The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-11-26
FATHER BURKE ON PRoSEL YTISH.
London Univ erse, Nov. Al

Grand, gorious and sublime rang out the
eloquent words of the illustrious Dominican,
Father Thomas Burke, the Lacordaire of
Ireland, last Sunday, in the beautiful
Church of st. Francis Xavier in Dublin.
The occasion was a charity sermon by that
most distinguished ecclesiastical orator, in
aid of a truly good work, the Orphanage OF
St. Br dget, which has for it's object the pro-
lection Of the poor and friendless Catholic
orphan frohn the loes of its faith. A pious
lady in Dublin, Miss Aylsard. founded this
good work and has toiled laboriously and,
thank God, successfully, to carry it on.
Many hundreds of poor Catholic children
have been thus snatched from the worst
fate of all-the loss of the priceless treasure
of Catholic truth.
The eloquent preacher dwelt with won
.drous power upon the paramount claims of
poor orphan upon the charity of its fellow
creatures. He showed, too, the great gu
pericIi.y of the stem OF boarding out such
poor little helpless beings amongst we'll
conducted country people, than to keep
! them immnred in those large diemel L" in-
! sItUtoue" where they can never learn the
| affectionsts idea of home. Let us quote
the beautiful language of the preacher, who
so feeliogiy describe the truly Cathohc
system which lie advocated:
The children are received; they sent out
in charge OF families throughout the country ;
! the peasant mothers of ireland take them
they admitted into the peasant families of
this land; they admitted not ss waits or
| strays, objects Of CHARITY, bnt they are ad-
| miLred as children of the family. They learn
| TO call the cnuntrymsn the head of the house
| by the name of (" father" they learn to call
| their nurse by the name of " mother" Ihey
| are admitted into the circle Of peasant lie In
| ireland, SO pure in the immaculate purity oi
the mothers and daughters and sisters; 50 pure
in the manly purity of the fathers aHd brotnert
and sons. Tney are admitted into that magic
circle where faith aud prayer animate and
sanctify the humble daily life of onr people
where no word will ever fall upon their eart
of unchsritAbleness or profanity. They are
admitted into families who are themselyeE
selected for this charge because of their
piety and their we'll known devotion, and there
they grow into that which is one of the most
perfect types of Catholic Christianity that the
} Church of God has ever produced-the Irish
peasant of the olden type, round whose home
round whose head still fingers that halo ol
traditional virtue which made our people &C
charming even in the eyes of their invaders and
enemies of old.
Father Burke told we'll how for centuries
England tried in vain by force to extinguish
the holy light of Catholicity in Ireland
Her martyrs went boldly to death for the
dred years ago, was kind!ed by St. Patrick
survived every effort of the prosecutor
, When force failed Establishments were tried
, and Irish Catholic children were taken by
proselytizers from their parents, who were
barely able to support them, in order tc
bring them up in institutions where they
were too often taught to blaspbeme the
Mother of God ard to ridicule the hoies
tenets of the Catholic religion.
Truly did the preacher say that this il
not merely a question of the Catholic
orphan in Ireland, for that among the Ca
tholic poor in England and Scotland the
, cry is heard imploring mercy on the "littl'
, ones" He we'll proclaimed it to be a bind
ing duty, and not mere charity, to help 81
J great a cause. Let US hope that the noble
language of the gifted preacher may find
I ready echo in every heart, aud that all may
hasten in every land to save those tende
children of the Church whom the prose
4 lytizer would rob of their onIy treasure
their heavenly inheritance.