend to christianize and civilize him to make him worthy of God and Heaven. Little by little and often must he hear and be shown the way to heaven. "The priest who enters a pagan village for the first time is a foreigner. Alas! the poor children of nature have perhaps been abused by strangers. They distrust him, and trust only their fellow countrymen whom they know. The missionary knows all this and previous to his arrival he first sends or brings with him the native catechist. "He 1s usually a pious man, trained by the priest in virtue and knowledge of the doctrine he has to teach so as to touch the heart and captivate the mind of the 106 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - heathen. Next he introduces the Father, then all prejudice against the minister of Christ disappears. Little by little the Father may speak. The people listen. "But their unretentive memory soon forgets the instruction when the Father is gone. But the catechist remains. He repeats the words of the priest. First he is John the Baptist, to announce the coming of the priest, th~n he continues the work of Christ as Peter did when His Master was gone to heaven. Jesus was followed by thousands day and night. The poor lgorrote has to give his time during the day to his daily labor. At night he has patience to listen and to learn. The Father may pass a few nights amidst his wondering listeners, but others wait for him on the other slope of the mountain: he must needs go. "But the catechist remains. He stays for weeks and months. He instructs, he gathers the catechumens, prepares them for baptism and finally, thanks to his patience and perseverance, the catechumens can receive the waters of baptism which make them children of God. "In the meantime a child is born in the small town. Poor baby! death accompanies its beginning of life. But before the first and last sleep closes its innocent eyes. the catechist baptizes it and opens its way to heaven and eternal happiness. ''In the meantime too, malaria or another disease brings one of the inhabitants to the brink of eternity. The catechist visits him, calls the priest: before death deprives the miserable sick person of life, the catechist and the priest have assured his pardon before God and his glorious resurrection for ever. "The recently baptized unknowingly celebrates some superstitious feast. The catechist shows them the futility of their vain observA Catechist at work. - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 107 ances and informs the priest. "On the day when the missionary visits his neophytes again, the catechist has prepared them for confession and communion, he presents the catechumens he in·structed at night. He takes care of the priest, adorns the altar, serves the Mass, helps the Christians to pray, presents the children he has instructed for first Communion, ancl when the priest is gone to some other field in God's vineyard he repeats his words, reminds the faithful of their duties, calls them together on Sundays in the chapel or in the biggest house, recites with them the rosary, gives the signal for morning and evening prayers and .... and ..... what does a good catechist not do to double the priest's activity, zeal and success? Churches, hospitals, dispensaries, asylums, necessary though they be, are of secondary importance, when compared with the work of the catechist, for his is essentially the propagation of the Faith. "Is it then any wonder that all Missionaries beg for Catechists? 'fhe Missionaries are few, the harvest is ripe, the catechists can be multiplied to gatherGod's crops. "But ..... a Catechist must live, must be paid. He does not ask much, but what is decently enough for himsdf and his family. A decent. monthly salary and a . high place in Heaven are all he asks and surely deserves ...... " --JOE-There is certainly a difference between now and sixteen years ago; but the description of a Catechist's work in the Mountain Province as it is presented by the Founder of our mission magazine was perfectly correct during the seventeer. years of mission work previous to the existence of The Little Apostle. The differences between now and then are obvious to any comThe Catechist gathers the children when the priest is corning. 108 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - petent observer. The Missionarypriest in the Mountain Province has no more need to be introduced, he is welcome everywhere and in the remotest corner of the mountains he is perfectly known for what he really is, the "Apo Padi" who comes to preach the true religion. The help of the Catechist has become more important in our days than in the beginning when the missionary work only started and developed little by little. In many far-off places, scattered up and down the steep mountains, the Catechist is still the forerunner of the priest like the 72 disciples of old were the forerunners of Christ: but, with the great number of neophytes we have now, the work of the Catechist in his appointed district is not less than a work of Catholic Education of vital importance. Of course, he acts under the direction of the priest, but to deprive a barrio or an outstation of its Catechist means today that hundreds of new Christians are left to themselves. and have not a chance to be led into true Christian life. If during the seventeen first years Catechists were needed in the Mountain Province, now they have become an absolute necessity. Three months ago we had 78 Catechists doing this work of Catholic Education in the barrios divided into districts; in the missioncenters and in some big barrios we have our Catholic Schools with 93 teaching Sisters and 109 lay-teachcrs who do this all important work of education. Many of these valuable helpers arc already lost to our lgorrote people on account of adverse circumstances well known to our readers; the few alms which came in as an answer to our urgent appeal for help were not enough to stop the coming of a much feared disaster. Where will it stop? is the anxious question which harrasses thf' missionary-heart. Who of us is the ne'.X:t to be dismissed? is the anxious question of the Catechist-heart. Is also our Catechist going to leave us? is the anxious question of hundreds, nay thousands of neophytes. It is hard to say who suffer most, the priests, the Sisters, the Catechists or the Christians; but it is quite safe to say that all of them are suffering much - a pain which is rightly called the "shedding of the heart's blood." It is painful for a missionary to dismiss a Catechist, a man who has become as his true brother for having worked together for many years in the vineyard· of the Lord; it is painful for a Catechist to leave. the work he loved, to load on his shoulder the "balkod" containing his poor belo:r:igings and to say farewell to Christians whom he may call his spiritual children; it is painful for Christians living in a far-off barrio, somewhere hanging 011 a steep mountain side, to see themselves practically abandoned in their daily struggle against a paganism that wants to compel them to return to pagan customs. Yes, it is painful-it is a spiritual disaster....... The Little Apostle - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 109 Touring the Missions . in the Mountain 0 NE of the great, most tiring, but also most consoling duties of a Superior Provincial is certainly to visit all. the missions of the Apostolic Prefecture of the Mountain Province. But traveling has changed much even in the Mountain Province: the construction of roads where formerly we had narrow trails, and the use of modern means of transportation have made traveling in the mountains less attractive and no one experiences any more the adventures and difficulties of former days. Less than twenty years ago we had to ride on horseback and it took us three long journeys of fifty kilometers each to reach Bontok from Baguio or from Tagudin; we climbed the high Cordilleras, eating and passing the nights at the rest-houses, while now you are seated in a fashionable bus which carries you to the same town within six or eight hours. Of course, we do not mention here that during these Province six or eight hours you are continually shaken and tossed like a reed-gra<:s on a stormy day, but this does not matter so much considering the fact that modem times have made traveling much easier and even much cheaper than twenty years ago. Even the roads in the mountains are still far from being perfect; busses are many times stopped by landslides which occur mostly during the rainy season, and therefore the dry season is the opportune time for visiting the missions. Once that the Christmas and New Year Days are past, a Provincial Superior can easily get away from Baguio for many weeks, until a few days before Holy Week. This year I started my tour in the missions on January 8th, and left Baguio on a Dangwa bus bound for Bontok. It is generally quite exciting to ride on a truck en route to Igorrote towns; not only for the hustle 110 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - and bustle of men and women but much more so for the amount of luggage they ordinarily take with them, in which all house utensils and trunks, tampipis, jars and bottles, coconuts and cabbages lay next to chickens and even pigs which they have bought at the Baguio market and most probably will use in their caniaos when they get home. I wouldn't be surprised if an lfugao even would try to load his carabao on a bus: the transportation companies know their customers so well that seldom they raise any objection, as long as there is any available room left under, in or on top of the truck. The same happens withP.U.ca:rs,carrying unbelievable number of passengers and goods up and down the rough mountain road. I will never forget my first "motorized" trip to Bontok. We were. thirteen passengers in a jitney, three cavans of rice were picked up on the way, we had. three blow-outs, and finally reached Bontok at 11:30 p.m. after experiences never to be repeated; for the road was open only a few months to traffic and was very narrow at many places. Now Things are Much Better; a two-way road is established already for many kilometers; but since. the work is very recent, even during fine sunny days, you are never sure of getting through. Such wns my fate too when reaching km. 66 where we met an endless line of motorbusses and lumber trucks waiting at the gate. What's the matter? A slide at km. 69. When will the road be cleared for passage? We don't know; they say it is a slide of rocks. A Dangwa truck on the Mountain road. - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 111 So, instead of waiting indefinitely, l just took the risk of going ahead hiking the steep climb between km. 66 and 70 ..... and indeed somewhere halfway I met some thirty -camineros who under the direction of the capataz cleared a very big slide: all big rocks which had been sliding down, from a high slope, due to the blastings which had occurred there some days ago, to widen the road. The men worked splendidly. although a poster placed on the nearest curve said: SLOW MEN WORKING DRIVE CAREFULLY. They used in turn dynamite, picos and shovels and steel bars to clear the road. but in the meantime two hours had passed, and tired of waiting I tried to walk ahead to . the nearest gate at km. 73, where I knew there was a restaurant: it was 12:00 o'clock noon, and I felt hungry. Do not imagine those restaurants being comparable to the restaurants of Baguio or other cities; anyhow, they are a providence to th~ tired and disappointed traveler, who forgot or cared- not to take with him his "halon" or provision for the trip. For, although regular trips are made within six or seven hours, they may also last sixteen or seventeen hours, if the road is blocked by landslides. We must however give all credit to the capatazes who often perform real feats of fast work to open the road to traffic. I just arrived.at the gate when I heard the horns of the coming trucks and cars, which were now allowed to pass; it could have been worse after all. When I had taken my little lunch, my bus also arrived at the gate, and without further delay we moved on, as fast as we could, and at 2:30 p. m. we reached Sabangan, the first mission north of Baguio. The readers of The Little Apostle know how since 1930, thanks to the undaunted will of the late Father Andres Deldaele, Sabangan became a mission, and a beautiful one: rectory of the priest, convent of Sisters, schools up to Grade VII, all this at the center of Sabangan: in the barrios he built a new school-chapel at Namatec 15 km. south, another nice schoolchapel at Pingad 7 km. south of Sabangan, another school-chapel at Gunugon 4 km. north of Sabangan, and a chapel at Sopang 4 km. west. One thing was lacking, a church. For this our late Father Andres spent his last year in Sabangan ~ollecting gifts, and no doubt from heaven now he smiles on the fine concrete church which has since been constructed by his zealous successor Father Mauricio Vanoverbergh, who keeps the mission flourishing, with four primary schools and one complete elementary school where boys and girls of the mission learn to read, write, especially to know, love and serve the Lord. From Sabangan, Another Bus connectine Bontok with Tagudin and the seacoast brings you in half an hour to a neighboring mission: 112 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Bauko, 10 km. south-west of Sabangan. On the way you pass a new chapel at Otokan, and you see the spire of another mission schoolchapel at Vila, two barrios of the Bauko mission. Bauko village clings to the top of a hill as a bird's nest to the top of a tree, emerging from a cluster of pine trees and beautiful orchards where the best oranges and mandarins of the Philippines grow. These orchards or gardens are cultivated by an old Chinese and cover the mount- · ain slopes. From September to December all these gardens are draped in robes of the glittering gold of the thousands of oranges that are ripening on hundreds of orange trees. Bauko is relatively an old mission; it was started in 1908 by our late Father Julio Sepulchre who died in 1912; then, due to the lack of priests. and funds during the World War I, Bauko was temporarily abandoned to be reopened again in 1924. From that time the mission has grown so well and so strong that now the center of Bauko is almost completely Catholic. 1111933 the Sisters came to Bauko where their presence is a blessing. All the outlying barrios are regularly visited and it is a consolation to see how Christian customs and Christian life are taking hold of the people. Bauko may rightly boast of a complete organization of Catholic Action, wherein all the best elements are enlisted, and which mightily contribute to its prosperity. Fourteen km. to the west another mission extends its work: Kayan. Kayan was an old Spanish mission, and one time the capital of Lepanto. When our Fathers came there, little remained of the mission: only a few lgorrote Christians who,. abandoned for many years, had forgotten everything and had returned to their pagan customs. In former days, as long as Cervantes belong~d to the Mountain Province, Kayan was regularly visited by the missionary of Cervantes; from 1928, however, it became an independent mission, and has been growing since then to almost 2,000 Catholics. The greatest blessing for this mission in recent years is,. doubtless, the construction of an. other concrete church, which is the pride of the town and the faithful, and which does much to hasten the conversion of the remaining pagans. I feel assured that under the wise leadership of Father· Andres Marques, Kayan will become a first-clas8 mission, the pride of Lepanto. My next visit was to Bontok. There is perhaps no name better known all over the Philippines, due to the sturdy race of headhunters that live in Bontok town and subprovince. Newspapers have often carried the news of an outbreak of tribal feuds between Bontokers and their neighbors; these tribal feuds, although not so frequent as in former days, are still going on, and only education with thoroughly religious instrucr - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 113 tion will be able to make them disappear by and by. But in general it may be said that in Bontok and the rest of the Mountain Province there are fewer murder cases than in many other countries. It is also noteworthy that headhunting is greatly due to superstitions which are deeply rooted in their tribal customs. Could these tyrannizing superstitions be eradicated, even the wildest Bontoker would become a peaceful citizen. It is true that we are still far from the goal of complete success, and to make good Christians of the Bontok lgorrotes will still require much patience and persevering effort. It is now thirty-three years since we reopened the Bontok mission, and the work of civilization performed during that time may we!l be called magnificent if one considers the enormous difficulties our missionaries had to overcome and how handicapped they ever were by lack of means. It is very expensive to educate a Bontok child, and if these expenses are to be multiplied by the number of boys and girls that are in schools and dormitories-well, then, you understand that Fathers and Sisters are sometimes overwhelmed with financial troubles and have plenty to worry about. Anyhow, Bontok has improved much since the day I arrived there as an appointed assistant-missionary and came for the first time in contact with Igorrotes; the two years I spent in our Bontok mission are still the happiest of my missionary life. The beautiful mission of Sabangan. 114 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - At present the Bontok mission has three Missionary-priests who are assisted by nine Sisters, nine lay teachers and nine catechists. The mission has complete Elementary and Secondary Schools, up to the fourth year High School, where a great number of Bontok children, boys and girls, are taught to become good Christians and worthy citizens of the Philippines. The Sisters are doing splendid work among the uneducated class zeal of these two Sisters. It is a consolation for a missionary heart to see how on Sundays hundreds of lgorrotes flock to the church to assist at the Mass; even the blind, who are quite numerous in Bontok, are led to the church by children, and say the prayers which they learned by hearing. The missionaries of Bontok, Fathers an<l Sisters, would like to do much more for the young people, especially for the children; but Belgian Sisters visiting the poor in the Mountain Province. of people in the town itself and in the barrios. Two Si~ters are daily enroute in search of the sick to be nursed and the dying to be helped into eternity; to visit daily these places of poverty and misery is a missionary activity which involves a great amount of self denial and hardfelt sacrifice, but countless are the little ones and old men and women who have found their way to heaven thanks to the untiring financial shortcomings do not allow them to keep a greater number in their dormitories. The great'3st sorrow of a missionary heart is to see the amount of good that could be done and which he is unable to do-because material means are. wanting .... (To be continued) Very Rev. M. De Brabandere, C.l.C.M., Provincial Superior - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 115 My First Convert (obtained through the intercession of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus) HAPPY souvenirs are the consolation of an old man. Not. that I am already so far gone in years, but thirty-one years passed in the Philippines is certainly a good record for a missionary. The first six years (1909-1915) were spent in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, after which I was sent to Baguio to stay with Father Carlu but, in fact, to help Father Leon Quintilier who at that time was in charge of the whole of Benguet with the exception of the mountain City. The three persons on the picture that goes with the story ai"e still alive. Mrs. Martin Buance is now an old widow, a fervent Christian, who passes her last days on earth surrounded with the loving care of her married children and numerous grand-children, all good Catholics who stand as models of true Christian life. Rosalia Oeft) is the sturdy mother of several children, who ~aily goes to the fields and comes back home with a heavy load of camotes to feed her numerous famiJy and all that lives on their little farm. Serafina (right) who studied, was teacher at our Bacong Catholic School for several years. is married and is the mother of four little ones. And now to the story, whieh is for me one of the sweetest souvenirs of my missionary life, just as it was written twenty-four years ago: "During more than four years, Father LeGn stationed at Itogon, had been the only missionary for all Benguet, and on various occasions the zealous man had asked his superiors to provide him with at least one companion, that they might labor with more profit in the Vine-yard of the Lord. Through his ·persistence, Father Jose was put in charge of all the part of Benguet to the west of the river Agno, while the east side remained in charge of Father Leon. This was at the end of 1915. "The two missionaries went exploring one day and, passing through, the towns of Atok and Kapang~n. arrived at last at Tublay, at the house of an lgorrote named Buance. At various times before, Buance had been visited by Father Leon and pagan though he was, had always received the priest with Christian hospitality. On such occasions he had been the chief listener to the instructions of Father Leon, but the poor man had never been able to make up his mind to wash his immortal soul in the saving waters of Holy Baptism and to become a child of God and of the Holy Catholic Church. "It had happened that the poor lgorrote fell sick and suffered much from cancer in the stomach. 116 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Without doubt good Buance, so far a pagan, had to die. Said Father Leon: 'We must prepare our friend Buance to go straight to Heaven.' The husband of one of the daughters of the house promised that he would be moved the next day to the Baguio Hospital, where Father Jose might baptize him, since the sick man did not wish to receive the Sacrament of Redemption that day. "Because of sotne pressing business, Father Jose had to go to San Fernando, La Union, and Father Leon had to return to his home at ltogon. Father Jose had a great devotion to the Servant of God, Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, and before he left for the town mentioned, he knelt and said with all his heart: 'O God, our Father, let Buance be my first convert! Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, take care of the poor Igorrote; if I am able to baptize him, I will give him the name Martin, in memory of your noble family.' "It was the month of August,. time of typhoons, and all day torrents of water had fallen. Spent with weariness and drenched as. well by the constant rain, Father Jose, returning from his journeyto San Fernando, reached Baguio. at night. Here the Parish Priest said to him: 'They have come from Tublay to summon you;: Buance is dying. I went myself but, alas! he does not wish to be baptized, his married daughter is the chief cause of his obstinacy tothe grace of God.' " 'Oh, I am sorry! But I will goand see what I can do tomorrow,''" replied Father Jose. --$-Left to right~ Rosalia Mrs. M. Buance~ Serafina. --$-- UTOMNES UNUM SINT!- 117 "'God bless yout undertaking! I will order prayers for the poor creature.' "Tublay is three hours' journey from Baguio. The next day the typhoon had become stronger; the narrow, rocky path had become a very torrent of water. Wet to the skin, Father Jose arrived at the summit of the mountain, from which he was able to see, below, the house of the poor dying man. First he had to drive evil spirits out of the house and, in spite of the violent rain, he stopped and began to recite the short formula of excorcism. After he had sprinkled holy water which he carried in a small bottle, he descended the hill and entered the bouse. Poor Buance was in the eenter of the house upon the floor. Around him was his married daughter and other lgorrotes, who gazed defiantly at the Father with 1l meaningful look, as if to say: 'It is our turn now-we do not need you here.' The Father spoke directly to Buance's daughter and in a sweet but firm voice said: "'Rise, sit there, and not a word.' 'Then, with a relic of Saint There-sa (sweet lily!) hid beneath the pillow, and the image of the Servant of Goel upon a small table, he sat beside the sick man, and a tender and important conversation began. "Not more than half an hour passed, when there resounded in the room the words of salvation for the happy Buance: 'Martin, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.' "Ten days after, Martin died; Father Jose arranged the burial and, before he closed the ·coffin, he placed in the hand of his convert, the image of the Little Flower of Jesus (fair Dove of Heaven!). ''He was the first adult lgorrote baptized by Father Jose, and he went quickly to heaven to plead the cause of his unfortunate country-men. Without doubt, Saint Theresa helped him much, for the result has been splendid; all the Buance family is now Catholic, many lgorrote families of Tublay have been converted since, and in that steep mountainous country covered with lovely evergreen pines, a chapel will be erected, the first perhaps in the whole world to bear the name of The Little Flower of Jesus.'' 118 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Phantom Spirits at Work When a child is ill, and when during its illness a membet of the family,. say the father or the mother, dreams about some strange coming and going of spirits which are believed to be Phantom spirits, as they come and disaPpear all of a sudden, then the following story is narrated by a specialist magician during the rites of a sacrifice in which a victim is offered for the· so-called Phantom Spirits. A LONG, long time ago, there stood in Mayaoyao a beautiful house of narra. In it lived Wigan and Bugan with their child. It was surrounded with a large terrace in which rich rice was growing. At the other side of their rice field, right in front of their house they had erected a granary in which they had stored their heavy rice bundles after the harvest. One day as Bugan was about to go to the granary, she put on her head a basket to fill with rice bundles and started. But before she had reached the edge of the house terrace, her little girl came running and wanted to follow her. But Bugan said: "No, stay here, I will soon be back." The little girl cried, "Let me go with you," she lamented. Bugan however forbade her to come, and when she saw the child following her notwithstanding her prohibition, she pulled some branches with thorns and some long vines and with them fenced the path leading to the granary, so obstructing the way. She then continued towards the granary. The little girl arrived at the fence crying and calling for her mother. Just then the Phantom Spirits of the Skyworld looked down and saw the child at the fence. "Look there," they said to each other, "the child of Bugan and Wigan cannot follow its mother, let us hurry and take hold of its soul, let us be robbers of its soul as the lfugaos who rob the head of the enemy when they go headhunting, let us carry it to our abode at Mungilig in the Skyworld." They caught the soul of the little girl, and ran with it to Madulimay, then to Mataptapog, then to Nunggawa, then to Nunhunug and arrived at Mungilig in the Skyworld. There they made it dance and hop and they laughed and giggled :lnd shouted: '.'Dance, little girl, dance and hop, you are our child now." Alas! The little girl of Bugan and Wigan at Mayaoyao became thin, became very ill. They offered sacrifice upon sacrifice to the gods and spirits but the girl sighed' and cried; it didn't want to eat, it was going to die. "Let us hurry," said Wigan, "let us quickly call the Earthquaker of the Underworld and the Thunderer of the Skyworld, let us ask them where they hid the soul of our - UT OMNES UNUM SINT!,- 119 Q ;::) 0 < Ill z 0 ~ 0 g UJ Cl Ci) 120 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - girl." Wigan called the Earthquaker of the Underworld and the Earthquaker asked: "Why do you call for me, Wigan the Ifugao?"-"I call you for my little girl is very ill and I want you to tell me where you hid its soul!"-"lt is not of me you should ask this, I did not covet your child. Ask the Thunderer!" Wigan then called the Thunderer of the Skyworld, and the Thunderer said: "Why do you call for me, Wigan the Ifugao?"-"My child is going to die, and you take hold of its soul, tell me where it is and I shall go and bring it back to our house here!" "Hello, Wigan the Ifugao, I won't do any such thing because you have offered so often for me and for my friend theEarthquaker, not I but the Phantom Spirits have been thP thieves; I saw them in the Skyworld playing with a little girl; but wait! I will manage this." And the Thunderer climbed, high in the Skyworld, upon the highest tree, and from there he rumbled and thundered and flashed. And lo! the house of the Phantom Spirits was struck and all its inmates were terrorized and ran away. But the Thunderer called three of them by their names and shouted: "You lnyaya, you Naliwhan and you Tunuchan, Phantom Spirits at Mungiling in the Skyworld, come back and get the little girl of Bugan and Wigan of Mayaoyao and bring it back." Terrified as they were, they obeyed. They took the child; they went away from Mungiling; they passed through Nunhunug, and Nunggawa, and Mataptapog and Maciulimay and arrived on top of the mountain upon the earth. Soon they had reached Tolp6kan and it was night: "Let us sleep here, they said, let us find something to eat for the girl, let us make a hut of canes and grasses for it, a sleeping berth for the child of Bugan and Wigan." So they did and when the night had become morning they continued their way. They arrived at noon in Nalamlatog where again they searched some food for the child. When they reached Naoldihan they again made a hut to sleep in and waited till the morning would come. The following morning they started anew and arrived on top of the mountain from where they looked down upon the rice terraces of Mayaoyao. "Where is your house, little girl?" they asked. "I don't know this place," she answered. "Let us continue then," they said. And they arrived at Mayaoyao. And the little girl saw the house of her father and mother and shouted: "There is my house" and it ran homewards, crying "father, mother, here I am." And the Phantom Spirits followed the little girl and squatted on their heels under the house of Bugan and Wigan. "We have returned the soul of your child," they said, "and your child will live.""That's all right," answered Bugan and Wigan, "but why did you catch her. Would it not really be - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 121 pitiful if our child would die!" - "We took hold of her," continued the Phantom Spirits, "because you never offer a chicken for us." - -"And if I offer now for you, will you let us then live in peace and never more cau.se us any worries, as you did now?"-"lf you offer to us," exclaimed the Phantom Spirits all together, "we will not be covetous again and all of you shall live." -"All right then," said Wigan, "you shall have your victim." Wigan then jumped in his house, he placed in the middle of the floor a small jar with rice wine, he invoked the Phantom Spirits, he took a -chicken and killed it for them. And when the chicken was killed the Phantom Spirits who were sitting under the house, shouted: "It is good so, we take the soul of the chicken and we go back to our abode." And Wigan saw them run toward the Upstream Region and the Skyworld and they vanished. On account of this, the illness of the little girl disappeared. The following day she rose up and asked to eat and she was healthy again. She grew up and married and they had no worries whatsoever. Neither Bugan and Wigan, who harvested rich crop& of rice year after year and became the owners of many pigs and chickens, failed afterwards to offer to the Phantom Spirits. Rev. Franz Lambrecht Belgian Community in Manila of former days: in the middle, he who is now Leopold Ill, King of the Belgians, and the late Queen Astrid. 122 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - CARDINAL VAN ROEY URGf..5 BELGIANS TO RALLY AROUND KING LEOPOLD III. By Msgr. Enrico Pucci, Vatican City Correspondent, N.C.W.C. News Service. Vatican City:Vigorously condemning and seeking to dissipate "the disastrous misunderstanding which has inspired some inconsiderate words and certain profoundly deplorable attitudes" against King Leopold III, His Eminence Joseph Ernest Cardinal Van Roey, Archbishop of Malines, has made public a private interview he has had with the King of the Belgians. Cardinal Van Roey says the surrender of May 28 "was imposed by the situation which had become absolutely indefensible for th~ Belgian Army." He adds that "it is contrary to truth to affirm that the Command of the Allied Forces had not been made aware of the necessity of ceasing hostilities," and he points out that King Leopold did not flee, as he was urged to, "but pref erred in(ATffOLtc cttRONl(~ _j stead to share the fate of his soldiers and the sufferings of his people." His Eminence declares that "on our part, knowing that we are in agreement with the sentiments of the almost unanimous mass of the Belgian people, we preserve for our King our respect, our devotion and our trust." "We ask the priests to continue to recit~ the prescribed liturgical prayers for the King," he adds. PAINFUL A CCU SA TIONS. The text of Cardinal Van Roey' s letter follows: "The tragic trial which we are · going through has been extremely aggravated by the painful accusations formulated in Paris against His Majesty King Leopold III. These have painfully impressed the majority of the Belgian people. "To dissipate, if possible, the unfortunate misunderstanding and obtain from a clear source the necessary explanations, we thought it a duty to interview the Sovereign in person. The King received us willingly and allowed us to publish the following state- UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 123 men ts: "1. The decision which he had to take on the morning of May 28, that is, to lay down arms, was imposed by the situation which had become absolutely indefensible for the Belgian Army. Immediately surrounded, without hope of efficacious help from the Allies, if our troops had continued to fight they would have been purely and simply exterminated without any military result, dragging in their fate the hundreds of thousands of civilians crowded in a small area. "2. This decision of an essential military order was taken by the King as Supreme Chief of the Army, in full accord with his Chief of Staff and following his advice. He has not done any political act nor has he concluded any treaty or pact-even of a military nature-with the enemy. He has not, therefore, broken the Belgian Constitution in any way whatsoever. He acted because, corroborated by the unanimous judgment of three eminent Belgian jurists, he was convinced that he had the right to do so in virtue of the powers that the Constitution confers on the King in this matter. He found himself without recourse to his Ministers, the last four of whom had abandoned Belgian territory on May 25. "3. It is contrary to truth to affirm that the Command of the Allied Forces had not been made aware of the necessity of ceasing hostilities. The odious accusation of felony is, therefore, false. At the last moment, the King, as someone suggested he do, could have left the country by air to find refuge in a foreign country. He preferred, instead, to share the fate of his soldiers and the sufferings of his people, which we judge is more gallant and all to his honor. Deplores Misunderstanding. "The facts, as they have been presented in the royal statement, and upon which it is easy to put complete light by means of other authorized testimonies, should dissipate the disastrous misunderstanding which has inspired some inconsiderate words and certain profoundly deplorable attitudes. "On our part, knowing that we are in agreement with the sentiments of the almost unanimous mass of the Belgian people, we preserve for our King our respect, our devotion and our trust. We ask the priests to continue to recite the prescribed liturgical prayers for the King. We warmly invite the faithful to recommend to God without pause, in their prayers and their Communions, the King's cause and the salvation of the country. We desire that all Belgians, conscious of the seriousness of the present hour, remain united and firm around the King, supreme personification of the fatherland in danger. "Finally, we must be persuaded that at this moment we are assisting at an exceptional action of Divine Providence, which manifests its power with enormous events and before which we consi124 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - der ourselves very small. More than· ever, then, let us trust in the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus." --lCE-WHAT OF FRANCE? - THE DEFEAT ... The def eat of France by the Nazi invaders is tragic indeed, but history shows that the Gallic nation will rise again. Ancient Gaul was conquered by Julius Caesar for the Roman empire in 50 B.C. It was then a Celtic land, but after the decline of Rome it was overrun by the Franks, the Visigoths, and the Burgundians. Clovis the Frank established a dynasty in 486 A.D., Pepin founded another powerful one in 752, and Charlemagne, who is claimed by both the Germans and the French, was crowned emperor of the West by Pope Leo III in 800. The Capet dynasty arose in the tenth century, the Valois in the fourteenth, and the Bourbon in 1589. The French revolution dethroned the Bourbons in 1792. Napoleon. Bonaparte was emperor from 1804 to 1815. After that, the pendulum swung between republicanism an.d royalty until the Third republic was established in. 1871~ following the defeat of Napoleon III at Sedan. by the Prussians. Both the Bourbons and the Napoleonic line had the throne at times just before the Third republic rose. --lCE-Although France was so loyal to the Holy See as to d~erve the title, Eldest Daughter of the Church, nevertheless French history has many dreadful spots. The kings on occasion bitterly fought the Papacy; the Babylonian captivity of the Church at Avignon was largely of French creation; the principle of state control of the Church was so entrenched in France that it became known as Gallicanism; Calvinism became strongly embedded; Jansenism tried to wreck the Church from within; and even French Cardinals assisted in the defeat of Catholic armies in the postReformation wars in order to promote French politics. All these things led to a break~ down of ecclesiastical discipline, the pushing of many unworthy and worldly men into French sees or abbatial posts, and the alienation of thousands from the Church. A great wave of infidelity marked the French revolution. The people were certainly justified in throwing off the tyranny under which the nobility crushed them, but they never seemed to realize that the difficulties under which the Church suffered were traceable to the same tyranny. Since the French revolution up to our own day, the Church has often suffered in France. In 1880, the religious orders were expelled and in 1889 the exemption of clerics from military service was repealed (a condition still existing). Churchmen were strongly pro-royalist, but Pope Leo XIII, to the dismay of both the monarchists and the anti-c]ericals, brought the French - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 125 Catholics to support the republic, drawing a distinction between the form of government and its current laws. In 1901, the Law of Associations dissolved the religious congregations and confiscated their property. There was grave difficulty over the nomination of Bishops. In 1906, the · · state stopped paying the clergy the small stipends it had given since 1801 as a result of spoliation of Church property. But; fortunately, the state also quit interfering with the nomination of Bishops, and hence a new day set in. The Law of Separation made the churches the property of the state; but it was never fully enforced and the government allowed the clergy to go ahead using the edifices and often asked only a pittance for occupation of the priests' howses. --l:E-At the time of the first World war, the heart of France was touched when thousandsofpriests and religious, many of whom had been banished, rushed back from all parts of the ·world ,to defend her. Since that time, the relations between the government and the Church have been good, although some of the old anti-clerical legislation has still stood unrepealed. The Church has made amazing progress. Despite many relics of anti-clerical days, and of the brilHant but horrible infidelity of recent generations, France has been intellectually veering towards the Church. All during the stormy days of the iast century · and a half, the philosophies of Catholicism andof materialism have struggled for the ascendency in France. But though the government has usually ·been more atheistic than Christian, nobody who has visited France or who has watched her literature would deem her anything but a fundamentally Catholic nation. Many have thought her the most cultured land on earth. Intellectually, no country ranks above her. She is not the type that can be successfully kept in defeat. No patriotism on earth excels the French brand. When the first World war peace delegates were meeting at Versailles, Dr. James J. Walsh, noted Catholic scholar, said to the writer: "If the peace terms are made difficult enough for the Germans, they will be turned into the strongest land on earth. Difficulties create strength." We have seen the literal fulfillment of that prophecy. It should now be called to the attention of Hitler. So late as 1933, France led the world in military aviation. -Monsignor Matthew Smith. (The Register) 126 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Indias Nationalist and "Foreign" Religion (By Rt. Re'V. Mgr. T. Pathacamury) Mw. Thomas Pathacamury, who was recently consecrated Bishop of Quntur, has been, as many readers know, for some 20 'Jears ~ditor of The New Leader, an outstanding Catholic weekly of India. The present article, written fOT the San Francisco Monitor, while he was on a visit to America, discusses the Nationalist Movement in India, and the difficulties that caste and racialism present to the Christian missionary. For centuries Catholic missioners have laboured in Hindustan. Their untiring and persevering effort has resulted in the building up of large Christian communities and a network of institutions from the elementary school to the university college for the work of extension and consolidation. Christianity has taken deep roots in the soil and can no longer he looked upon as an exotic plant, for it manifests signs of spontaneous and vigorous growth. It took the Church 27 years (from 1895 to 1922) to climb from the second to the third million. But it took only 14 years (from 1922 to 1936) to reach the fourth million. There is every hope that the fifth million mark will be reached earlier than anticipated. Mass or group movements among the primitive tribes, aborigines and untouchables constitute still the most natural method of approach to Christ. Such movements are a great protection against social dislocation. Catholic missionary endeavour (Malaya Catholic Leader) meets with great obstacles among the higher castes and the educated classes. Since the eighteenth century, conversions among them, particularly group movements, have been rare. A change of religion for them often involves great sacrifices, loss of family and caste and social ostracism. Fidelity to the prescriptions and prohibitions of caste is more important for the Hindu than religious belief. Caste Discipline. Unlike Christianity, Hinduism sets no store by dogma. As a recent Hindu author says: "A man may believe in one God, many ~ods or no god at all; he may not say a single prayer in private or in public, yet he will still be reckoned a Hindu, if only he has not joined any other religious body. Gross immorality, blatant atheism and wanton neglect of all religious exercises will go unnoticed if only the individual will still conform to caste discipline. Living within the caste is thus made the test of - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 127 orthodoxy." The educated Hindu does appreciate the teaching of Christ, but he will not abandon his own reli. gion, or the philosophy and sacred writings of which he feels proud. Caste and racialism and subtle eclecticism, and in more recent times agnosticism, fill his mind. He believes all religions are ultimately the same, different only in external trappings. Mr. Mahatma K. Gandhi, India's national leader, reflects the general attitude of thinking Hindus when he writes: "All religions and nations are equal as individuals, with no idea of hegemony or superiority." Different religions are different ways of approaching God, and no religion can claim the monopoly of truth. A wide spirit of toleration, therefore, argues the Hindu, should be the bedrock of all religions. The Hindu is thus definitely opposed to Christian propaganda, and this opposition has been strenghtened by the wave of extreme nationalism that has swept over educated India during the last two decades. The Indian national movement which began more than 60 years ago, aims at the political and economic freedom of India, increasing the wealth of the country, and raising the standard of living of the masses. One of its marked features is the attempt to preserve, in its essentials, the cultural and religious heritage of Hinduism. Indian civilization is inseparable from the Hindu religion. It penetrates the daily life and practice of the Hindu family and controls its life and thought with amazing persistence and authority. Avenion to Foreigners . One result of this revolt against \Vestem- culture and i.D.fluence is the feeling of aversion to an that is foreign. It is the fashion of the Hindu to boast of the ancient glory and greatness of Hindustan, admire its hoary bards and observe its social customs. To the Hindu, the Christian missioner is a foreigner, a disturbing element in his country, teaching a creed alien to his traditions and institutions. He will not see that Christianity is no more the religion of the West than of the East, that it is the voice of the spirit, independent of nations and climes like the voice of science and truth. He will not draw a distinction between the English official, who is the repr~sentative ·of a foreign Power, and the Christian missioner, who serves no foreign ruler but India and her people, and·for whom he makes such great sacrifices. The old slander that missioners are the thin end of the wedge of imperialism was repeated recently in a public speech in Madras by a public man. "Missionaries came first," he said, "then the traders, both opening the way to the machine-gun." Antagonism to Christian missionary enterprise is thus fostered, and efforts are made to "reconvert" Christians to Hinduism by such organizations as the Arya Samaj, founded by Dayanand Sarasvati Swami some 128 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 60 years ago in order to purify Hinduism from idolatry and polytheism, to prevent conversion to Christianity and reclaim converts. What the effect of the national movement will be on the prospects of the conversion of India to Christianity, it is not easy to estimate. The Indian National Congress, which is the most representative and most powerful political organization, and which controls eight out of the eleven provincial governments, has guaranteed freedom of worship to all religions. Its leaders made the following declaration in February, 1938: "So far as the minorities question is concerned, it is the declared and well-established policy of the Congress not only to do full justice to them but to go even beyond that, in order to inspire confidence and goodwill in them. The Congress can conceive of no freedom for India which is not equal freefom for all the various religious communities which inhabit India, and in which all will not _share equally and have full opportunities of growth and development." Political Situation. Mr. Ghandi, who has a tremendous influence over the masses of the people, has, however, declared himself definitely opposed to conversion work by missioners. Perhaps one cause for opposition to Christian missionary effort among the nationalist leaders is the distribution of seats in the provincial legislatures on a communal basis. Christians, Catholics and Protestants of all denominations, are grouped together as one distinct body for political purposes and given separate political representation. They vote not as citizens of the country but as members of a religious group. The Christians do not seek the suffrage of non~ Christians in the elections of the legislatures nor do the latter seek those of the former. The impression created among the national leaders is that the Christians do not wish to make common cause with the majority of their countrymen even for political purposes. There is a feeling that every convert to Christianity is a political loss to Hinduism. Christians have thus invited criticism of, and antagonism to, missionary propaganda on the ground that the moment one becomes a Christian he transfers his allegiance from one political group to another. The Mohammedans and other minorities have also been given the privilege of separate representation. Though opposition to conversions may not cease if the Indian Christian takes his place in political franchises as an Indian and gives his vote for the candidate who accords with his own political views, still one serious grievance of the Hindus against Christianity may be removed. The future hope of the Church in India lies in a numerous and influential body of indigenous priests, and on a well organised and enlightened laity. The Hierarchy is fully alive to the need.$. ...... UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 129 of the situation, and is making every effort to build up a selfsupporting, a self-propagating and self-governing Church. The witness of life of many flourishing Christian communities in various parts of the country and the zeal of the Indian clergy are becoming steadily increasing factors in the extension of Christianity. --lCElCE-Bretain Plans to Aid West Indies Missioners.-Financial aid for foreign missionary societies working in British colonies will be available from Government funds under large-scale, long-term plans which have been announced in London. ....Jfhe plans include grants up to $50,000,000 a year for 10 years to colonial governments, and $10,000,000 a year for 20 years to facilitate wide reforms in the West Indies. Some of this money will be available, to missionary societies for their social work. The recommendations of the West Indian Royal Commission contain this passage: "That an organized campaign should be undertaken against the social, moral and economic evils of promiscuity, the success of which will mainly depend on the extent to which the combined authority of the churches is behind it." The importance of education is recognized, and the recommendations make provision for the payment of teachers' salaries in denominational schools, though the Government would claim "complete control in staff matters" in such cases. It is recommended, however, that when new schools are provided wholly from public funds, and in consequence "in all respects administered by the Government," the existing facilitie~ for religious instruction should be retained. +----------------------------~ ABSOLVE, we beseech Thee, Lord, the souls of Thy servants: Sor Consuelo Barcelo, Pasig, Rizal; Jose Tupas, Pasig, Rizal; Margarita Abus, Cebu, Cebu; M. K. Nachtmann, Bellingham, Washington, U.S.A.; Henry Fenwick, Baltimore, Md., U.S.A.; Matias Hilado, Sagay, Negros Occ.; Asuncion Tuyuan, Tuguegarao, Cagaya11; Anastasia Tiongson, Dagupan, Pangasinan; from every sin, that in the glory of the reaurrection among Thy saints and elect they may ariae in the newness of.life, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 130 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - Our Fatnily Circle Fourth Meditation on the "Little Way" Virility is Inherent in the Little Way. I. Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, who excelled at making her own the qualities and even the language of childhood, said one day to her sisters, who rightly showed anxiety about her serious iilness: "Let God play the part of Papa; he knows what is best for baby." Her eldest sister, Soeur Marie du Sacre Coeur, asked her: "Are you a baby?" Our Saint looked serious and said: "Y es,-but a very wise baby! A baby who is an old man." Compare this with our Lord's saying: "Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." II. A great number of people find a stumbling block in the word "little." They think it means something weak and feeble, whereas on the lips of St. Theresa the word "little" expresses that complete dependence upon God which is the foundation of all spiritual greatness. The whole secret of the Little Way lies in the words of Our Blessed Lord, "Without Me ye can do nothing." Saint Theresa of the Child Jes us in giving to her sisters this answer, "Yes-but a very wise baby! A baby who is an old man," expressed in a wonderful way the virility inherent in her "Little Way." "Never did I perceive better - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 13i than at that moment," says Soeur Marie du Sacre Coeur, "how much virility her Way of Childhood concealed, and I thought it most fitting that in her autobiography she should have appropriated that saying of the Prophet David: I am young, and yet ..... I have had understanding above ancients." Reading her Autobiography we chiefly distinguish in the interior life of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus three positive paradoxes: the simplicity of a child combined with the consumate prudence of old age; the humblest littleness united to magnanimous greatness; deep joy amid cruel mental sufferings. The higher principles which effect the union of these paradoxes are the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and in particular the gifts of Wisdom and of Fortitude, and lastly, the gift of the Spirit himself, which is Charity. For charity is the keystone of the whole spiritual building. If you claim thoroughly to understand St. Theresa's spirituality, and her heroic sanctity, take care you never for an instant forget that in her the ingenuousness of childhood is indisolubly bound up with a sovereign prudence, and that her humble littleness is invariably accompanied by a magnanimous greatness; finally, most important of all, . that her sweet and tranquil smile hides bitter sacrifices accepted for the love of God and of souls. (Fr. H. Petitot, O.P.) lll. Pope Benedict XV warns us that we must acquire a proper notion of spiritual childhood. It is chiefly composed of "confidence in God and blind surrender to Him.',. It excludes all pride or presumption; it presupposes a lively faith in the existence of Gpd and confident recourse· to His Divine Providence. These qualities of childhood agree quite naturally together. But as soon as Benedict XV begins to speak of St. Theresa's virtues, at once the qualities of maturity, of virility, of old age, become evident. The Pope says that from her earliest years she showed "a Child's freedom from care and its gay vivacity, together with great seriousness and an extraordinary Maturity, and that even then Theresa in her words evinced a judgment far above her age.'' Pope Pius XI said: "From the depths of her cloister she shows us an example of holiness which everyone can and ought to follow. She wants to draw people into her little way, she teaches us that childlike simplicity which is childlike only in name." If this childlike sinwlicity "which is inseparable from real strength of soul is childlike only in name," surely it must be complex and mysterious, and we must take heed lest we misunderstand it. St. Theresa's greatness lies in her littleness, in the knowledge of it, in the joy she found in it. She confesses that the knowledge, the perfect knowledge of her weakness, poverty and nothingness, and the joy she finds in it, is the greatest grace she received from the 132 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - good God. This blessed knowledge is an echo of the Magnificat: "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things unto me, and holy is His name." The paradoxical mystery of St. Theresa's Little Way is that she was so great because she was so little! The understanding and the acceptance of this paradoxical mystery is the divine secret revealed to little ones and kept hidden for the great of the world. "I thank thee, 0 Father," prayed Jesus, "because Thou hast revealed these things to the little ones and hast hidden them from the great and mighty of the world." Never was this saying of the Gospel more perfectly realized than in Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus. So we must not be surprised nor shocked.if a pure, simple, and inspired soul be sent to unfold to us a complete revelation touching holiness. IV. In his homily pronounced at the solemnity of the canonization, the Sovereign Pontiff declared: "If this Way of Spiritual Childhood be propagated, it is easy to see how greatly it will facilitate the reform of human society, which we set before as our programme at the beginning of our pontificate." The adequate understanding of of the Saint's spirituality, her virtuous example, and the graces she has obtained for her disciples have already inaugurated "the reform and renewal of Catholic life." It would be idle to disguise the fact; we all need to renew our spiritual life by some kind of mortification and prayer better suited to the manners and conditions of our age; we need greater faith in the influence of the Holy Ghost, and, above all, we need to have more frequent recourse to them. All the faithful, priests and religious included, need to reform and renew their spiritual life. We may then say, with Pope Pius XI, that if Saint Theresa;s spirituality be propagated, "the reform of human society, the renovation of Catholic life," will be singularly facilitated thereby. (Fr. H. Petitot, 0. P.). "I very much want her to be canonized," said Saint Theresa's oldest sister in the canonization process, "because people will then see what she wanted them to see: that they must have confidence in the infinite mercy of God, and that holiness is accessible to all sorts of people. I think a great deal more about it than that, but I don't know how to put it into words." Nicodemus, acknowledging in all good faith the transcendent efficacy of Jesus' teaching and apostolate, came to consult him by night. "Rabbi," he said, "we know that thou art come a teacher from God. for no man can do the works that thou dost." Jesus answered him: "Amen, amen, I say to thee, {inless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - 133 But !n order to be born again, one must, it is clear, die to one's past life, one must renounce many things. Nicodemus, deeply attached to his prejudices, his doctrines, his ancient traditions, pretended he did not understand. "Can a man enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born again?" he asked. Jesus repeated his words with emphasis, and interpreted their meaning: "Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Wonder not that I said to thee: You must be born again. The spirit breatheth where he will and thou hearest his voice, but thou knowest not whence he cometh nor whither he goeth. So is everyone that is born -of the spirit." Spiritual renascence and childhood is not a natural renascence or childhood. Any overliteral interpretation of such expressions easily becotnes strained and absurd. One must be born to another doctrine than that of the rabbis or of those whom Pai::cal called philosophers and wise men. One must be born again by the -gifts of the Holy Ghost, and renounce all scientific pretentions, rationalism, and purely natural criticism. One must be born again of water by cleansing oneself from one's sins, one's concupicences, one's defilements, and one's pride. Spiritual renascence, which makes them apostles, martyrs, and Saints, is a reality which surely it is worth one's while to investigate. (Fr. H. Petitot, 0. P.). Yes, there is virility, indeed in the Little Way. With Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, a young Saint inspired of God, as our master, we are determined to study this salutary Little Way-and follow it, with the help of God's grace. Our Father who art in Heaven, we thank Thee for the desire Thou putest in our heart to know and to follow the way of Thy little children. We love Thee with all the strength of our being; in Thee we put all our confidence, and to Thee we completely surrender ourselves ..... . Many in the world feel as we do, and for them, 0 Jesus, we pray, making Saint Theresa's prayer our own: "O Jesus, we beseech Thee to cast Thy glance upon a vast number of little souls, to choose in this world a legion of little victims of Thy Love. Amen." Novena of "Last Resort" (Saturday September 7, to Sunday September 15). GENERAL INTENTIONS Orusade of Prayer: true peace for all nations. I. It is said that "Men today can 13.4 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - see no peace save the peace that follows exhaustion or annihilation. Men want no other peace, and they grow impatient of a voice that keeps pleading .for an impossibility." Nevertheless, Pope Pius XII never stops appealing for peace, establishing the principles of peace, pointing out the road to peace. He said only recently: "Our heart is full of sorrow not only for the terrible calamities that overwhelm the countries at war, but also for the evils every day more menacingthat threaten other nations." And yet "we place our hope in Him who alone is all powerful ... who guides the destinies of people's thoughts and the sentiments of those who rule nations. .. May (He) hasten the end of this calamitous storm." The Holy Father appeals to all Catholics of the world to join him fo. prpyer for peace. English and German Catholics niay say: "Is it not treason for us to think or will or speak peace while the whole effort of our Government must be directed toward war, and war to bitter victory or destruction?" The Poles, the Finns, the Norwegians, the Dutchs, may say: "Is not war the only hope of restoration of a sovereignity unjustly wrested from us? The blood of brothers who fell before aggressive force, does it not cry for the vengeance or at least the restitution that can be achieved only by war?" Catholics inAmerica and all neutrals may say: "Would not the answer to the prayer that Almighty God 'hasten the end of this calamitous storm' mean a prayer for Hitler's triumph? And since Communism's new united front, is not the Holy Father's plea for peace an invitation to join hands with the Communists in whatever plans that lie concealed behind their facade of peace?" We must admit that these are very real questions, and that it is very well possible that Catholics are found who fear to speak of peace-iind to pray for it just now, because they could be accused of misunderstanding the issues at stake in the war. Pius XII, however, is not afraid: "From the beginning of the war we have left nothing undone but have championed by every means in our power .... the restoration of that peace and concord which must be based on justice and must reach its perfection in mutual, fraternal charity." In union with the Holy Father we pray for Christian peace whose condition is justice and the effect of which is co-operation among all nations. We do not pray for a peace which abhors 5acrifices and which seeks quiet and tranquil~ty at any price. - l l E - - II. In this Novena we pray alsc:> for the Missions in the Mountain Province. That more Catholics in this country may become interested in their Home Missions, which continue being in urgent need for help; in fact, they now entirely depend on the charity of the Catholic population of the Philippine Commonweath, --ice-SPECIAL INTENTIONS A great number of intentions, temporal and spiritual, have been welcomed in Our Family Circle, and are duly included in this Novena. In not a few letters we noted a certain inclination to pessimism, and, although formulated in different ways, - UT OMNES UNUM SINTI - 135 it always wanted to know why the good God is allowing this second World \Var. We have no better reply to give than that given by Cardinal Faulhaber, the courageous Archbishop of Munich. "Why has God not stopped the war? Why has He allowed one nation to take up arms against another?" he asks. "The answer to these questions is God's secret," he goes on. "He alone knows the real reasons of all that happens, and that must be sufficient for us. Nevertheless we can give some partial answers to the questions that have been put. "God permits war because He has ¢.ven us free-will. If then men choose death for themselves and others, God does not withdraw at once all makers of war. He does not do so. If on the one hand He binds the forces of nature by immutable laws, on the other He allows the human will to function freely. By taking that free will from man, one makes him less, one hurts him more deeply in this fashion than could any war wounds. Man without free will would not really be man. "If God allows war, He wants above all else to change evil into good. Men do not consider more than the shadows and bitterness of the present moment; God considers the present in conjunction with the future, in the light of the general plan of Creation, where the shadows must be dissipated before the light and where the momentary success of evil will be wiped out by the definite triumph of good. "People of little faith may have doubted the work of Christ when He was condemned to death and when He was stretched on the Cross, but God had taken count of the malice of mankind in His plan. We cannot fear, then, that God has given up steering the world. By His Sovereign power He will transform the darkness. into light, and the catastrophe of war into a work of salvation for many souls. To be able to see the link between the present and the future in the Divine plan would require the eyes of God. But if that is impossible we must not complain, or blaspheme. "St. Paul says 'Oh, the depth of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How incomprehensible are His judgment, how unserchable are His designs!' "But, it is asked again, why does God seem so insensible to the innumerable prayers which men ha.ve offered up that the terrible trial of war might cease. We answer: we have no right to impose on God the n1oment at which He shall hear our prayers. All these prayers were foreseen by Him and have part in His plan. "More, God responds to our prayers in ways which do not always correspond with our intentions. The manner of God's answers to our prayers is one of the secrets of Providence. Let us continue to pray that God will permit the triumph of the just cause. It is not good to pray that God will take part in the quarrels of men. "Faith in Divine Providence is a ray of light which cuts across the darkness of war. Do not extinguish this ray. It is not true that we are thrown upon the wheel of blind chance; on the contrary, we are in the hands of Divine Providence." --·--· MONTH OF OCTOBER The Novena of Last Resort for the 136 - UT OMNES UNUM SINT! - month of October begins on Saturday, October 5, and ends on Sunday October 13. --lCE-GENERAL INTENTIONS I. Crusade of Prayer; true peace for all nations. II. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith. III. The Missions · in the Mountain Province. --lCE-SPECIAL INTENTIONS All those you send to Our Family Circle. "Ask and you will receit•e" - - l l l i - - THANKSGIVINGS G.W.-A small donation to help you in your work as a thanksoffering for favors received. M.S.S.-For a grace unexpectedly received thru the intercession of Sta. Teresita and San Judas Tadeo, on the feast of St. Peter and Paul, I send you my little help of P2.00 to the Catechists' Fund, asking you to publish these lines to prove my gratitude. M.F. de Ll.-I am enclosing herewith Money Order for P2.00 for the little Igorrotes of the Mountain Province, for a favor I received from the littl£' Flower of Jesus. F.H.-Herewith P2.00 from Mrs. P. J. for the Catechists' Fund in thanksgiving for the recovery from illness thru the Novena of Last Resort. C. de M.-Inclosed please find a money order for one peso in thanksgiving for favors received thru the Novena of Last Resort. R.A.-In thanksgiving for a favor received, please, accept P4.00 to baptize two lgorrotes Jose and Antonio. E.G.-Pl.00 for the Catechists' Fund for a favor received from the Sacred Heart of Jesus thru the intercession of Sta. Teresita. M.L.Vda. de Y.-Herewith a money order for P2.00 for the missions, in thanksgiving for the great favors received thru the Novena of Last Resort. E.O.-P2.00 in thanksgiving. J. de S.-'-P2.00 in thanksgiving for having found work. M.F. de Ll.-1 am sending herewith money order for P2.00 for the ~ittle lgorrotes of Baguio. This was a promise I made to the Little Flower. E.C.-Inclosed is money order for P5.00 for the missions, in thanksgiving for the safe delivery of my sister. P.M.-Enclosed a money order for P2.00 for the Catechists' Fund in thanksgiving for many graces. --!CE-Masses of thanksgiving: C. L. (3 Masses); C. T. de R.; C. K.; J. J.; L. R.; A. E. R.; C. F.; J. E.; J. C.; P. V. (two Masses); L. J. P.; R. L. T.; R. de B.; P. C. de H.; S.S. T.; E. N. A.; J. de A.; R. S. B .. The Little Apostle of the Mountain Province The organ of the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheutveld) Fathers in the Mountain Province of the Philippines. --l:O:(-EDITED AND PUBLISHED MONTHLY. Editor-Rev. JOSE DE SAMBER, P.O. B::ix SS, Baguio, Phil. Islands. Business Manager-Rev. JOSE DE SAMBER, P.O. Box SS, Baguio, Phil. Islands. Publishers-THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRESS, Baguio, Philippine5. Yearly subscription price: { Pl .00 for the Philippines. $1.00 for the U.S. and Foreign Countries Life subscription price: { Pl 5.00 for the Philippines. $15.00 for the U.S. and Foreign Countries All checks and money orders should be made payable to THE LITTLE APOSTLE Baguio, Philippines. ~otice regarding change of address should be sent promptly. All communications must be addressed to: THE LffTLE APOSTLE P. 0. P.O. Box S5, Baguio, Philippines. Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Baguio. Mt. on Feb. S, 1925. Cavanna, Jazminez and Tian co S!XTH FLOOR. ROOM 603, ''TRADE Be COMMERCE BLDG." No. 123 JUAN LUNA ST .. MANILA TEL. 2-15-72 P.O. Box 1659 M. VERLINDEN Capitol Bldg. 2nd floor No. 31 P. 0. Box 123, Manila "':le"" Rosaries, Medals. Crucifixes Sta~ues. Breviaries, Missals. etc. ·--------------------------:. ·-------------~------------8 r" 1 -••--·--l--l---J--)-l_ .. ,,_,_,,_>_<_l_ll_l_l_l_l_l_,. I This Issue Contains: I 1. - l\. Catechist Page 105 i I_ ·1 2. - Touring the Missions in the Mt. Province - Page 109 I 3. - My First Convert Page 115 i I - - 4. - Phantom Spirits at Work Page 118 I - I I 5. - Catholic Chronicle Page 122 I 6. - Foreign Missions - Page 126 i I 7. - IN MEMORIAM Page 129 i ' - 8 - Our Family Circle: Monthly Letter Page 130 I ! 9:- Novena cf Last Resort - Page 133 I ~·-·--··-·-·-·-·-,--,,_,_,,_ ...... _l.._,,_,_,_,_,_,_t __ t_•_·-·);f • HOLLAND -EAST -ASIA • • • LINE ••• By Fast Comfortab!e Freighters Fr01n Manila to your Home Country. "Passage fares" "Manila I Genoa £ 89 • • • • • "'Manila I Antwerp I Rotterdam £ 93 • •• •• Less 10% Missionary Reduction For full information apply: • EASTERN & PHIUPPINES SHIPPING AGENCIFiS, LTD. Marsman Building (Port Area) Manila, P. I.