Jaime Hilario Barbal

By: Cyrel Ongue

(Manuel Barbal Cosan) was born in Enviny (Lerida) on 2 January 1889. A hearing problem
prevented him from becoming a priest, so he sought admission to the Brothers of the Christian
Schools. He began his apostolate in 1918; despite difficulties he proved a good teacher, but as his
illness advanced he had to be content with working in the garden. After working in France for a
while, he returned to Spain and devoted himself to manual labour and to fostering vocations. He
was arrested at Mollerusa in December 1936 and interned on the prison ship Mahon.

A show trial condemned him to death and he was shot on

16 January 1937. The squad was three metres away, but at
the first salvo no bullet hit him. After the second salvo the
brother was still standing. The terrified militiamen
dispersed, while their leader, blaspheming, discharged his
pistol at the brother's temple. His dying words were: "My
friends, to die for Christ is to reign!".

MY REFLECTION

I choose this saint because he inspires me to strive hard in

my studies. Despite of the difficulties in his life, he proved
others that he can achieve to become a good teacher. He
also motivates me to become industrious and a good son in
my family. Even if he was condemned to death because of
his faith to God he didn’t hesitate to deny God. He insisted
on his identity as a religious and not a gardener. He was not afraid of the consequences he can
get on professing his faith in God. That’s why I choose him because even how the situation is, he
will always profess his faith in God. He didn’t stop serving people even if he had a hearing
difficulty but when it worsens he was forced to abandon the classroom and work in the garden.
He gave us a lot of ideas of being an industrious and dedicated to our passion are most important.
This saint affects my life to be a strong person and to do what is the right thing to do. Even how
life challenges us we must fight those hindrances that we’ve encounter. As I can apply the values
of Saint Jaime I will be responsible of my duties as a student. I must strive hard to achieve my
goals and passion in life. As a saying goes by “When life knocks you down, stand a hundred
times.” In this quote I can really say that we have many challenges in life like Saint Barbal but he
didn’t lose his faith in God. Especially, when he was condemned to death because for him “To
die to Christ is to reign!”. That is why Saint Barbal encourages and inspires me to become how
he value God in his life. It really had a big impact for me because it brings me closer to God and
to communicate with God. I can learn lots of values and life changing experiences of Saint
Barbal. That is I choose him because he sets to be a good example to us.