The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 13]

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THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. 13

which the Lord communicates by means of a print
of our blessed Father Ignatius; for He is continually
bestowing these favors upon those new Christians,
on account of their strong faith in Him. A woman
was brought in to us, sick and unable to speak, and
was dying before us without our being able to obtain
from her a word or sign so that we could give her
absolution; the statement of her friends, moreover,
that she had asked for confession, was doubtful. I
was therefore anxious and grieved, until I brought
her an image of our blessed father, and I said mass
for the sick woman, and when I returned she was
able to speak, and made a good confession; but utterance again failed her, and she died in peace.
"When I returned the second time, I was called in
haste to visit a sick woman, great with child, who was
suffering violent pains and torment. We went to see
her, and it aroused our compassion to behold her in
convulsions of pain, both she and the infant (which
was entering the ninth month) being in danger of
death. I sent for the image of our blessed father,
and then left the sick woman with Diego, our good
blind man, and his wife, who performs the duties
of a midwife. So good service did they render, in
conjunction with the intercession of our blessed
Father Ignatius (to whom they were greatly devoted), that very soon they sent for me to baptize the
child, which was born alive. I baptized it, but it
died; and the mother regained her health.
" On Holy Saturday a young man came to me in
alarm, saying that a demon was trying to choke his
sister. I went to her house and found her suffering
from an oppression in her breast and throat, and distressed by fear. I asked for the image, and when it