The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-09-14
h,rning Star and Catholic Messenger.
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KEw ORLEANS, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER IA. 1873
GREAT LECTURE
ON THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA,
BIZ THE
VERY REV. T. N. BURKE.
VERY REV. T. N. BURKE.
IConcluded.i

tConcludedi
But we must not look to human reason |
for a solution of this problem. As we'll
might we doubt the existence of stars in
the heavens which are not visible to the
naked eye. 1t would be folly to look for
those stars with the naked eye, but, if we
vision. And so it is with those truths
which are far, far removed from the mere
ken OF human reason, far beyond the scope
of human argument. God has furnished
the telescope of Divine Faith which will
remove the blanket which wells the eyes of
the infidel and discloses to his VISION the
glorious and golden truths of Gods revela-
tion., Catholcity imposes physical. sacri-
fees. There is none of us who does not
think that q beef-steak is more pleasing
many days in the year when you and
have to be content to eat bit of fish when
we'd like a bit of meat. Catholicity i'm
poses sacrifices greater still. 1t obiiges
the proud man to 60 to confession. There
is the sacrifice of sacrifices. There is the
grandeur of the Catholic Faith. God has
thrown the Omnipotence of his mercy into
a commission given to the Priest, who tells
tho proudest man to bow down and hum-
BILE himself before that Omnipotent power
welded by, man: met gentleman in
to tell me of his life. .'sir," he said, 81 am
telling you everything, but I am tell
ing it to You az a friend, for could not, If
were to die for it, demean myself to do
80 as poor penitent, believing you could
city imposes that upon him; and how could
you account for it except by the superna-
tnral reason that religion was clearly de-
fined in the humiliation of the mind and
heart, and the humiliation of the body to
accept as law such religious privations J
oxrv,1o 10 Arct INV ho 1
have given-it is the work of God second
", the United States of America have re-
ceived the superabundant population of
the older countries. The energy, physical
and intellectual, which fouad no vent in
Europe, have found spacious room for its
exercise in the vast continent of America.
And, above all, America was intended, l
believe, by the Almighty God to be the
home of the hunted and the refuge Of the
persecnted, and to open her arms and take
to her bosom a race the most faithful, the
most gifted, though the most down -trod-
den of the people of the earth.
They turned their eyes towards the
West-they turned their backs to the pau
per's grave-they heard the rattiing of the
chains that had hung upon their fathers
TO the glorious Columbia that wealth of
Irish blood: of Irish brains, and Irish
hearts, bat above all and beyond all, that
grand principle which is the only unifying
and uniting principle Of our race for ages
that of their Irish Catholic Faith. Those
have creased the sea in their thousauds-
aye, will cay in their millions. They
crossed the sea, and soon the generous
hand of Columbia wiped away the tears
from their exiled eyes. They consented,
and for their own temporal interests, to
confine her rivers, to cut down her noun
tains and fills up her valleys, to build hcr
cities, to cover her with that wonderful
network of railways which places her in
advance of the whole world-they consent
ed to Fl sht in her armies until the soil of
America is Redeemed with Irish blood, shed
on many glorious battlefield, almost as
much as the old land itself ia Redeemed
with the blood shed in martyrdom they
consented to do all this, aud they did it
well but they demanded from Columbia
in return one privilege-to proclaim the
Catholic Faith and uphold Catholic doc
trine, and to cover the glorious land, with
the grandest churches and the most magni
fcent evidences of Catholicity that the
this greet increase in Catholicity is due
also to another great element in American
emigration-the Germans. From the Ca
thOlic States of Southern Germany they
also came in their hundreds aud hundreds
of thousands-they brought with them
Faith-a quiet faith. 1 have observed it
carefully and lovingly7-a quiet zeal for
their own sanctiticatioD, q great zeal for
the Catholic education of their children.
Every where, wherever the German COM
munity is found do you find good churches
and schools; but when they have done
this-when they lave built their church
and secured tue ministrations of priest,
they sit down and enjoy their religion.
But the Irishman builds not for himself
alone-he will not content himself with
building church for Irish Catholics, but
will devote half his days earnings to build
big cathedral for all Catbolics-his Irish
heart takes them all in. The Irishman,
restless himself, perhaps still will not
leave the place whore he has earned dol
iar until he puts half of that dollar into
the sol, in the shape of some glorious evil
dence that the Irish Catholic hand was
there. The German will enjoy his religion, !
bit will not FIGHT for it. Paddy will stick
up for his religion, aud Paddy will fight
for it.. And it would be a strange thing |
indeed if a race that lie said to be 30 dispos- |
ed for fighting that they will fight for the |
fun of the thiDg-it would be a strange |
thing if they would not fight when it was |
q question of God and His holy relioion