LETTER FRAGMENTS, FR. ALCINA TO THE JESUIT SUPERIOR GENERAL, JULY, 1674
By Isabel Cristina Legarda
I believe I am not long for this world.
I have learned, Father Oliva, much about faith.
Belief in the absurd is easy.
Even Tertullian wrote of Christ’s rising
certum est quia impossibile.
But to teach, to write, to hope
that we have done good with our lives,
when our words and acts leave us
and enter a void—these take more faith.
Real Presence is easier.
More than forty years
I have lived with my beloved Visayans,
listening to their secret tears,
their sins, their fears, christening infants
that would bring a smile to even the gruffest
among us, burying their dead. Even in sorrow
they are full of joy.
There were days when hard-headedness
or petty complaints would make me want
to bang my head on the bell tower.
Nevertheless, they are glorious,
and I love them all.
How can I know if it is enough?
I suppose, Father Oliva, we can never know.
The night is falling. The day is almost over.
I pray for the Lord’s blessing upon you.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam—
Francisco Ignacio Alcina.
Isabel Cristina Legarda was born in the Philippines and spent her early childhood there before moving to Bethesda, Maryland. She holds degrees in literature, medicine, and bioethics and is currently a practicing physician in Boston. She writes fiction, poetry, and essays. Her work has appeared in America magazine, the New York Quarterly, Cleaver, Smartish Pace, and many other publications.
This poem was first published in Beyond the Galleons, which was released by Yellow Arrow Publishing on April 5, 2024. You can purchase a copy here.
