Diego Aduarte

“ Still there was nothing to be wondered at in all this, for God’s mercy to them was so clear that not only they but the heathen Indians were obliged to recognize it. Thus, against their wills, their hearts were softened by the good that the fathers did to them. The good old man saw with tears of delight the many miracles which the Lord had wrought to give authority to His preachers and His gospel among these tribes; the flight of the devil from those villages where before he had quietly reigned, the baptisms which began to be performed, the devotion of the newly baptized. ”

“ Paul, who bids us give place to wrath, he left the hall that he might not more inflame the wrath of this man. After a while, when he thought it was time, he went in again, and with great serenity of countenance and with gentleness of heart and words, he said to him: “Bend your knees, because my heart does not permit me to leave you under so heavy a condemnation;” and he added: “By virtue of a brief of the Supreme Pontiff which I have for this purpose, I absolve you from the most dreadful excommunication which you have incurred.” ”

“ The earth vomited out great masses of sand, and trembled so that people could not stand on their feet, but sat on the ground; and were as seasick on land as if they had been in a ship at sea in a storm. In the high lands of the Indians named Mandayas17 a mountain fell and, catching a village below it, overwhelmed it and killed the inhabitants. ”

“ The religious were warned to treat the Indians with great charity and a spirit of kindness, as beloved sons, showing them the love that we feel for them not only by words but by deeds, and striving to attract them by love. If punishment should at any time be necessary, it was not to be by our hands, that it might not happen to us, as Saint Gregory said, that corrections should be converted to arms of wrath. To the convent of Manila they gave the title of priory, and appointed as the first prior father Fray Diego de Soria. ”

“ For those who knew the great virtues of the most religious father and most perfect bishop Don Fray Diego Aduarte, this history must certainly fall under the condemnation of being incomplete, not only because it passes over in silence the great good which he wrought in España before coming to this country, but also because he showed singular dexterity, in hiding, because of his humility, the admirable works in which he exercised himself, though when in the province he much surpassed others. ”

“ He deserves this glory not less for his devout Christian zeal, love of God, and devotion to our Lady of the Rosary—in which from his tenderest years he was bred by his most devout and prudent mother—than for his great military skill and prudence, which he and all his valorous brothers acquired from his father, a distinguished and most fortunate captain, as also he saw all his sons become. The great favor which our Lady of the Rosary showed to our army in this conquest was very well known and celebrated. ”

“ For the labors of new conversions are very great, so great indeed as to surpass the power of youth; so that few or no such conversions have been made without costing the death of some religious. When the father vicar observed this, and found himself, though he had poor health, provided with some command of the language, he began to relieve his companions—unraveling the entanglements (which are many among the heathen Indians) in matters of matrimony, usury, and the oppression which the chief men employ toward their inferiors, making them slaves without reason or justice. ”

“ Noble religious were his companions, eager to act and to suffer for the conversion of souls; but father Fray Bernardo was the head and superior of these religious, the one who first began to succeed in christianizing those Indians, the one who perfected them and carried them on to a high state of Christian excellence. His life and his doctrine were alike marvelous and efficacious in influencing the souls of those Indians. He was devoted to his charge, seeking alms from the Spaniards for his Indians, and defending them with all his might from the wrongs which were committed against them. ”

“ The city of Manila is the finest and richest of its size known in all the world. It is of great strength, being almost surrounded by the sea and by a large river, which wash its walls. It is the capital and court city of these islands, where the governor and captain-general of them has his residence, as well as the royal Audiencia and Chancillería. Here is situated the largest garrison of soldiers, with its master-of-camp, sargento-mayor, and captains. ”

“ As the hospital increased in size, the number of those cared for likewise increased, its reputation spread, and it was a continual preacher of the truth of our holy faith. For the superior intelligence of the Chinese forced them to the conviction that the virtue of these religious was real, because without any worldly motives they took care with such devotion of the sick of another nation, another faith, and another law, without being under any obligation to them and without expecting from them any pay or reward. If they were truly virtuous, their law must be good ”

“ My sons, among whom I have so long been, and to whom I have so many years preached the true doctrine, which you ought to follow, and have taught you that which you ought to observe for the good of your souls, I am greatly grieved to see the mistaken path which you take, casting yourselves over precipices where destruction is certain, and from which your rescue is difficult. ”

“ This city makes the name of España renowned and feared throughout all these neighboring kingdoms; for, although its inhabitants and its soldiers are few, yet by the aid of the Lord, whose faith they spread abroad, they have performed so many glorious exploits that even the barbarians of the smallest capacity have come to esteem above measure their greatness, when they see the Spaniards always victorious over enemies who so surpass them in number that experience only might make such victories credible. ”

“ The reason is that it is impossible to keep up a province, or even a convent, in a state of strict observance with discontented religious. Hence in our order, as in others, in convents of especial severity much attention is paid to having all the members volunteer; and if one grows weary and asks some reasonable license, let it be given; for a single discontented religious does more harm than good. When all are volunteers, all serve the Lord as He desires, with delight and joy; one stimulates another, and urges him on to surpass him in virtue and in profitable exercises. ”

“ Father Fray Miguel de Ozaraza was a native of Vizcaya; and because of his virtues, devotion, and prudence he was much beloved in the convent of Sancto Thomas at Madrid, where he lived for some years in great quiet, with all the comfort that a good religious could desire. But as many laymen have been moved by the desire of worldly riches to leave their comforts in España and to go to the Indias, so the desire for spiritual profit caused father Fray Miguel to come to this most distant part of the world. ”

“ This doctrine is very well suited to human prudence but is contrary to divine Providence, to that which the Lord has ordained in His gospel, and even to the very nature of the faith, which demands a pious affection in those who hear it. This is not to be acquired as the result of the violences, murders, and conquests wrought by soldiers. On the contrary, as far as in them lies, they make the faith to be hated and abhorred; and hence the Lord commanded that the preachers should be as sheep among wolves, conquering them with patience and humility, which are the proper arms to overcome hearts. ”

“ Many of the sick were in the greatest poverty, and lacked the necessaries of life; for the Chinese in Manila show each other very little charity, being heathens, and, like all the rest of their nation, extremely avaricious—a quality not very consistent with caring for the sick poor. Thus the religious were obliged to show compassion upon the sick, and to put the poorest ones in their little hut and in their own beds, for they had no others; and, because they could not get bed-clothing, the cloaks of the poor friars served as blankets for the sick. ”

“ Yet, in spite of all this, the religious had dealt so well with them, and had shown them so much love and benevolence, that the Indians could not cease to feel and to show kindness for them. Hence, though they were able to kill the religious or to do them any harm they pleased, because the fathers were alone among them without any other protection than their good consciences—which is a great safeguard—the Indians not only did them no harm, but laid hands on nothing of theirs or of their convent. ”

“ He labored much in the ship, hearing confessions, and preaching and teaching; for as in voyages there are so many kinds of people, there is need of all of these things, while many of the people need them all at once, because they do not know the doctrine which it is their duty to know and believe, and do not take that care of their souls which they ought to take. Some of them do not even desire to have such things spoken of, that their ignorance may not be known; and hence there [254] is much labor in teaching them, and it is a great service to God not to refuse this labor. ”

“ Father Fray Diego de Soria said to the other religious, with a tone of certainty: “Fathers, this noise that we hear is the Indians making sacrifices to the demons; for, induced by their diabolical industry, they are now offering special services to the devil, and are striving to appease him by feasts, that he may keep and preserve them in their ancient rites and customs. Pray then, reverend fathers, to the Lord for His grace, that He may expel from the land the Prince of Darkness, who holds it under his tyranny. ”

“ This country is infested with multitudes of annoying mosquitos; but he did not take advantage of the common means of preventing them, which is a tent, something permitted to all the religious. He would not accept one, but offered to the Lord the stings of the gnats, which is no small mortification and penance. It was no wonder that he paid small attention to the stings of mosquitos, as he often wore next to his skin a girdle bearing fifteen rosettes in honor of our Lady of the Rosary and her fifteen mysteries, with points so sharp that they drew blood when they were touched with the finger. ”

“ Father Fray Juan Cobo joining him immediately, they began to teach the Chinese, amazing those people that anyone should have been able to succeed with their language and to preach to them in it. Much greater was their amazement, however, at the extraordinary virtue and charity which they beheld in these two religious. They did not content themselves with the labor of teaching them—which was not small, for soon many were converted and began to be baptized; but they proposed to build a hospital where the sick poor could be cared for. ”

“ The testimony of the bishop of China, Don Fray Juan Pinto, or de la Piedad, who came to this city of Manila on his way to España and who spent many months here, is to the following effect: “Words cannot exaggerate the devotion, the noble poverty, and profound humility of these grave and holy fathers, who live together in the greatest harmony and brotherly affection. Their life is not merely a miracle, but many miracles. Having no income, they receive more than enough; for all of them in common, and each one in particular, need nothing. The older and graver they are, the more humble ”

“ When they sometimes came to Nueva Segovia to do their poor little trading, the hearts of the religious were grieved when they saw those people of a natural disposition so excellent, so humble and peaceable; while their souls were left totally without assistance because they were poor and few, and widely scattered over many islands in the midst of the sea, without hope that any other preachers would undertake their conversion if our religious neglected them. ”

“ The bishop alone was silent—so much so that his religious became anxious, and felt obliged to ask him the reason. He answered: “I am afraid, fathers, that the Lord does not look upon us as His own, so much happiness does He grant us in so cramped a ship. Such fair weather, and not more than one religious sick; we are not what we ought to be, for the Lord has sent us no hardships. My coming was sufficient to prevent you from receiving that blessing.” When they reached Mexico, he planned to buy a house where the religious who came to this province from that of España might be cared for. ”

“ Still the woman’s artifice was of use to her; for the father repaid her for the false witness she had given, by delivering her from the death which they were going to inflict upon her—searching for devices to bring this about, just as the devil had searched for them to do evil; for kindness is no less subtle than malice. Later will be seen what was the life and death of this holy religious, whom the devil strove to discredit by other means, but without success. ”

“ When he was vicar of the convent of Nueva Segovia, a father visited him as his guest, bringing with him two crawfish, which he boiled and put on the table; but father Fray Luis would not permit them to be eaten, saying it was not a feast, that they should have anything so unusual. He scourged himself every night, with the energy which was his by nature. ”

“ In Tular, or Abulug, a village of more than a thousand inhabitants, in which there were more communicants than in the other villages, the religious taught many of them to strive to meditate every day upon some of the mysteries of the rosary. This was an exercise to which the first founder of the province, father Fray Juan de Castro, was very much given, and in which many of his disciples and subjects have followed him. Thus these Indians day by day meditate upon one after another of the fifteen mysteries of the rosary. Other Indians lay aside part of their daily food for charity. ”

“ This was a great benefit to that province, not only because the light of the true and divine faith was brought to it, but because they were so continually engaged in civil war that, if the Spaniards had delayed their coming, they would have been likely to destroy each other. The life which they led did not deserve the name of life, because of the daily alarms to which they were exposed. Brother was unable to trust brother, and no man left his house unarmed, or without great danger. ”

“ Not only in these new provinces where the dawn of the gospel’s light now begins to shine do extraordinary cases happen like those which have been mentioned, to the great glory of God and the joy of his ministers; but they also occur in many others where the dawn has risen high but has not yet bathed all the horizon, though it is covering it, little by little. From the province of Nueva Segovia father Fray Geronimo de Zamora,47 a native of the city of Zaragoça, wrote me a letter dated February 25, 1633. ”

“ He glorifies their devotion in going forth to a life of affliction in distant countries; and declares that their love of God should shine forth, however efforts might be made to hide it; and that, in the power of their devotion, they will be able to do all things. He glorifies the martyrdoms that they have suffered, assuring them that for every martyr there will be a hundred more. He feels that dark clouds are arising over the order in Europe; and expresses the hope that the virtue of the Dominican order shall not leave its home to go to China and the Philippinas. ”

“ At this time there died in the same province of Nueva Segovia brother Fray Domingo de San Blas, a lay religious of much virtue and known sanctity, a son of the convent of San Pablo at Sevilla, who came to these islands in the year 1594. He was of much use to the Indians, of whose language he learned enough to be understood by them and to teach them to pray, to attract the Christians to the church, and to teach the heathen the knowledge of the doctrine of Christianity. He was fervent in prayer, being often moved to sighs and tears during his devotions. ”

“ Full of pity, he told the sick man of the great error which he was committing, and the frightful sin against God which would result; the uselessness and unreasonableness of striving to obtain health for an old man by bathing him in the blood of a child; the indignation of the Spaniards if they should hear of this act; and the vengeance which they would take for this unjust and cruel murder, if not upon his person, at least upon his gold and treasure. Guiab admitted his error, and ordered the child to be given to father Fray Francisco. ”

“ As the Indians had inherited them from their ancestors, they observed them with the greatest accuracy, and took the greater pleasure in them because they were so closely conformed to their wicked inclinations and their evil training. Therefore to draw them forth from this condition, which was so contrary even to the law of nature, was a most difficult matter, and one in which success was not to be expected from natural forces. Hence the religious strove with all their hearts to obtain divine strength by means of prayer, fasting, and tears. ”

“ During his term as provincial, the province lost by death several religious of superior qualities, and suffered from several insurrections of villages. Both of these things were severely felt in a region where the religious are so few that the loss of a single one is a notable loss; and where all energy is turned toward converting souls, so that the perdition of a single one causes great sorrow. For these sufferings our Lord brought some comfort in the martyrdom of some sons of the province, and in the extension of the holy gospel to the island of Hermosa. ”

“ The most complete and accurate statement of our entire purpose has been made by the father master Fray Baltasar Nabarrete. He writes to this province a letter of eulogy and religious congratulation. He rejoices that the Dominican order, transplanted to a sterile and mountainous [161] country, begins to bear most glorious fruit of celestial life. He celebrates the spirit and fervor of the few brethren who undertook this honorable enterprise at the beginning, and who put in the field an army in which every soldier was fit to be a captain. ”

“ We have sent there some of our best religious; and they have converted very few of the Indians, in proportion to the number of noble religious who have been lost there. Yet to him who will judge aright, and who understands the worth of the soul, it will not seem much to have spent the blood of martyrs and the sufferings of holy religious for the sake of those souls which have passed from this island to heaven. Among the martyrs on the island a high place is taken by father Fray Luis Muro, who died gloriously at this time by the hands of these Indians. ”

“ The event was altogether opposite to what they had expected; for all the Indians retreated from the Spaniards and began to make open war upon them, often challenging them to lay aside their arquebuses and to come out into the field, man to man, with all the other weapons they pleased, so courageous are these people. Though the Spaniards lost this opportunity, they soon had another. In the maritime part of that region there were two of the ablest chiefs in the province—brothers, but at variance with each other—who were constantly making war against each other with the greatest cruelty. ”

“ At one time when a very rich man was sick, and feared death and the judgment, he sent to call father Fray Diego to him that he might confess; but the father refused to go, sending back as an answer that the rich man must return the tribute which he had wrongfully taken from an encomienda, and must give the Indians there a minister. The sick man put himself in father Fray Diego’s hands, and thus his conscience was composed, to the great advantage of the wronged Indians. ”

“ Their minds are set upon preparing themselves for death, so that they regard all besides—houses, property, and children, and all temporal things—as merely accessory. Those who can afford it have masses said for their souls while they are still alive, as if they were already dead; and give much alms to this end. Those who have not the means for this, fast and mortify themselves. In this province the ministers have begun to give the most holy sacrament of the communion to the natives, as being adult in the faith. They prepare themselves for the communion with great devotion. ”

“ During this period this sea is not navigable, for it is very stormy; and the boats which they have there, being the boats of poor persons, are small. Yet all this, and the fact that those natives have a different language from all the rest, and many other inconveniences which they suffered there, the religious bore with pleasure, being good and devout Christians. They are in two little villages, with a church and a convent in each, sufficient for its needs. Though the Indians provided the labor, all the rest was a gift which the religious had made and are making to them. ”

“ At Bataan he found all things in as good order as if the new converts had sucked in Christianity with their mothers’ milk. The Lord began to show these Indians great mercy, both spiritual and temporal. He gave them a succession of fertile years, which, being farmers, they estimate more highly than anything else. They also saw the land visited by a great plague of locusts, which attacked the fields of the heathen but left those of the Christians untouched. ”

“ It is the citizens of Manila who are the substance of that diamond, where the adjoining states are all enemies—barbarians, heretics, Moors, and heathens. Those Spaniards are without hope of succor in emergencies, without safety for the unfortunate in the retreat, and even without the reward due them for their achievements; they are always inferior in numbers, and continually attacked by Dutch, Mindanaos, Japanese, Jaos, and other peoples. They are always in anxiety about the Chinese, or Sangleys, who number more than 30,000 in Manila ”

“ When Don Luis Perez das Mariñas was at Tuy, in Nueva Segovia, before the religious were there, he spent one night near the sea on the shore, by the mouth of a river which passes the village of Pata, at the foot of a little hill which was dedicated to the devil, and where they offered sacrifices and celebrated festivals in his honor. On this account no one dared to cut a stick or anything else on it, except for the service of the devil; because the sea would instantly grow wrathful, the winds would arise, and their houses would be thrown down. ”