A destitute man and wife find their way to God in a Filipino slum.
By Sr. Mercedes Ventenilla

It began when I was new in the squatters’ area in San Juan, Philippines, trying to establish relationships with older people, the focus of my ministry, by visiting more with each of them.

Columbans Father Eamonn Byrne and Sr. Mercedes Ventenilla baptized Pepe
in a Columban Sisters’ chapel.

There I found an old woman in dirty clothes lying on the lower part of a bunk bed covered with dirty linens. The room was small and untidy with a littered dirt floor. The woman could not talk because she had suffered a stroke,but I kept talking to her and soon, a man with one blind eye appeared. He was her husband, Pepe, and I was told the woman’s name was Dina.

The Gift Of Sacraments
That started my regular visits and beautiful friendship with Dina. Both Dina and Pepe needed medical attention. Since all their children except the eldest were jobless, I took them to a hospital for a medical checkup and bought the prescribed medications before taking them home. To this day I take responsibility for the entire family’s medications, vitamins and food.

During one visit, I discovered that Dina and Pepe were married only under civil law. Dina wanted to receive reconciliation. I cannot remember if I had told the priest performing reconciliation of their marriage status, but it was a happy oversight.

Since Dina could not talk, the priest read aloud the list of sins any human being could possibly commit, and Dina nodded if she committed the particular sin mentioned. It was a long process, but the priest had the patience of Job and he gave her Holy Communion and anointing of the sick.

That might have led Pepe to think about his own relationship with God. He soon revealed that he was not sure if he was baptized or that he might have been baptized in the Aglipayan Church, a Filipino Catholic offshoot that does not recognize the authority of the Holy Father. My research could not turn up his baptismal record. So I asked him if he would like to have conditional baptism.

After I explained conditional baptism, he was delighted, so we made arrangements for his preparation a little at a time. I gave Pepe simple books on our Catholic faith to re-enforce my “mini-lectures.” The preparation took months. Finally, I asked if he was ready. He enthusiastically responded that he was.

Fortunately, Columban Father Eamonn Byrne was visiting our convent. He said we could hold a private and simple baptism in our chapel. I prepared everything, including Pepe’s gifts.

Second Thoughts
But as we were waiting for Father, Pepe was backing out! In a dream the night before, he saw his parents angry with him. He took that as a sign that his parents, who were probably Aglipayans, did not want him baptized.

I was so in shock I kept quiet for a while and asked God for guidance in what to do or say. I took Pepe to our chapel, said a little prayer with him, and I expounded to him about dreams and how to work with them in a way that he could understand.

I added that maybe God allowed him to have this struggle so he would appreciate what he was about to receive. I left him to talk with Jesus in the chapel and told him to listen to what Jesus would tell him without words. I stayed at the back and prayed as I have never prayed before.

After about 15 minutes, he said he would like to be baptized. I felt that I, too, went through the battle between good and evil and felt God’s power giving the battle a happy ending.

So the conditional baptism took place at the back of our convent chapel as arranged. Besides me serving as his godmother, only Columban Sister Margaret Devine, who knew Dina and Pepe, was in attendance.

After the baptism, Sister Margaret took the three of us for a treat in downtown San Juan. Pepe was happy going home. Not only was he a new man, but we had bought food for his family so they, too, could join the celebration.