IRELAND'S LOVE FOR MARY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 149, 10 March 1876, Page 8

IRELAND'S LOVE FOR MARY.

"One great feature in Patrick's preaching 1 was devotion to the Mother of God. Of this we have abundant proof in the numerous churches built and dedicated to God under her name. Teampoill Mhuire, or Mary's Church, became a familiar name in the Ltnd. In the far west of Ireland, where the traditions of our holy faith are still preserved, enshrine! in the purest form of our grand old Celtic language, the sweet name of the Mother of God is heard in the prayers and songs of the people, in their daily familiar converse, in the supplications of the poor, not under the title of ' our Lady,' or of ' the Blessed Virgin,' but by the still more endearing name of ' Mary Mother.' And so it was that Patrick sent his Catholic doctrines home to the hearts of the people. He preached Jesus Christ under the name by which He is still known and adored in that far western land : ' the Virgin's Son.' thus admirably insinuating the groat mystery of the Incarnation, and preaching Jesus through Mary; and Mary herself he preached, with all her" graces and glories, as ' Mary Mother.' The example of virginal purity and maternal love he made the typ^ of the Irish maiden and mother : and so well did they learn their high lesson, that they have been for ages the admiration of the world, and the glory of their ninieted country. The devotion to Mary sank deep into the heart of the nation. So well had they already learned to love and appreciate her, that, in a few years after their conversion to the faith, when they would express their love and admiration for the first great Irish virgin saint — St. Bridgid — they thought they had crow ned her with glory when they called her ' the Mary of Ireland.' This devotion to Mary was a protecting shield over Ireland in the day of her battle for the faith."— Father Burke.