I believe in miracles.

It's the second day of my short visit to the southern Philippines. After early-morning Mass in Zamboanga City and a quick boat ride across the Basilan Straits, Claretian Father Angel Calvo and I have made our way past the capital of Basilan Island, Isabela, up the mountains, past coconut and rubber plantations, to the town of Lamitan. Here we drop in unannounced on Dominican Sister Sulpicia Wate.

As we settle down for a cup of instant coffee and a slice of toast with cream cheese, Wate, the director of Claret School here, welcomes us with a warm smile and proceeds to tell us about the night of June 1, 2001: After a busy last day of school, she and the other three sisters of the convent had watched Richie Rich on cable before going to bed. Shortly before midnight, the sisters awoke from breaking windows and loud noises at the hospital across the courtyard. They suspected it might be the feared Abu Sayyaf rebels, who have been committing atrocities in the area for 13 years, and so they rushed to hide in their basement.

Soon someone banged on their gate, "Sister, open the gate!" A neighbor, an Abu Sayyaf sympathizer, jumped over the wall, opened the gate, and then the rebels broke down the front door of the convent. The intruders searched the house for the sisters, whom they wanted to add to the group of hostages they had already abducted five days earlier. But with the entrance to their basement room hidden from view, the four sisters stayed undetected.

Eventually they crawled out of a small window, tip-toed across their back patio, climbed a tall fence behind their outhouse, and jumped into another neighbor's yard. The other sisters made it over to the house, but Wate, who had sprained her ankle, had to cower between a bush and the convent wall as the rebels exchanged gunfire with the military. In the morning she finally was able to make her escape to the neighbor's house. "Now I believe in miracles," says Wate.

Despite this harrowing experience, Wate, like so many other dedicated church folks in this conflict area, has chosen to stay in the community to continue her ministry here. Visiting both Christians and Muslims active in peace, justice, and reconciliation work in this strife-torn part of the Philippines (see "Love your enemies" on pages 30-35) has given me new hope and great admiration and respect for their uphill struggle and their faith-filled commitment.

This issue of U.S. CATHOLIC brings you the second-to-last article (we have one more pending) from one of our longest-serving freelance contributors, Bob Reilly of Omaha. Reilly died in April at age 81, only six weeks after the death of his beloved wife, Jean. Longtime U.S. CATHOLIC readers will especially remember his moving piece in our September 2002 issue about caring for Jean, who had Alzheimer's disease. It was an honor to feature Bob's writing in our pages, and we will miss him very much.