ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

Southland Times, Issue 2088, 19 March 1875, Page 2

ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

Wednesday, Jhe _fth iDitatnt f 7]bem.>| thesaf%ar TBxMiienei of Ireland^patroa J? sastfc, StHPalmck, it was ol?seW"-»5^ Irisb R&han fratholiSslresiden-; g|lpvs-g cargill an iac&rdanceTwith the^JustoiMN of thjnejr; and 'I^(i%^<^paatdrv of St. Maisa&c»ie~ brated mass in'St; Mary'a Chapel in the forenoon. The members of the Inver-cargill-braneh of-the Hiberniaa-Aurtw->lian Catholic- -Benefit' Society, assembled at their lodge'/ in donned the beautiful green and^gold "regalia of their order, 'awL] beaded by their President, Mr J. Maher, they proceeded to attend mass at St. Mary's. In the evening Father Higgins delivered a panegyric on St. Patrick. The chapel was well filled. After devotions the. reverend Father proceeded, in- a clear,' distinct voice, aud most pleasing to I give a succinct, Comprehensive 1 history of I the life and labors of Ireland's' great patron saint. Not only in Ireland, bub in all countries' where Irishmen were to be found, St. Patrick's l Day iwasjmade a day of rejoicing by the Irish Church. . And \yhy ? Because that saint was the Apostle of Ireland, and it was good that his pure and holy life should be- kept before the people as an example .and, an object of veneration. " St. Patrick was born in the year 390, in Brittany most likely, for though some claimed that he • was born in ! Scotland, and some inhales, yet, Brittany, w,as, almost^^ondjdojflbt, tne' l'afid ' 6f'-_i_ riativity^oiiceSin^Jihe locality of, which there was, by the way, nearly as many , disputes as there were about the birthplace of Homer, the father of Greek poetry. His : faitbet was a citizen of the Eoman Empire. In his sixteenth year, St. Patrick, with many others, was made a prisoner of war* by! a band of marauding-Norsemen, who were then, and afterwards, in the habit of making hostile .descents on the coasts of Britain and France. Calling in at Ireland, the Norsemen sold St. Patrick as a slave to Milcho, a large flockowner on the coast of Antrim. Milcho sent the young inantotend his sheep ; and oxen on the hills. During his captivity he became acquainted with the language and manners of the people of Ireland, and also, no doubt, and perhaps for the first time, with the spirit of prayer. Doubtless he thought his captivity a hard thing; but how God turned it to account I It was often so with the common afflictions of life. It had always 1 been so with the Irish people and their adherence to that faith to which they had been first brought by St. Patrick. The more their domestic ahd political troubles and persecutions—things in themselves bitter and ill to . bear— the more did they increase in fidelity to tbe Church and Q-od. In the year 406, Sfc. Patrick was made a prisoner of war and conveyed to Ireland, from which country he escaped in 412, and returned to his native land. It was stated in the Boman Breviary that he was taken a second time into captivity. On his return to his own country he i'elfc called to the Church, and studied theology under Sfc. Martin, Bishop of Tours, and Canon Law. under St. G-ermanius, Bishop of Osser. He remained at home till 420, and afterwards travelled as a missionary priest in France, Italy, and Spain, having all the time a great desire to go and preach the Gospel to the Irish, amongst whom he had spent six years of captivity. He sympathised with the Irish, who were in a state of Pagan darkness, and it was said that he was called in visions to go and convert fchera. With this view he went to Koine about the year 430, bearing letters of recommendation from the Bishop of Osser to Pope Celestine, who ordained him a Bishop and commissioned him to preach the Faith to the Irish. This waß in the year 430 or 432. Prior to that a Bishop had been commissioned to preach to the Irish, but his mission Was a failure, and it was to St. Patrick that the Irish people were indebted for the conversion of their country. Returning to Ireland, clothed with the authority of a Bishop, St. Patrick fetched land on the coast of Wieklow, but fearing thewildness of the natives would prove, .un'pro. pitious to the beginning of his mission, he put to sea again, and landed on the coast of Down, and said his first Mass in a barn called in the native tongue " The barn of Pat." On the site of this barn the Saint erected a monastery, in which he afterwards died.. The name of the village was Saulj and its site was now occupied by the modern town of Drogheda, ou the river Boyne. Sixty miles inland from the village stood the Boyal Halls of Tara— a magnificent pile, or rather series of piles. There dwelt, the monarch of all Ireland, and 'there 'the Irish Parliament assembled. On the birthday of the monarch whose name was Leary, and when all the wealth ,and fashion of the country were assembled at Tara, Sfc. Patrick set out from the Boyne, and travelled by the northern road to the Royal seat, and whon he arrived on the hills iv sight of Tara he rested. It happened also to be the festival day pf Bael, the chief God of the Irish, who were then practicers ol' Druidism, and no fire was allowed to be kindled on that day. St. Patrick burned the Paschel fire, and this attracted the notice of the monarch and his Court. The monarch sent his men-at-arms to bring the infringer of the law before him and his druids and nobles, and St. Patrick went a willing captive. The result was that the chief druid and the Princess were converted to Christianity, and tbat the King, though he never himself became a Christian, protected St. Patrick in his work of converting the people. After having paid six visits to. Tara, and devoting all his life to preaching the Faith to the people, St. Patrick died in the monastery of Saul in the year 493. In concluding, tbe, reverend Father referred, at considerable length, to the history, practice, constitution, and indestructible vitality of the Roman Church, and in doing so he quoted, in full, Lord. Macaulay's celet brated panegyric thereof in his' essay on Von Banke _ History of tbe Popes. The

*mmmmm—mmmmm\* i m^m^mmwmmwmmmmymmm gpeaker wwats t glad, that the brilliant — .essayist had' used' the name of New ii Zealand in conjunction with that pf the Church of Rome, which was not, however, what the writer called , it, a human institution, but a divine one,; and he hoped the future of the colony would be as bright and prosperous, its vitality as indestructible, as that of the Roman Catholic Church was, and would for ever be.

Later iw the evening the members of „ , the Hibernian Australian Catholic Bene- '' fit Society gave a tea party in St. Mary's school-room, which was furnished with seats and tables, and tastefully emT bellisbed with ferns and evergreens for the occasion. Mr Daniel Kingsland provided the refreshments, which were partaken of by fully two hundred ladies and gentlemen. President Maher, supi ported by Father Higgins, occupied the chair, and amongst the guests we observed Dr Yorath, surgeon to the society. After the " tea things" were removed, wines and other liquids were placed upon the tables, and a round of toasts followed. "The health and prosperity of bis Holiness Pope Pius the Ninth" was responded to by Father Higgins, who said that a reason why Catholic assemblies should , give priority to the Pontiff's health was, that spiritual things were superior to temporal things, and that tho Divine Father being the head. 6f spiritual things on earth, the toast of his health should, as a matter of propriety, precede that of the temporal ruler, particularly in assemblies acknowledging the spiritual supremacy of the Roman Pontiff. The toast was drunk with acclamation, The toast of " Her Majesty Queen ' Victoria" was drunk with enthusiasm. Father Higgins responded. Since' the passing of the Decree of Infallibility, it had been said thac Catholics could not, if they were consistent, be loyal to their - temporal soverign ; but this was a calumnious mistake. Catholics were admittedly loyal enough before the passing of the Decree of Infallibility, and they were so still; and that Decree interfered no more with the civil allegiance of Catholics than did the transit of Venus, Mr Gladstone pd his celebrated pamphlet notwithstanding ! He used no mere idle words, and time would prove that he spoke the truth. "The Government of New Zealand," " The Roman Catholic Bishop and Clergy of the Diocese of Dunediu coupled with the name of Father Higgins," " The Invercargill Branch of the H.A.C.8.5., coupled with the name of tbe President, •Mr J. Maher," " The medical profession, coupled with the name of Dr Yorath," "The Press" and "The Ladies," were each duly proposed, honored, and responded to. Father Higgins also favored the company with the song, " Let each man learn to know himself." The room was then cleared for dancing, which was kept up till "rosy morn did appear." The utmost good order, cordiality, and courtesy prevailed throughout the whole of the proceedings.