THE STORY OF EPIFANIO
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Epifanio at age 20 (1973) (photo at right)
1. THE SPECIAL NIGHT
In the year 1971 I traveled to central Mexico, to join a recently founded religious congregation. At that time the Superior wanted us to renew our permission to stay in Mexico every six months, and in order to do so, we had to travel to the border.For this reason, in March of 1974 I was at the Mexican border, for a few days, in Juarez, state of Chihuahua (next to El Paso, Texas).
One night I walked into a small cafe, named "Cafe Mexico," and ordered a cup of coffee. There were several soldiers at other tables, and some standing in the background, all wearing green uniforms. I saw two soldiers sitting at a table and decided to go to it. So I walked over to them, sat down, and we started talking.
We talked about several subjects... I cannot remember exactly what they were, it was so many years ago. Then suddenly one of them got up and walked out of the cafe.
The other soldier and myself were sitting there for about 30 seconds, without saying anything.
He was short of stature, thin, with a plain-looking face, and dark-colored skin.
He was looking down at the table. Then he raised his face, looked up at me and said, very shyly:
"Yo me llamo Epifanio."
("I am named Epifanio.")
Then I answered and said that means manifestation.
Then he continued and said that ever since the age of 16 he had felt alone, and had felt that God was preparing something special for him, but that nothing had happened so far and that often he was sad. And he concluded his short discourse with this phrase:
"Y ahora esto."
(And now this.)
He was 20 years old, but his voice and manner of acting were almost that of a child. (He was the most innocent person I have ever known. Not even God could create another person exactly like him.)
So because of his childlike way of thinking, he thought that something special was going to happen very soon, because this was the first occasion in his life that he had ever met someone from the United States, with a foreign accent and foreign-looking face, who got into unusual conversations.
We talked a little more, and then left, and I took him to where I was staying and we ate a small meal together. He told me he was a Mazahua Indian (pronounced ma-sa-wa), and that he had been born near Toluca, Mexico. He did not speak Mazahua fluently, but when he was a boy he knew people who lived near him who did. He also told me that the word Toluca meant "the place where the gods meet."
His complete name was Epifanio Tapia Quintana. (Tapia: father's last name. Quintana: mother's last name. In Latin America both the father's and mother's name are used in one's own name.)
He also mentioned that a few years before he had fallen in love with a young lady, but was sad because she never loved him in return. He also mentioned that he had stopped communicating with his parents because of something that had happened. He never mentioned having brothers or sisters. I never found out about them until many years afterwards. Then I learned more details about all this. At the end he thanked me and left. It was about 10 p.m.
Because of the way he acted, moved and spoke, I was more than ever convinced that he was the most innocent person I had ever met, and that we were predestined to be together in the future.
2. THE PERIOD OF WAITING
To understand this period, some facts should be made known. The congregation of Franciscan Minims of the Perpetual Help of Mary was founded by the Mexican Portavoz (messenger), Maria Concepcion Zuniga, a mystic who received revelations, and some of them had already been published in Spanish and English and other languages. Most of the persons who joined in those years, (1969--1975) joined because of the revelations, including myself.
So we lived in an atmosphere of thinking about and studying prophecies and revelations, and hoping for their fulfillment.
So it was inevitable that I thought of Epifanio's future in connection with all that, and even that perhaps he would be a religious of our congregation, especially when he himself said that he thought God had something special for his future.
Many years passed, and there was no news of him. I did not have his old address. At that time the population of Mexico was about 70 million. To find one person amid all that multitude was nearly impossible. I could do nothing but pray and wait.
In summer of the year 1989 I was almost in a state of panic. So many years had gone by and I had no news about him and no way whatsoever to communicate with him. So I started offering special petitions in my prayers, asking God to shorten these times for myself and one other person. I did not even specify the other person. (Besides Epifanio, there were a few acquaintances of mine from the year 1969 that I wanted to help, but could not communicate with them.) So I asked God to please help me to find them and communicate with them.
The answer to my petitions finally came in September 1989, in a totally unexpected way.
3. THE ANSWER
Finally the day arrived, Sept. 16, 1989. (In Mexico it is Independence Day, the equivalent of the 4th of July in the USA, and it also happens to be my birthday.) At about 5 p.m. Epifanio's sister, Maria Luisa, rang our doorbell. (I did not even know that he had a sister.) I happened to ask her what was her last name, and noticed it was the same as Epifanio's. Then I asked her if she had a brother named Epifanio. She answered yes, and then I obtained information from her. He was living in Juarez, Chihuahua. She did not have his address, but with the information she gave me, within about a week I obtained it, and wrote him a letter. (Later I found out it was never delivered, because that section of Juarez did not have regular postal service.) Two months passed, and there was no answer. So I started to make arrangements to travel to Juarez to see him in person.
4. THE VISIT
When I was traveling to Juarez, I thought I would find the same innocent person I had known 15 years before. But much can happen in 15 years. People change. I could not faintly imagine the shocking surprise that was in store for me.
I went to the address I had, and found a man in front of the house washing his car, named Guadalupe Medrano. He told me that Epifanio no longer lived there, but lived with his brother Isidro, in another part of the city. He offered to take me there.
So we went in his car to the part of the city where they lived. Epifanio came out of the house, walked toward me and said: "You have changed." We had both changed, physically, because we were 15 years older than before, also because I had grown a beard. Then we went into the house and talked for about half an hour.
He did not tell me much about what had happened in the past, but I could guess that something had gone wrong.
Then Guadalupe drove me back to his house and offered to let me stay there during my visit to Juarez.
Guadalupe was a close acquaintance of Epifanio's, and during the next few days I learned from him the sad story of what had happened during those years.
When I first became acquainted with him he had just joined the army. But many of the soldiers were vicious, and from them he learned two vices: heavy drinking and women.
Guadalupe told me that Epifanio was ill with hyperthyroidism (a disease of the thyroid gland) and that the cause of his illness was heavy drinking. In fact Epifanio had almost turned into an alcoholic.
One of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism is exophthalmia (eyes protruding from the sockets); because of his vice Epifanio was sick, and had an ugly face and eyes. At that time he was still thin, but a few years later became fat, because of the malfunction of the thyroid gland.
Within those days I became totally disillusioned and almost in a state of emotional shock. The future had turned out in a way just the opposite of what I had desired for so many years. I even made the resolution of just returning to Mexico City and forgetting that such a person ever existed.
Epifanio could sense this (although I did not tell anyone) because of my reserved way of acting. Just before we left, he said: "Que debo hacer?" (What should I do?) but I did not answer.
5. THE AFTERMATH
When I came back to Mexico City I tried to recover from my shock, and started thinking of everything that had happened during all those years. I remembered how Father Damian had cared for the lepers in Hawaii, even though they were so ugly physically. Their ugliness was no obstacle to his caring for them, even as if they had been his own children.
I realized it was not Epifanio's fault if he had acquired vices. Considering his weakness and the circumstances, it was inevitable that he fell; it was not his fault.
So the conclusion of all this was that we could still be friends. Also another fact that impressed me was that he was still humble: only a humble person would ask such a question as he did when we took leave of each other.
So in January of 1990 I wrote him a letter, exhorting him to try to improve his life and saying that we could still be friends. In May of 1990 I was able to visit him a second time (this time I could not be surprised, because I already knew the sad truth.) During this visit I arranged for him to go to confession, and that night we stayed at the house of Guadalupe, and Epifanio was so happy: he spoke all the words he knew in Mazahua, about eleven, something that he does only when he is excited or very happy.
During this second visit I also learned more facts about the past; Guadalupe told me that Epifanio's father had treated him and his mother, Isidra Quintana, with cruelty: he had had a very sad childhood.
Epifanio told me that the young lady with whom he had fallen in love was named Angelica Martinez. Guadalupe had known her: they had all been in the same high school. Guadalupe told me that when Epifanio first fell in love with Angelica, it was so intense that he even became physically ill with love. Angelica lived in Matamoros and was still single. She had no intention of marrying Epifanio or anyone else.
All of Epifanio's brothers and sisters are married and have children. He is the only one who did not marry. If Epifanio could do what he wanted, he would marry Angelica tomorrow. But that is not possible. His desires (and mine) were innocent enough, but destiny had blocked their fulfillment.
6. FROM 1992 UNTIL THE PRESENT
In the first part of our narrative we related some of the main events of Epifanio's life from when he was 21 until my two visits to Juarez in 1989-90. Also one fact of his past life is that he was the most intelligent pupil in his class in elementary school, and for that reason was selected to attend a special high school in Matamoros (near Brownsville, Texas). It was there he met Guadalupe Medrano and Angelica Martinez.
After my second visit to Juarez in 1990 we stopped communicating for a few years. (He does not write many letters. The only time he writes me is usually at Christmas, with a card and just a few lines.) But at that time he was working at a company where he could make free long distance calls, and he phoned me several times.
The first time he visited our monastery was in 1992. He visited again in 1995, and I even thought he might have a vocation to join us at that time, but because of his health problems and for other reasons he did not.
He visited us again in 1997, 1998 and once in June of 2000.
During his visit in 1997 he arrived on Dec. 10, just two days before Dec. 12, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (We live near the Basilica of Guadalupe in the north part of Mexico City, the most famous church in Latin America, and on Dec. 12, anniversary of the apparitions of Mary to Juan Diego, there are thousands of visitors from all parts of Mexico and other nations.) Once he gave me a short book about Juan Diego (Speaking Eagle), and we both admire him, considering that he is probably the most favored Indian who ever lived, in view of the extraordinary privilege he received in 1531.
Maria Luisa visits me from time to time and talks about her children, husband, cousins and other acquaintances. In January of this year one of her cousins came to see me and happened to mention that Epifanio was staying with his brother Venancio, at San Andres (near Toluca) where he was born. Venancio, the youngest son of the family, inherited the ranch and is now married and has a few children.
She did not know how long he was going to stay there, or when he was going to return to Juarez. I thought that he would see either Maria Luisa or myself, before he returned to Juarez. But at Easter time there was no news at all. So I decided to go to San Andres the week after Easter. (Toluca and San Andres are close to Mexico City.) I met Venancio and his family and stayed for a short visit. But Epifanio had already returned to Juarez in the first week of February.
What afflicted me was the fact that he did not go to see anyone at all on his way back to Juarez; (normally he would at least have gone to see his sister, Maria Luisa). I do not know the causes, but it might be that he feels discouraged. It is easy for the reader to understand the reason, when one considers all that has been narrated in this short relation. But in spite of all the misfortunes and sadness, I still hope that something special might happen in the future. "While there is life, there is hope."
THE UNKNOWN FUTURE
Probably the best way of ending this story is to write about the future. We do not know what it will be, except that prophecies will be fulfilled. We can only imagine or day-dream.
The following is a copy of a letter that I wrote last week to a casual acquaintance in the United States, who is part Cherokee and Sioux Indian.
Hello, ------,
In 1974 I met a Mazahua Indian named Epifanio. The details are given in "A Story about Epifanio."
About two weeks ago a casual acquaintance phoned me from Juarez, state of Chihuahua (near El Paso, Texas) with some sad news. Since then I was sad, and decided to write about these past events connected with Epifanio, so my acquaintances could know about it.
One of my favorite quotations is: "You can finish a story how you like."
The complete quotation is as follows: "A story is exciting because it has in it so strong an element of will, of what theology calls free-will. You cannot finish a sum how you like. But you can finish a story how you like. When somebody discovered the Differential Calculus there was only one Differential Calculus he could discover. But when Shakespeare killed Romeo he might have married him to Juliet's old nurse if he had felt inclined. And Christendom has excelled in the narrative romance, exactly because it has insisted on the theological free-will." (Chesterton, "Romance of Orthodoxy.")
Epifanio and myself have had many surprises, some of them happy, and others shocking and sorrowful. We do not know what the future will be, nor how all this will end. We cannot control how it will end. But at least we can ask God to make it end well. If he grants our petitions, then something good might happen in the future, even in the near future, maybe.
That is why at this phase of our lives Epifanio and myself are thinking mainly of God and religious concepts. Because there is probably no human being who could solve this problem (unless he is an instrument in the hands of God).
Epifanio's life has been similar to that of some other Indians, in the sense that it was sorrowful and afflicted, because of circumstances beyond their control.
I am writing all this because you are an American Indian, and you could see the similarity between Epifanio's life and that of Indians you have known or have read about.
The fact that small miracles have already occurred in our lives, gives me hope that something good might happen in the future. We can even make a formal request, petitioning for something good to happen. And the petition might be granted.
"You can finish a story how you like."
It is the most exciting quotation ever made.
Yours, ----
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May it be for the glory of God
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Story about the last days and happy end of Epifanio
In the last year of his life, Epifanio was living with his relatives in San Andres del Pedregal, near Ixtlahuaca, state of Mexico. It is a poor rural area with ranches and farms of domesticated animals. At that time I lived in Xochimilco, fairly close. A bus from there to Ixtlahuaca takes 2 hours. I visited him about once a month. He was very ill from hyperthyroidism, could walk only slowly, and was living in the small, one room house of his sister, Maria Luisa. She is married, her husband, Agustin Vera is deceased (died of diabetes) and she has two adult sons, living in other parts of Mexico.
In May 2019 I received a phone call from another of his sisters, saying that he was very ill, was breathing with difficulty and that he might die soon. So I went there and arrived at about 7:30 pm. He was in bed, could no longer speak or see, and was breathing with difficulty. He was still able to hear. I put my hand on his forehead, prayed aloud a Hail Mary, so that he would know that I was present. I was very tired from the stress and from the journey, so I slept well. There were four of us in the room, Epifanio, me, and his two sisters, Maria Cristina and Maria Luisa. At exactly 3 a.m., May 13, his sisters awakened me and said he had stopped breathing and was dead. At 4 a.m. his younger brother, Venancio, who lived nearby, arrived and they started making arrangements for the funeral and burial. At about 9 am Maria Luisa, myself and another placed Epifanio's body in a white foam coffin. Maria Luisa shed a few tears; I felt no sadness, but rather a sense of relief that now Epifanio's sufferings were ended and that he was (almost certainly) enjoying eternal happiness in paradise.
In Mexico it is the custom in some areas to use firecrackers at funerals. They are called cohetes (rockets) and are shot into the air, explode at about 100 feet and make a very loud noise. They were used at his funeral. Isidro Tapia (Epifanio's younger brother) and his wife sent a wreath of flowers from Juarez, Chihuahua, (located near the Texas border). Several people arrived and we prayed the rosary and other prayers and hymns. There was a short procession, using a truck to the cemetery that was nearby. Before the coffin was lowered into the ground Flavio, the rezandero (man or woman in charge of praying at a funeral), asked me to give a short talk. So I talked for one minute and said that Epifanio was the most innocent person I ever knew, and that it was a privilege to have known him. Then I left and returned to Xochimilco.
In the first part of the story is the quotation from G.K. Chesterton, "You can end a story the way you like." If I could have ended the story, I would have arranged for him to live a little longer, perhaps be cured of his illness and for something wonderful to happen afterwards. But the thoughts of the Lord are not our thoughts (Scripture). Since the infinite wisdom of God arranged for him to leave this world at that time and in those circumstances, that was the best possible decision, so good that no better could be made.
It is said that to suffer with patience and meekness, without any complaint, is a sign of predestination. For this reason it is nearly certain that he is among the predestinate. He had to suffer not only from his illness, but from so much else, his unrequited love for Angelica, the sufferings of his childhood, and so much else during his short existence. (66 years is short compared to eternity).
I remember that Guadalupe Medrano told me that when they all (Guadalupe, Angelica and Epifanio) attended the special high school in Matamoros, for advanced students, that Epifanio was so desperately in love with Angelica that he became physically ill. She was polite to him, but never returned his love.
Now Epifanio is among the blessed choir of the elect in paradise.
They are before the throne of God, and they serve him, day and night. They shall not hunger, nor shall they thirst anymore. For the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will rule over them, and he will lead them to the fountains of the waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
His story could not have a better ending than that.
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The Secret Revealed
The Trail of Tears
Introduction
During the 1950s Sixto, a Mazahua Indian in Mexico, married Isidra Quintana; they had eight children, the first being born in 1953. It was not a happy family; Sixto was in a bad mood nearly all the time, frequently became drunk, and sometimes even beat his wife and children. However, with all his defects, he was hard-working.
Sixto spoke his native language, but the children grew up speaking Spanish. His first son, Epifanio, was aware of the unhappy family situation; he also was mistreated by Sixto. On one occasion, when Epifanio was 18, he asked his mother, Isidra, why she simply did not leave Sixto? But she decided to keep living in the family, even though it cost her so much suffering. After that Epifanio went through a phase where he did not communicate with any of his relatives for three years.
During this period, Isidra was often worried and upset, fearing that she had lost her eldest son forever. She prayed often, and made novenas, for his return. Three years later, when he returned and she saw him, she was so happy, she burst into tears.
A Secret Kept
During those unhappy years a strange event happened to Isidra. She never told anyone about it. However, during the last two years of her life, she guessed that she had only a few years left upon earth. Therefore she decided to reveal the secret to one of her daughters. One day she arranged to be alone with Maria Luisa and told her the following.
The Secret Revealed
One day Sixto had beaten her severely in one of his drunken moods. She was recovering, alone, from the shock, hurt and humiliation. Then she saw a vision: a man clothed in white appeared to her, and took her in vision to a dark valley, where she heard the cries and screams of tormented souls. Then the man dressed in white transported her to a heavenly realm of profound peace and ineffable happiness. She wished she could have remained there forever. But her desire could not be granted. The man told her that it was the will of the Lord for her to return to the earth, so that she could teach the people about God. Then he left her, and she found herself again in her poor ranch near Toluca. The man dressed in white was Jesus Christ himself.
It was as if God had told Isidra, “Do not be afraid of your husband or saddened about your suffering. In the end everything will turn out well, all manner of thing shall be well.” In those moments Isidra learned more about the horror of being eternally separated from God, the torments of condemned souls, and the incomprehensible joy of being with Him eternally in the heavenly Jerusalem, than if she had read many books or heard sermons.
The last part of the message was a puzzle, an enigma, a riddle. Isidra was illiterate, a peasant woman with no education at all. Her religious knowledge was minimal. Being without training, she was not capable of training others. She could not possibly be considered a teacher, except in the sense that one may teach by giving a good example, and witness by the testimony of good works in silence. After this event, Isidra was seen often in the parish church, praying.
Isidra never told anyone, except Maria Luisa, about her vision. She carried her secret to the grave. Epifanio was not present when she died of cancer in 1984, but he did attend the funeral. His mother's death affected him deeply and caused a mild depression that lasted six months.
The Trail of Tears Ends in Everlasting Happiness
ISIDRA did not have much, in her pilgrimage through life, except suffering, humiliations, trials and tears. However she did receive one privilege: she was taught by Jesus Christ Himself. Her life was a confirmation of the verse of Scripture: “It is written in the prophets. And they shall all be taught of God.” (John 6:45, Isaiah 54:13). “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18) Christ made up for her poverty, her humiliations and suffering, by visiting and teaching her in person. Now she is in the city of everlasting happiness, the heavenly Jerusalem, where all prophecies are fulfilled, all promises kept: “For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17) “The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces: and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 25:8).
A few years later Sixto died. The youngest son, Venancio, inherited the ranch. It is suitable to register and record these events in writing. Tragic events sometimes demonstrate how God uses the wickedness and malice of men to effect a greater good. “But as for you, you thought evil against me: but God meant it unto good,... to save much people alive.” (Gen. 50:20) “And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God.” (Rom. 8:28) “All things:” --even what happened to Isidra and her children.
For his anger endures but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. -- Psalm 30:5
The righteous cry, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to them that are of a broken heart; and saves such as be of a contrite spirit. -- Psalm 34:17-18
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you: But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. -- 1 Peter 4:12-13
Notice. In Chapter 13 of the novel-with-a-key, Mount Zion Revisited, the character Bernardino represents Epifanio and two other men. It was necessary to do this, in order to condense a large amount of information into a small space. Epifanio is not bear-like in appearance, but the other two men are.
Map of State of Mexico, showing location of Toluca (capital) and Ixtlahuaca. The state of Mexico is near to and surrounds Mexico City on three sides.
The official name of Mexico is: United States of Mexico. There are 31 states. One of them, state of Mexico, (Estado de Mexico) has the same name as the country itself. Some names of states well-known to U.S. citizens are: state of Chihuahua (because of Chihuahua dogs), state of Tabasco (because of Tabasco sauce) and state of Baja California (because of California).
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- Map of 31 states -
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How the horrible day of the attempted suicide came to be recorded in writing
The tragic story of how Sam attempted suicide, (one year before the Portavoz' death), is in Chapter 5 of Mount Zion Revisited. This was the first chapter that was written down, in order to relieve the brother's feelings of guilt and sorrow for the horrible event.
The Portavoz of Jesus in Mexico (Maria Concepcion) besides the public messages that have already been given to the entire world, also received private messages for small groups and individuals. One of the private messages was: "Father X. should be more paternal in his way of acting. If not, there will be irreparable damage."
The somber prophecy of irreparable damage was fulfilled on that terrible day, recorded in Chapter 5. Not only Father X., but all of the brothers, were guilty. One of them had guilt feelings that lasted many years. In order to relieve them, one day, many years afterwards, he forced himself to write down the events that happened on the sinister day. The writing was intended only for him. Afterwards he thought, why not write, explaining the cause of his cruel silence? So more details were written down, about what happened, two years before the suicide attempt. Then he decided, why not write an entire book, to explain, not only that failure, but all the events connected with this debacle? Over the next six months, with the help of the Lord, he was able to write down some of the principal events that happened during those 34 years, some dreadful and sinister, others consoling, all kinds of events. They were written in the form of a novel-with-a-key, in order to conceal the names of real persons and places, to protect the good reputation of the living and deceased. It is suitable that part of these happenings should be recorded. It is not possible to conceal the fact that the Franciscan Minim brothers were a failure.
Felix qui cognoscit causas rerum. Happy is he who knows the causes of things.
If the causes are known, that might be helpful in the future. If a new foundation is made, they will know, what kind of mistakes should be avoided. Learn from the past.
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