FAIR SUNSHINE

The word having been faithfully sown at San Jose del Monte thus, I made my swift journey back to the hallowed ground of our fellowship, desiring nothing so much as to humble myself among those of like precious faith, and enjoy the true, deep solace found only in the gathering of the Lord's redeemed flock. The Lord did grant a blessed sight to welcome me, as I beheld my beloved brethren seated upon the grass communing with each other in fellowship, a scene of humble, blessed repose. My gaze was drawn instantly to the small, precious child, a mere babe, contentedly taking sustenance among the saints. Seeing this little one, so near to the heart of Christian fellowship like that child who was called by the Lord before His disciples, was a clear token of God’s abiding grace. Though I had been detained by my duty in my previous location, I felt no weariness, for my sole, continuous prayer had been this: that the LORD would prepare the hearts of those He had summoned before Him today—th...

Alas, this morning I felt the heavy drag of my own corrupted nature: timidity and the ease of excuses, cried out for anything but repose and sleep. I honestly wrestled against sloth, compelled by the holy urge to honor my Redeemer before the very souls who, on this day, are tragically immersed in the second day of their solemn observance for the departed.   In this season, the people flock in such sorrowful droves, seeking to honor the deceased with vain oblations of light and prayer. But oh, the terrible blindness! To offer inanimate candles and dead prayers for the dead—a profound vanity that wounds the very heart! Therefore, I have resolved in my spirit to seek out three places of earthly rest along my destined route: the grave sites at Santa Maria, the cemetery of Tumana, and the sacred ground of Saint Joseph, where the mortal remains of my dear wife’s father and grandmother repose. My journey led me past the first two resting places, where, perhaps by the kind arrangemen...