Waiting hearts
Media
Part of The Little Apostle of the Mountain Province
- Title
- Waiting hearts
- Creator
- Duggom, Alb
- Language
- English
- Year
- 1950
- Subject
- Indigenous peoples--Philippines
- Catholic church--conversion.
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- WAITING HEARTS By Rev. ALB. DVGGOM -·Just below the famed and fabled Sto. Tomas mountain lies the peaceful village of T abaan. A scenic ride to Twin Peaks and a few hours climb from the Kennon road will bring yo1:1 to this Ibaloi village which guards Keep smiling ! ! ! the entrance to this Mountain fastness. The people, influenced by the grandeur of the majestic mountains surrounding their village and the holy silence pervading the whole place, are naturally religious and God-minded. But there are still many wandering in the darkness of paganism due tc the late arrival of the Catho~ic missionaries in those secluded places. Many of the scattered villages dotting the solitary hills are fast becomir!g the citadels of Christianity. -12It was in this village that on a clear 1md b!'ight morn of April 19, 1950, the young converts gathered and awaited anxiously for the arrival of the flying Bishop, His Exc~llency William Brasseur D.D. of Baguio. The adult christians, old but young in faith, and the young children, tender in age and in their faith, were waiting with eager hearts for the Bishop who was to administer to them the fortifying Sacrament of Confirmation. We did not wait long for the ardent longing of his Excellency to meet his Christians, gave him wings in the arduous and up-hill climb. At half past seven, he came bathed in perspiration but happy. The whole town escorted him to the new school building where the Confirmation was to be he!d. The Bishop blessed the school after takina some minutes rest. After the blessing he offered the Holy Sacrifice. There were many Ho!y Communions from the young and the old-Cbrisjans. The presence of the Bishop made them more devoted in their prayers. The people ate their meager breakfast aft~r the M:i.ss while the Bishop took his cup of ccffee. Everybody was happy. The old Christians, who were to be confirmed were waiting eagerly for tl-ie Bisl-ioo to beqin. At last. there was the belfringing-for them to re-assemble in the school. They came running from the nearby barrios, rushing to occupy places inside pushing !heir way in. The Bishop gave his usual admonitions before Confirmation to those who were to be confirmed in the dialect of the people so that the people understood everything required for the holy reception of the Sacrament. The Confirmation was over before noon and we had aaain the chance to meet tho= people before leaving them in their new happiness. May this day of Confirmation in Tabaan mark the beginning of the descent of the Holy Ghost to the many waiting hearts hidden in the solitude of this holy sanctuary of eternal silence, Sto. Tomas Mountain. Rev. Alb. Duggom Slight Change .A white trader arrived at a South Sea Island, and one of the natives standing by the dock offered to carry his baggage. As they walked along, the trader began to question the native about his life, and, on learning that he had been attending a missionary school, the trader sneeringly, for he fancied himself an unbeliever: "Tell me, what good has Christianity done for you?" "For me, I do not know," answred the native promptly, "but I can tell you what good it has done for you. See that big flat stone over there? If you h.--d come here when I was a pagan, I would have cut your throat on that stone, and then my friends and I would have eaten you. Now I am carrying your suitcase instead.":...__ The Liguorian. -13
- Date Issued
- XIX(11) July, 1950