The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898: Volume 32, 1640. Aduarte Diego

he thrust it at his chest; but the Lord, who was pleased with the care which the Chinaman gave to the building of His poor temple, guided the sword so that it struck an ebony cross which the Chinaman wore under his clothes. The blow made a deep mark upon this cross, while the Chinaman was untouched – the Lord receiving the thrust upon His own cross that it might not harm His votary. The Chinaman recognized this as a very special mercy, and a great reward for his labor; and he and all those who knew of the fact praised the Lord, wonderful in His works.

      The poor church was finished, and being the edifice of those vowed to poverty it lasted but a short time. The beams which served as columns and held up the building were not strong, and the soil was marshy and unstable; hence the beams were unable to carry the load of the tiling, but gave way, in such a manner as to threaten the downfall of the church. To prevent this, so that no one might be caught beneath, it was planned to take down the tiling; and while the church was being untiled, and there were nineteen persons on the roof, the building (which was already on the point of falling) broke open with this additional weight, and the whole roof came down – key-beams, ridge-pole, and tiles. Even some of the largest beams were broken into very small fragments; and many of those who were on the peak of the roof were caught and buried in the lumber and tiles, so that of some there was nothing to be seen except some part of their clothing. A great multitude of people ran to the noise. Most of them were heathen, and stood looking on with much alarm at the ruin which had been wrought; but they did not dare to show any kindness, or to disinter the poor workmen who had been overwhelmed. Hence the men remained for a long space of time covered in this way, all supposing that they were not only dead, but horribly mangled. However, this was not the case; for the Lord was desirous of teaching these heathen the omnipotence of His providence and the care that He takes of those who serve Him; and all were taken out, unconscious indeed, but uninjured and in health, without the slightest wound upon any one of them, although some very heavy key-beams had been broken to pieces. They soon came to themselves and gave thanks to Him who had so marvelously preserved them; while all those present, who were innumerable, both Christians and heathen, were astonished, and the heathen said aloud: “Great is the providence of the God of the Christians.” Thus the Lord drew from these His enemies the highest praises, and changed into honor to His name that which might have caused offense among these idolaters if these men had been killed while working on the house of God. It was believed that the fervent prayer of father Fray Bartholome Martynez aided much in bringing about this result; for the work was going on under his direction, and when he saw that a good account of it could not be given, if the Lord did not remedy this misfortune, he begged this grace of Him most affectionately. And this was not the only time when the Lord granted to his faithful and devout prayers very marvelous things, as will be narrated in due time.

      A small portion of the land belonging to the convent was made ready to serve, as well as possible, for a tiny church for the few Christians who were there. The harvest reaped here by the religious, in this multitude of heathen and idolatrous people, was marvelous. They taught them constantly by day and night in the church, in the squares, in their houses, without losing an opportunity to do them good – though they labored beyond their strength, trusting in the Lord whose work they were doing. Marvelous results immediately followed, to the great service and honor of the Lord and the profit of souls. Of the many sick in the Parian, who before the residence of the fathers had all departed in their heathen state, now, since they have had these devoted fathers among them and have heard their teaching, practically none have died without being baptized. Such is the fruit of the fathers’ care in expounding the faith to them, explaining to them the great good and the spiritual benefit of baptism, and the eternal misery of those who have neglected it. Often even the heathen relatives and friends of the sick have persuaded them to be baptized; and they, like the persons of their own nation whom the fathers have appointed for that purpose, take great care to ascertain if there are any sick, and to inform the fathers, that the latter may visit them and teach them the way to heaven.

      In addition to these who are baptized in sickness, many are baptized in health and take back the news of the gospel to their own country. In this way, it is hoped, the entry of preachers into China will be somewhat facilitated, if it is once known that we are persons who, in addition to loving and helping them, are not desirous for our temporal profit, but for the good of their souls. This is an argument of great weight with the Chinaman, who is excessively avaricious, and hence regards as a very divine virtue the contempt of that which he esteems so highly. Since they are very intelligent, they are easily persuaded that that is truth which we preach to them as to the great reward in the other life for those who are good, since they see that their preachers take such pains and undergo such penances to become good, and despise all temporal gain in the firm hope of an eternal one. If their eternal reward were not to be much the vaster, great would be their imprudence to cast aside for it all temporal reward; and they would be, as the apostle has said, of all men most miserable.

      Father Fray Bartholome Martynez afterward erected on the same site a sumptuous and handsome church, which was intentionally made large and capacious, that there might be room in it for the many whom he hoped to baptize; and beautiful, that the very magnificence of the edifice might give some sign by its appearance of whose it was. In order that it might please the Chinese better, it was constructed entirely after the manner of the best buildings in China, out of wood, the pieces framed together with joints, without any nails in the entire frame. This was accomplished, in spite of the fact that the number of pieces which entered into the frame came to more than three thousand. They were wrought with marvelous skill, and with superior craftsmanship; indeed, before they began to be put in place they were all shaped, with their joints so fitted that, although the architect at the time of erecting the building happened to be unable on account of illness to rise from his bed, and had to give his directions from it as to what had to be done, yet everything was found to be so exact that his presence was not needed. Everything was fitted exactly as it was planned and worked out by the designer from the beginning. This is something which aroused great admiration in the Spanish architects who saw it, and they were amazed, and with reason. It is reckoned a matter worthy of the wisdom given by God to Solomon that the same thing is recounted of the temple which he built, as is narrated in holy scripture. The architect was a heathen, very old and infirm; but God prolonged his life until this work was finished. Afterward, as his illness grew worse, he asked for holy baptism; and, having received it devoutly, he died happy in being a Christian, and was buried in the church which he had built for God.

      [While the church was being built, some very notable events happened. One Sunday, after the Christians had heard mass, they and a number of heathen who helped them were dragging a very large beam which was to serve as a column in the building. As they went down a little hill, it began to roll on some round sticks which they had placed under it in order that they might move it with less difficulty, and came at one of those who were dragging it with such force that, as it seemed, he could in no way avoid being caught by it. The Lord heard the prayers of some religious who were present, and delivered him from his danger. In the same church the workmen were setting up the beams which were to support the four corners of the transept like columns – which beams were much larger, longer, and thicker than any of the others. A great number of people were stationed on each of the four sides of one, to draw it so that it might go straight. The cables which they used were new and heavy, and there was a workman seated on the head of the beam to watch the hitches of the cables to be sure that they did not slip. The weight of the beam was so great that one of the cables gave way, and when it was broken the others began to become loose. The workmen dropped their work and fled in alarm, leaving the man on the head of the beam beyond help, as it seemed. Father Fray Bartholome Martinez prayed to the Lord for this man, and the beam rested upon some bamboos standing there, which were strong, but not strong enough to carry such a weight; and the man got down by them unhurt, but with his blood curdled by fright. The church was finished and was most beautiful, being a notable piece of work in its style. It caused great joy to the Spaniards, and to the Chinese, both Christian and heathen. In the course of time another event which greatly edified these Chinese occurred; for on Monday, March 13, 1628, at one o’clock at night, a fire broke out in the Parian which burnt down practically the whole of it – since it was at that time built of reeds and nipa, or of dry boards, which burn like a torch. The only houses saved were some which were protected by green trees, and some other small ones which were somewhat isolated. The fire bore directly