The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-10-11

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1unnl lest. the neediest, Ito most lHiterate
Iaymen we're less remarkable for tho hoh-
nes. of their lives, because their poean0r =
vas less elevated; but it may MeM e
that many of those numOse eOns
Of toll whose lives were passed away an
,nt;cad vho went down into the grave, Is
and we're not remembered afterwerds, nad
laid up for themselves bright and lasting
treasures in that country In winch tnoii
eternal hopes were conferred. -.
thonrh Obliged to earn their bread by the
sweat Of their brow, were, while pursuing
their daily avOcations, continually engaged
in PRAYER aud meditation. In thls tney cuC
followed the example OF the primi!Ne
Christian anchorites OF the Eastern wi e
house to house in quest of food, their only
means of subsistence, forgot the fatignes OF
their Journey, and the prlvations OF tneiI
humble lot, in their aspirations for tnat
better and brighter world, where sorro"
doth not enter. 90,
the chosen and anointed rulers of the people,
heroes many of them, of 3 hundred ngnts,
did not forget their duty to, nor their 0e-
pendence on, the Almighty. Ihelr ives
ecclesiastics and humber laymen. Great
and grievous offenses they no doubt com
| mitted. They waged long and bloody wars,
which cost the lives of countless myrlads,
| to avenge some imaginary insult, or through
some paltry motives of personal aggran-
dizement This unnecessary sacrifice OF
human life constituted no small part OF
l their moral guilt, and was strenuousiy oP,
posed by the Church. But, indeed, all
countries have been more or less lnvolvea,
in the infancy of their history, in such
contentious
The stern ecclesiastics of these times,
however, knowing no distinction In man
!, before his Creator, made the king no lees
than the 'beggar eXpiate his onenses oy
public penance. The KING anu . 1ag og Eyes
at the different pilgrimages throughout the
country.
Magnanimous rulers these, who could
, thus forget aud forsakee the transltory
: glitter and Pomp OF royaity, anu .; Hhn the
:, meanest of their subjects! Nor was this
: all: many royal personages sooner than
!. wear q crown, hid themselves in the cells
of the monasteries, SO concerned were 'ney
j. for their future. Others flung ASIDE the
= sceptre and it's concomitant emoluments
u and honors, and devoted their days, IL
!, the silence of the cloister, to the service
, of Cod :, -.
Thus it is seen that it was not the spirit
- ual perfection of any one class OF her emu
!, dren, but the virtue Of all classes, wlthou
:. distinction or exception, that made Erin 8
- renowned for her exalted sanctity among al
=. the other nations of the West. And, indeed
:; few will deny that she was entitled 20 I'M
~ distinction. Who is there who does not hol
Ut in generation the memory of the old Iris
-, saints Who is there who does not aonr
90 90 their steadfast devotion to the cause OF hu
% manitv7 Who labored harder than the
a. a. did to propagate the eternal truths OF cnf'f
no tianityf
le The success with which their labors wei
ps crowned is discernible this day in ever
- quarter of the world. The Irish peoPi
scattered as they are all round the giob
al give their implicit adherence to the san
religious truths preached to their fathe
vi fourteen centuries ago. They inherit the
a. principles unchanged, and their attachne
aS to them is undated. Never was there
au instance in which are more fully exempt
fed the durability of truth, and the powe
S-tlessness of either time OF circuinsIahcee
extinguish it. -,
Nor did these holy men confine tn.
eat exertions to the extension of gospel tru,
his Religious houses, for persons OF both sex
BILE spra NC ND in every part of the island, wht
GU architectural magnifcence is the wonder
in the present age Who is there who has 4
rim, heard of Bangor, Clonfert, Clonard, a
Ollie CIonmacnoisq or even OF Emily, Beg-E
EN-, and Ardmore7 For centuries these,
e of many others, were nurseries of piety a
ions learning. To their schools the stran'
the was welcomed, and gratuitously educat
Nv their superiors and professors the pr
else tice of every virtue tending to elev
ects humanity strictly inculcated.
the From their clOlstefs coHIihueu w ~ AZ
{, by for several centuries men who shed ius
b to upon their age; to many OF whom mod
The civilization is greatly indebted. Who
the DENY that Sedulius, Cblumbanus, Colnr
,ut u kille and hosts of other Irish ecclesias
The did much to dispel the darkness of nit
the avail timesf The Irish monastic sch'
Iings were, for several centuries, the most
the brated in Europe. The great st. Bern:
the Abbot of Clairvaux, testifes that the II
L.. ofthe schools of Bangor was spread throu
tions out the civilized world. In these sch
as if sanctity kept pace with literature 1t n
II -as1 perhaps, be superfuous to speak OF
t the inconsistencies, their history being as 1t '
lngry written on their countenance. Their We
find able ruins, rising up here and ther'
holy hoary grandeur, are mute but irrefraeg