MAYNOOTH MISSION TO CHINA

New Zealand Tablet, 17 July 1919, Page 11

MAYNOOTH MISSION TO CHINA

v :- v The following letter to his Grace Archbishop Red- ; wood from Father Blowick will be read with interest by all Catholics. May it inspire them to help in the great apostolic work at least by their prayers; St. Columban’s College, Dalgan Park, Galway," ■ r | May 21, 1919. My Lord. Archbishop, I. have .just received your Grace’s extremely kind and fatherly letter, enclosing draft of £2O for the Irish Mission League. I cannot express to your Grace the emotions* of. veneration which filled me as I read that short, pregnant letter. All I can do is to promise you that I shall remember you in my daily Mass and in my poor prayers; that is all the • recompense that I have to offer, but the goodness of God has placed this wonderful means of gratitude in the hands of the lowliest of His priests. ■ I have applied to Propaganda and the Sacred Penitentiary for. privileges for priest members of the League, and I have just had an extremely nice letter from the private secretary of his Eminence, Cardinal van Possum. His Eminence is anxious to erect in Ireland the Pia Unio Cleri pro Missiohibus; in which he takes a very deep personal interest, and I think that such a step will do much for Ireland. I have done my best to explain to his Eminence the wonderful possibilities of our little country for the Missions. The war, so far from having injured the spirituality of our people, has increased it. We are really living in a new age here the ideals of the youth and maidenhood of the country have been wonderfully elevated, and the chief desire of young men now is hard work for God, especially in the poor, forgotten mission fields. There is a superabundance of vocations to the priesthood, and the cream of them are applying to us for admission. We have begun in Ireland what we call the Students’ Mission Crusade, the object of which is to familiarise all Catholic studentsecclesiastical and lay, boys and —with the needs of the pagan missions and with the nature of the vocation to labor among the pagans. Next month we are having a congress of the representatives (staffs and students) of all our Catholic colleges and seminaries here and we are inviting the presence of the Holy Ghost Fathers and the Fathers of the African Missions so that we may all put before the coming generation of Irish boys the great question of the missions. I have a sort of vision of Ireland becoming again a missionary countrya vision of large missionary colleges in the country —and I think the dream will come true, not, perhaps, in our time, but maybe after we are gone. To give your Grace an idea of the manner in which the country is taking up our ideas I have only to mention that we receive through the post £12,000 a year, and that we have now applications from 256 students for admission to our college. Of this number; of course many are quite unsuitable, but' the vast majority are excellent boys and come of grand old Catholic families. May God direct the minds of our best into this great field. There are more than enough for all the missions combined, and with God’s help; we mean to assist the other missionary bodies as much as ever we can.' ‘May I ask your Grace for an occasional prayer for us and for our country that she may step into the line and give her best blood for God in the abandoned corners of His vineyard. I have the honor to remain, ...:. -.- Your Grace’s devoted servant in Christ, James Blowick.