In the Land of the Madonna

New Zealand Tablet, Volume LII, Issue 16, 6 May 1925, Page 13

In the Land of the Madonna

(By P. McK., for /the N.Z. Tablet.)

H - [Written for the Silver Jubilee of Holy. College.]

l|£*/ -.- '■/—-./" ■•■ . - "This is indeed the, Blessed Mary's land,':/ V-/ Virgin' and Mother. of our dear Redeemer. • • When . first I read these . lines, they made a,< * '£ very.: deep impression, ■■', for they seemed v; strange Swords in the mouth of a Protestant poet. All that Longfellow, has• here said,: ■<■;•■:■ has ■ been. repeated a hundred, times by in-/ [■.*'numerable; Catholic writers, - yet the words of i ,-' the non-Catholic have remained in my mind ; when all others have been forgotten. Per- j haps 'this would explain why, when first 1 ; / caught a glimpse of Italy, the above lines recurred to my mind. - f ■-.'.': Some hold-that r "Evangeline" was inspired by mere sentiment ; but no such reason can be advanced for the singing of Our ;. Lady's praises by Longfellow, in his '.'Golden i v Legend." In this beautiful composition we ?; ./find that the above quotations are uttered by Elsie Prince Henry as, after passing ' /• through' the Alps,; they first caught sight of the plains of Lombardy. So, too, it hapf pened with the writer under similar circum- ; stances. To travel in the Alps :is to lift , : one's thoughts to Heaven. The dawn was " breaking as we began our journey through •/the final passes that lead in to Italy. ' Soon : . we had vistas of long receding valleys, with here and there the suggestion of a plain. 1 At last, after speeding around the face of a mountain, we suddenly saw a plain stretch- „: ing away to the horizon. A few minutes 1; after, we were going, down a ridge, and we 1 -v - had the country' ahead in full view. Before , making the filial descent to the plains, we - paused to gaze upon the country before us, and bid farewell to all that we had left behind. /- /; "Northwards the snow-capped Alps rose ma- ! jestically to the Heavens, their awesome sum- • mits piercing the; flaky clouds and glistening in .the sunlight. On either hand the less rugged ranges and spurs caught the many colored tints of dawn— that in their 1 diversity made a harmony of color impossible for the genius of man to depict. ; ■-. All this formed a magnificent background } for the country before us. Away on the i distant horizon sparkled the v waters of the Adriatic. Sweeping from the foothills below to the far-off sea, the rich plain of the Po |[/ formed - a picture that beggars description; [ contrasts or comparisons could not be thought of, for there, where such : - beauty abounded, ! all else was" forgotten. / . y / •" ' % *//;;t The word "Italic''spoken by a Frenchman made me suddenly realise where I was, and then: in a* flash came the ; words of "Elsie" / •%, , Land of the Madonna!; / . /

, How beautiful it is, it seems -a' gardeii;_of %v Paradise. A tremor of delight passed through /- me, for v now I stood within the desired land v—-the goal of every pilgrim's heart. s All too soon did we begin ; again. our jour- ; ney; ri but as. we moved along, ..the words of the poet; kept ringing in my ears,; and I

wondered how true they were. That truth I was to learn in the future years to be passed : in ;: Italy—the true land/of the Madonna. / Longfellow wrote in the last century, and he well knew that the devotion to Our Lady is deeply embedded in the souls of the Italians. - Protestant though he was, he knew that this devotion is not of recent .'. growth. He who had sought his greatest inspirations the melieval poets did not hesitate to ascribe .this devotion to a period when most non-Catholics;; would have us / believe ' this country was swallowed in the/depths of ignorance and ; superstition. / ■ But \ never since the. light of the Gospel illumined this land has Italy fallen into a period of darkness. At times, clouds may have '/gathered and dimmed the glory of its enlightenment, but only for a moment, for the clouds passed quickly, and the light shone forth again with fresh brilliance. " -. , The people are like their country. It has mountains, but about them is not to be found that ruggedness which distinguishes other lands. Its plains are delightful, its forests and valleys forbidding. Its sea is not rough. On one side lies the blue Mediterranean, on the other the Adriatic, and jutting "out into the waters of peace and beauty is the laud of the Madonna —Italy. jThe Italians are a Simple/People. i -";•'.'' By simple I mean that simplicity that is born of true Christianity. Their religion is childlike, enriched with a purity of faith and devotion that cannot be excelled/Perhaps it may be said that they do not reason about their faith, for it is as much to be .Catholic as to be Italian. In their faith they are natural. They love God, and in following the natural consequence they love His Mother Mary. We who have lived in an atmosphere of Protestantism can only look on and marvel —never shall we fully ) understand. • )■ C « ♦' v The Italians judge the depth of one's love for God by the devotion one shows to His Mother. So true is this, that should a man be wanting in this devotion, rib matter how; ideal he may be in other respects, he is regarded almost as a heretic. This has arisen directly from the devotion centuries old to Our Lady. . ' '/ There is no country in the world whose people are more devoted to Mary than Italy; You may say that the country is not up-to-date, that it lacks the material progress of other countries; but are these the only things that count ?.""' "Is true /progress-Ho be * found in the roar of g;reat cities? Is the feverish hunt for commercial wealth the sure

sign of a nation's greatness ? No ! such cannot be admitted. -The world is suffering from ills r that the united armies and fleets of half .the/world have-failed to remedy//: The world that uses Christianity as but a name has failed. .Of y what -value, is its material greatness? Would that the earth were «per-

ndated 1 with the Catholicity of Italy I- Italy ■ .• iii Ji ’-■* ’ ‘ •** possesses two treasures that ; more ' than - compensate all she lacks in the outside' world, " ■ - - ■ ••:•♦ * . •••''-- ■(% •m• ■' •I•'■ 1• ' t* *"' r • '~s—‘ and these 1 ' are an unfailing belief . in'Providence and : a trup., devotion to Mary. [ ' T■ ' •j • 1 £ it 1 V -No matter; what, calamities - may befall the country matter what trials the. people may have to endurein all they are resigned and patiently look'to’ God. Then, under the protection of Mary’s mantle, virtue has; always .flourished, and the diseases that-have eaten into the vitals of other nations are here unknown. r*-u!\ ‘

In These Two' Treasures We May Find the

• Secret of Italy’s Crowing Greatness a greatness • that is so invincible , that other nations are, now searching Jor the secret, but since they . seek .with blinded eyes they seek in vain. : >> - - ' ri- ■ ' a ’

. We. have * spoken of one of ‘ these treasures as the Love of Mary. We may ask when began this devotion, and the answer is .that it began with the first converts in the days of pagan.’Rome; : Go to the Catacombs, the earliest monuments; of . Christian antiquity, and there, you will find 5 striking testimony. • As you pass ‘along one of the corridors in the catacombs of ; Priscilla you. see bn; the roof, a. : fresco of Our Lady, the child Jesus, and a third figure, probably John the v Bap--tist. * This is the most ancient picture of Our Lady, and its very antiquity --testifies to the earliness of the Madonna cult in the Church. Another powerful witness is to be.found in the i old Roman Forum. There, among the ruins -of ancient pagan Rome,, are to be found also the ruins of the basilica known as Santa Marla Antiqua.

All the monuments of the country ? give fresh .proof that Italy is the-land of i Our Lady. Every city we enter is full of monuments ; to Mary. No inscription is more familiar than In hotiorem Dei et Deipcirae, an inscription that is shared/ alike by the grand basilica and the village church. Among the famous churches .dedicated"to Our Lady we may -mention only S. : ' Maria del Fiore (Florence) and S. Maria i degli Angeli (Assisi). At Rome, 'besides the grand churches of S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Maria Maggiore, /and S. Maria -. Sopra • Minerva/ there are more than fifty other churches dedicated to /Our Lady. /; Then there! are the /great' shrines, throughout laud. Who'has not heard of Lore to, Pompeii,' Mohtenero, Monte Virgine, and Geiiazzanb?/ But it is not in the vicinity of well-known shrines alone that , the/people manifest their allegiance to the Madonna. We see proof of filial love in the very houses of the people. / Practically every home has /its little mosaic -Madonna above the door. Every ; shop has its Madonna with its little lamp ever burning."" Still more wayside Madonnas testify to the universality of the devotion to Mary. In Other. Catholic"; Countries we .find that the shrines differ according"to the regions. , In France we. find in one part , Calvaries, in others crucifixes, - while in others again the/ Sacred Heart and Our Lady. .But in : Italy from the Alps to Sicily - the wayside shrine .J is always ;: Our Lady.' • What; the shore lights are to the' sailor these;

shrines are to the weary traveller; Well . - I remember returning home one night -after ;,a long and tiring walk. When passing : -y through the Vale of Ariccia, suddenly we saw r ahead on the dark road a faint light. ; On -ri approaching we found it to be a lamp | %, burning before ; a picture of- Our Lady of the 'S "Holy Rosary. We paused for a while on "fj ":' bended knees, and then resumed ' Our way •'•.-_••■' but - it was with lightened hearts, for : as we .-, V knew, the Madonna J had blessed our way; !;;':••'•: I have-Heard; it ; said that ; to see the Italians celebrate one of Our Lady's feasts • is : as r"; good as a month's Retreat. The truth of f~ this is -easily'realised if one has been able %&'. to witness ; ' or take part in such a celebra- ''.' ' tion. Last year was celebrated - the 14th centenary of the miraculous appearance of ' 'the picture known as Santa Maria in Por- ; . . tico. This, picture is regarded as the gage X . of Rome's safety. 'Whenever calamities have ■ befallen, public prayers and processions with .-■'.'■ this, picture have always brought about rek lief. So it was but fitting that Rome should make a grand demonstration to show allegiance to Mary most Holy. That demonI stration I .shall never forget, for it was one V of the grandest acts of faith in which I have ever had , the privilege to share. I % as happily one of those chosen to carry this p-... heaven-sent picture. "Before us in the pro- ! - .• cession there . stretched a long line of clergy :';' \■; and laity. Gazing down the street ahead i one saw nothing . but a sea of waving ban- - ; ners. Nearer at hand watted the cardinals, while about the picture itself marched the , Pope's noble guards. . . The streets were -. thronged with thousands who. reverently fell ,-' upon their knees as the picture was borne '; /; past. From all windows hung drapings, and upon the procession there . were showered flowers without ceasing. Impressive as the . h;! ? procession itself was, there were frequent ;.".;. scenes that made one realise the love of the V'/ people for their Gracious Mother. Passing ,"-•£ through the narrow streets the picture was ■ -w lost to view a cloud of flowers and papers." r r On these last were written such phrases as ; Viva Maria, Santa Maria prega per noi, etc. l' r> But if the way had seen such demonstrations, ; what must be said of the scene before St. . Peter's! Here the enthusiasm of the crowd ir-' knew no and the troops were pracv tically useless. Inside the. Basilica it was :.-:' the same, and. the cries of Viva Maria echo-'rJ-.'v ing and reechoing throughout the lofty edifice seemed to make it tremble to its foundal tions. Such a manifestation of faith was a yX-. reply to those who in this age would dare attack our Immaculate Mother. Once again had Rome given the opportunity for' a ; • .triumph for Our Lady, and full well do the children of Rome know that the triumph has \. not been in vaiii. Some may say that such celebrations only prove that the devotion to /;•>■'; Mary is popular, and not to be found among : \ - the intellectual. A more . foolish statement Q could not be made, for one needs to examine V nut little to find that rich and poor, high 'if -■'. and low, with one voice hail Mary as their §&:%■■. mother. " . \ . . ; In the Writers From - Dante to Carducci " there is to be found practically, none that .' has not sung the praises of Our" Lady. How delightfully refreshing.' it is to pick up an

Italian poet and read his lines on Our Lady! What food for ; quiet reflection we; find therein ! Perhaps it is in the poets that we find manifested the Italian hereditary love for Mary ~An ■■ Italian may deny his God, attack his Church, but against Our Lady never will his voice be raised : f All the world has heard of Boccaccio, by reason of Decameron. Yet he that revelled in all that was foul was able to, address v Mary in lines that make one marvel. In one of ; his sonnets he begins by invoking bur Lady as the Queen of Angels. Mary is the resplendent Star of Heaven and points out the way to those who seek the haven of ; rest. The poet ends* by begging Mary to have pity on him and to intercede for him that he may be found among the elect in after life. So wrote one irreligious Italian who found himself unable to forget or disavow his love for God's Holy Mother. In bur own age we find another who, in the depths of his hatred, wrote a hymn to his patron, the devil. Yet Carducci could not destroy what was natural in himself. 'Even he wrote in honor of Our Lady, giving us that beautiful "Ave Maria" to be found in ■Alia Chiesa di Polenta. To us these things are contradictions, and so they must seem; for how can we probe deep enough to understand the hereditary instincts born of a rich, sincere, Catholic atmosphere ? It is not in the writers alone that we see the wealth of devotion towards Mary. Every architect who designed temple to her honor, every artisan who worked for its completion, •one and all have worked to show their love, arid that very love has been their inspiration. ' . .-;:'.,'. Enarmnt Gloriam Dei sang the psalmist. We of to-day may, with some restrictions, apply these words to Italy in respect of the Madonna. Italy, with all the power of her intellect, pays homage to Our Lady. Popes and saints, monks and theologians have ever proclaimed the praises of,Mary. Poets, painters, musicians, and sculptors have all used their talents to enthrone Mary in the hearts of the people. But the people needed no coaxing, or urging to manifest their love for the grand mother of all. As the moon must reflect the light of the sun, so have the Italians received and shown forth with growing splendor the Marian cult of Holy Mother Church. Mary has shown her predilection for Italy—is her land. Over it as a queen she reigns supreme, and has shown herself the most bounteous, the most lovable of mothers. In her favors and graces she has been most liberal, arid in return she has loyal, warmhearted subjects, whose very lives reflect their allegiance. / V\ V . :\. \ Oh, Mary, extend thy mantle over my country. Make us your children. Give us the love of your children of Italy. Make us know thee not only as a queen but as a mother. -","f' ; : '-? '