The Social Cancer, by José Rizal - Home

CHAPTER XXXI 148
CHAPTER XXXI
The Sermon
Fray Damaso began slowly in a low voice: "'Et spiritum bonum dedisti, qui doceret eos, et manna tuum non
prohibuisti ab ore eorum, et aquam dedisti eis in siti. And thou gavest thy good Spirit to teach them, and thy
manna thou didst not withhold from their mouth, and thou gavest them water for their thirst!' Words which the
Lord spoke through the mouth of Esdras, in the second book, the ninth chapter, and the twentieth verse." [88]
Padre Sibyla glanced in surprise at the preacher. Padre Manuel Martin turned pale and swallowed hard that
was better than his! Whether Padre Damaso noticed this or whether he was still hoarse, the fact is that he
coughed several times as he placed both hands on the rail of the pulpit. The Holy Ghost was above his head,
freshly painted, clean and white, with rose-colored beak and feet. "Most honorable sir" (to the alcalde), "most
holy priests, Christians, brethren in Jesus Christ!"
Here he made a solemn pause as again he swept his gaze over the congregation, with whose attention and
concentration he seemed satisfied.
"The first part of the sermon is to be in Spanish and the other in Tagalog; loquebantur omnes linguas."
After the salutations and the pause he extended his right hand majestically toward the altar, at the same time
fixing his gaze on the alcalde. He slowly crossed his arms without uttering a word, then suddenly passing
from calmness to action, threw back his head and made a sign toward the main door, sawing the air with his
open hand so forcibly that the sacristans interpreted the gesture as a command and closed the doors. The
alferez became uneasy, doubting whether he should go or stay, when the preacher began in a strong voice, full
and sonorous; truly his old housekeeper was skilled in medicine.
"Radiant and resplendent is the altar, wide is the great door, the air is the vehicle of the holy and divine words
that will spring from my mouth! Hear ye then with the ears of your souls and hearts that the words of the Lord
may not fall on the stony soil where the birds of Hell may consume them, but that ye may grow and flourish
as holy seed in the field of our venerable and seraphic father, St. Francis! O ye great sinners, captives of the
Moros of the soul that infest the sea of eternal life in the powerful craft of the flesh and the world, ye who are
laden with the fetters of lust and avarice, and who toil in the galleys of the infernal Satan, look ye here with
reverent repentance upon him who saved souls from the captivity of the devil, upon the intrepid Gideon, upon
the valiant David, upon the triumphant Roland of Christianity, upon the celestial Civil Guard, more powerful
than all the Civil Guards together, now existing or to exist!" (The alferez frowned.) "Yes, señor alferez, more
valiant and powerful, he who with no other weapon than a wooden cross boldly vanquishes the eternal tulisan
of the shades and all the hosts of Lucifer, and who would have exterminated them forever, were not the spirits
immortal! This marvel of divine creation, this wonderful prodigy, is the blessed Diego of Alcala, who, if I
may avail myself of a comparison, since comparisons aid in the comprehension of incomprehensible things, as
another has said, I say then that this great saint is merely a private soldier, a steward in the powerful company
which our seraphic father, St. Francis, sends from Heaven, and to which I have the honor to belong as a
corporal or sergeant, by the grace of God!"
The "rude Indians," as the correspondent would say, caught nothing more from this paragraph than the words
"Civil Guard," "tulisan," "San Diego," and "St. Francis," so, observing the wry face of the alferez and the
bellicose gestures of the preacher, they deduced that the latter was reprehending him for not running down the
tulisanes. San Diego and St. Francis would be commissioned in this duty and justly so, as is proved by a
picture existing in the convento at Manila, representing St. Francis, by means of his girdle only, holding back
the Chinese invasion in the first years after the discovery. The devout were accordingly not a little rejoiced
and thanked God for this aid, not doubting that once the tulisanes had disappeared, St. Francis would also
destroy the Civil Guard. With redoubled attention, therefore, they listened to Padre Damaso, as he continued: