IRELAND AND ROME. ABLE AND INTERESTING DISCOURSE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 3, 15 January 1903, Page 2

IRELAND AND ROME. ABLE AND INTERESTING DISCOURSE.

By Cardinal Moban.

(Concluded.) may S^ o^spMlTJ2SrSj U8 '° r the Faith ' Yen. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, a student of this Irish College whose heroic piety and devotion to his floci no S than his dauntless confession of the Faith and fear IS '£ U W* G m V hG V™ SC " CG of the unjust tribunal and a? 1\ burn confirmed the hearts of his countrymen in tSn r o??h tM) rV ?i ; their re^ gi ° n ' and elicited S^SnirE tion of the Christian world. His sacred Cause for Beati'ication is at the present moment under consideratfo^ ?iw c <- on g™g*yons in this holy city, the See of St ietei ; and we fondly hope and pray that for the consolation and joy of our faithful people for the triumph of justice and truth, and for the glory of relieion the >ecree of the Vicar of Christ muy^ery soon Iward to affoid the consolations of religion io the sufferers for the laith. They went forth from the various colleges an 1 monasteries, not only in Italy, but in Oerm.iny and Belgium, m France and Spain-aiid I would name particular y the Iranciscans and Dominicans, who proved themselves worthy champions of the cause of Holy Church and true soldiers of the Cross, ftlav I not address to those devoted priests, seculars and regulars the words used regarding the suffering clergy of France amid the terrors of the revolution-— 'Let us strew a few flowers on the tombs of our, na.tv.s Hail ! you who were mighty in war and ought the good fight. O ! glorious Confessors of our (*oJ and llis Christ, to whom it was given not only to lu»lie\e in Him, but also to suffer for Him— you who endured so much ignominy, who, ns exiles trod the narrow way of the Cross amidst the applause of heaven and the wonder of the earth, behold me at >our toot ! How beautiful are the feet of those who were witnesses to God even unto the ends of the earth ! And jyou, who, contemning the tempest and the spelling waves, ceased not intrepidly to cast your nets • you who placed, as it were, in the fiery turnaci\ continued to bless Ood, to do good to men, to unard \our f'ock • you burning and shining lights, who, when you might no longer be as a light placed upon n < andlestiek to shine to all in the house, sought to gather as many as you might under the bushel where you <•. <*re hid-Jen, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her \> higs sacred leaven, which preserved the whole body from perversion 1 you, blessed priests, to whom the Lord gave Ihe spirit of heroic endurance in the midst of dangers— hail ! true soldiers of Christ ! Hail ' holy priests, wo-t'iy <«f double honor ' Traiso be to God, Who gave to \o<i this victory, through Christ our Lord Happy pe-seci'tion which brought you to such a reward ' Happy prisons' through which you reached the heavenly nalaces ; Happy death, which ga\t- you eternal life ! Holy Fathers glorious brothers, who now joyfully stand around the throne of the Lamb, look down from heaven and bring help to a our brethren, your flocks, your countrymen. We are still in the strife, whilst you have attained the l.appy rest. Aid us by your prayers.'

A venerable bishop. Dr. French, writes^ to his suffering countrymen from his place of exile : 'Do not fear all that man can do against you ; in the end, the day and victory wijl be yours. Fear not the power of men in this glorious trial — there be more with you than against you. The heavenly hosts are pitching their tents round about you. He that led the children of Israel out of Egypt in wonders through the Red Sea, never wants power to deliver you. Wait for His good time, for He will come.' Pope after Pope wrote similar letters of sympathy Rnd consolation and cheering hope. Take, for instance, the Apostolic Letter of Innocent XIII. ' Your sufferings (he writes) are not those of yesterday ; they are the sufferings of centuries ; your nation, renowned for sanctity, has preserved for ages the glory of the Faith, to you the eternal honor and the salvation of your souls. Therefore, suffer all things with Christian patience, knowing that the Lord will not permit anyone to be tried beyond his strentrth ; as to us, our prayers shall be unceasing for you before the throne of mercy.' Similar words of comfort and cheering hope were addressed by the successive Pontiffs to the bishops and and clergy and people of our suffering country. But this is not all. The treasury of the Holy Father was ever open to aid the Irish combatants and the Irish exiles ; and encyclical letters were again and again addressed to the Powers of Europe soliciting their aid for the Irish people suffering for their love of country and their love of the Faithi. A cry of anguish was heard through the length and breadth of the land when the Irish chieftains O'Neill and O'Donnell felt compelled to sail away from the pleasant shores of Lough Foyle. Those chieftains found a home in Rome. They rest to-day in hallowed soil on Montori. When a momentary gleam of sunshine lit up the gloom that so long had settled upon the fair plains of Erin, the cannons of St Angelo thundered forth the gladsome tidings of the victory of Benburb. The captured standards were hung up under St. Peter's cupola. The sword of Owen Roe O'Neill may still be seen at St. Isidore's. So it was throughout the whole period of the Penal Laws. The torrents of blood shed by the Irish people through love of country and of religion cemented in imperishable union Ireland and Rome, the successors of St. Peter and the hearts of the Irish race.

IV. We have arrived at the closing period of my discourse, a period that extends from the year 1800 to the Di*Gficnt> dftv. The first half of this period was a time of contention and disunion, and again of humiliation and grief of our famine-stricken people. The name of the leader of our nation in those days, Daniel O'Connell, shall ever be pronounced with a blessing by Erin's sons. Like the leader of the chosen people of old, he was destined to come within sight of the Promised Land ; he lived to see, though at a 'distance, marked out for the Irish race, the long-wished-for vision of peace Which he himself would not have the happiness to enjoy. His whole career may be said to be the embodiment of the unconquerable affection of )Ireland for Rome Ihe Irish people loved Rome, and though they smarted more than words can convey under the Penal Laws, they would not accept emancipation from those laws so long as it was proposed, as a condition, to lessen in any way 'the free exercise of the spiritual authority of the Holy Seemitj relation to the Irish Church. The last act of O Connell waa to enter on a pilgrimage to this city. His dying words are inscribed on the beautiful monument erected to his memory in the venerable church at whose threshold we arT assembled : ' I bequeath my soul to God, my body to Ireland, and my heart to Rome ' and his noble heart, enshrined in St. Acratha's, under the watchful guardianship of Erin's sons, is an abiding pledge that so long as time shall last, come weal, come woe the Church of Ireland shall not be wanting in filial affection for the source whence the blessings of the * aitn have come to her, and shall be faithful to the exhortation of her apostle : 'As you are Christians, so be yo Chll lS e the f second" half of the nineteenth century must wo not recognise that the 700 years foretold by fat. Malachv had run their course, and that his cheering words of prophecy have begun to bo fulfilled? Towards the middle of the century the first silvery streaks of the coming dawn appeared on the hills of Erin ; gradually the sacred light has gone on, slowly but surely intensifying in splendor and do we not see to-day the fair valleys of our native land flooded with the gladsome spiritual rays of meridian sunshine ? Beyond all precedent in history, Religion has been Clothed with Glory inHher progress amongst us. Who will number the edifices of piety which have been erected or adorned, the schools that have been multiplied the institutions of benificence and charity that have been organised? And who is there that can fail to recognise that all these countless trophies of religion are the outcome of the ardent piety, the invincible devotedness, end the boundless jrenerosity of a most faithful people ? * We see great material progress in many countries of Europe at the present day. The illustrious Archbishop

of Dublin— to whose unwearying kindness I have been so much indebted during my recent pilgrimage in Ireland, remarked, whilst blessing the foundation of a new church at Glasnevin a few days ago, that in several cities of the Continent which he had lately visited, money was poured out without stint ' in the construction and ornamentation of new streets and thoroughfares, and in the building of stately palaces, legislative chambers, town halls, museums, and theatres— all upon a scale of magnificence unknown, we may safely say, even in wealthy England. But, side by side with all this, is to be witnessed unmistakeable evidence of the absence of all thought for the one thing necessary.' No one will ever dream of harboring the suspicion that any such fault is to be found with our Irish faithful people. No matter to what extent prosperity may smile on their humble homesteads, as a rule, piety is sure to keep pace with such prosperity, and hence it is that the material monuments of religion and charity that deck the land are so many triumphs of a nation's faith. And throughout this period no Church of Christendom has been more closely Linked with Rome in fondest affection than the sons of St. Patrick. Some of the first great meetings that recorded solemn protests against Sardinian aggression in the Papal States were held in Ireland. Many brave volunteers quitted their tranquil homes on her green hill-sides to enrol themselves among the Soldiers of the Cross in Rome. When there was question of reviving Peter's- Pence as an offering of filial piety to the Chief Pastor of the flock, no offerings were more generous or more constant than those that came from the devoted sons of Erin. And when pilgrims from distant lands hastened to this centre of religion to lay at the feet of the Sovereign Pontiff the testimony of their fealty and devotion, has not Ireland held her own ? The venerated ObJate Father whose zeal and thoughtfulness organised the present pilgrimage has already been engaged in half a dozen such sacred enterprises. His heart must have been filled with consolation to-day at the complete success which has crowned his latest toil. The Irish pilgrims, by; the! order and; decorum which they everywhere observed, no less than by their fervor of piety and their earnestness of devotion, have reflected credit on their country and elicited the admiration even of unfriendly critics. Tt is not too much to say that no more representative body of pilgrims has as yet laid the offerings of their filial affection at the feet of his Holiness than those who had the privilege this morning of receiving the paternal blessing of Leo XIII. : and I am confident that no pilgrims from any Catholic land have been embraced with more paternal affection, or welcomed with more sincere enthusiasm, than were our pilgrim sons of St Patrick. I fear that I have trespassed too long upon your kind attention. Yet I have barely touched on A few Details that might serve to illustrate the interesting subject which we have been considering. It is a subject with which. you are all familiar, and I rely upon your learning and experience to supply what may be wanting in my words. When beginning my discourse, I cited a pasRape from a learned work of the Hon. Colin Lindsay. With another passage from the same distinguished English writer I will bring these remarks to a close. ' Ireland,' he says, ' renowned in her ancient history, glorious during centuries of persecution, has, without doubt, A Splendid Future. She has not decayed by time, nor has she been demoralised by suffering ; she is like the Church, still young and vigorous, possessing within her a soul which no human power can break. Even now she has a vast moral empire, for her people are spreading everywhere, carrying with them their religion, their morality, and their virtues. She is furnishing witnesses of the Truth of God in every city of England and Scotland, in the great cities of American and Australian civilisation, and even on the Continent she is not unrepresented. When the apostacy of Europe is consummated, the children of St. Patrick will be lights shining in dark places, cheering the faithful remnants, encouraging the disconsolate, attracting to themselves the weary wayfarer and the benighted traveller who had for a long time lost themselves in the labyrinths of doubt and unbelief, struggling in the mire of abomination and wickedness. It seems, then, that, in these last days, Ireland and the Irish are the people especially chosen by God to fight the good fight of Faith against the infernal powers of hell ; and let them take courage with the thought that their fidelity to the Faith is a pledge of their future glory, and that their patience in the school of suffering, through which they have now nearly passed, has been their earthly purgatory, to fit them for the work for which Ireland seems destined by Almighty God.' The lecture concluded thus amidst prolonged applause. A vote of thanks, passed by acclamation, on the motion of Sir Thomas Grattan Esmonde and the Right Rev. Dr. McSherry, brought the proceedings to a close.

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