0. General Information
Dear readers,
'Dominican Missions And Martyrs In Japan' by Bertrand A. Wilberforce was published in 1897. It gives an account of the foil or setback of the missionary work in Japan where a large number of Christians were killed cruelly.
This book has been digitalized and made available on Archive.org. The scanning process resulted in many strange characters, spelling errors, poor quality pictures, and other problems in the file. I have tried to correct as many errors as I could find, but you may still find other issues occasionally. I hope you'll accept the imperfections but still find value in reading this story.
The title image on this website is taken from http://openclipart.org/detail/177489/holy-communion-by-ictusgpr-177489.
K. C. Lee
Mobile Story Enthusiast
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Notice
|N obedience to the command of Urban VIII., I declare that in giving the title of Saint or Blessed to any one not canonized or beatified by the Church, it is meant only according to the opinion of men, and that if any miraculous work or gift is ascribed to any servant of God, and not approved by the Holy See, I claim nothing more than the belief due to common history.
THIS LITTLE RECORD
OF THE
Lives and Sufferings of Her Servants
IS LAID AT THR FEET OF
OUR LADY
OF THE HOLY ROSARY
Preface
AMONG the many and wonderful creations of the Catholic Church, the Order of Friars Preachers has a character peculiar to itself. The Orders of S. Benedict and of S. Francis have thrown out many various off-shoots from the old stem : the Order of S. Dominic has continued always compact and selfcontained. For six hundred years it has retained its unity. This fidelity to its original type is not, however, from a lifeless sterility, but from the singfular precision in its discipline and its traditions. It has been eminent both in the Schools and in the Missions of the Church. It has a multitude of saints, of doctors and of martyrs. In one only century, we are told in this book, that is from 1234 to 1334, *3>370 of its members received the crown of martyrdom. The following pages are intended to record its missions in Japan alone. No country of modern times, except Corea, has so cruelly shed the blood of those who brought to it the tidings of peace. In 1640, when the Portuguese ambassadors were massacred at Nagasaki, their remains were sent back to Macao with this inscription : " As long as the sun continues to shine on the earth, let no Christian dare to enter Japan, and let every one understand that if the King of Spain himself, or the God of the Christians, or even the great Zaca (one of the principal deities of Japan) should violate this law, they shall be punished with death." Japan has kept its word. Persecution has never relented whensoever Christians have been found. These cruelties have been instigated sometimes by the English, sometimes by the Dutch. It is curious to read the same accusations of treason against the supremacy of the civil power and of harbouring priests in Japan as our own history records. Of the tortures endured by these true Apostles of Jesus Christ it is hard to form any adequate conception. In the Great Martyrdom, five-and-twenty were burnt at the stake, and thirtythree were beheaded. At another time we read of those who were for sixteen hours burning in the fire, or three days lingering on the cross; of children of four and of three years of age, of infants carried to martyrdom in their mothers' arms. These glorious annals read like a description of the first Christians in the Gardens of Nero. There is something touching and beautiful to find mingled with the priests and apostles of the Church the poor native men and women, members of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, who went to martyrdom, their beads in their hands, with the invocation, " Queen of the Holy Rosary, pray for us." So deeply had the faith penetrated among the people that 37,000 natives rose in arms in 1638 to defend their religion. Though overwhelmed and cut down, the faith lived on in secret; and in our day thousands have been found who, without pastors or sacraments, have handed on their belief inviolate, with its three sure tests --- the authority of Rome, the celibacy of t\ Priesthood, the loving veneration of t\ Mother of God. This beautiful little boo gives a noble picture of the supernatur£ power, unity, and authority of the Churct In these sharp conflicts are to be seen sid by side the sons of S. Augustine, of S Francis, S. Dominic, and S. Ignatius, la bouring together and mingling their blooc in one stream for the love of the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. Truly Japan is the mother of martyrs, and Father Francis Morales spoke with the spirit of his crucified Lord when, thirsting for martyrdom, he cried out, " O my brethren, how beautiful is the land of Japan ! " May God pour out upon us here in England the same spirit of love and of sacrifice, of missionary zeal, fortitude and self-oblation, for the sake of England and of the nations without God in the world.
HENRY EDWARD,
Archbishep of Westminster,
Feast of S. Mark, 1869.