Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1878-04-26


eiher Bs0nssbre . preaching Il No
izN Dame. He leaves his cell bnee
! yEAf foF this duty. and bis corning Is lie
evenf pf the sacred season. He hlls The
knkledEAl Sunday after Sunday. There
nse literally thousands 10 bear. or, fail
- ! l11k. sB Sc Inns Heis esteemed lhe
lsak4sl swing preacher En Franee, the
lzsf kInR 0f sacred UfslUra IN q IOue line
ae6sdSiFe Felix and that lallen seA
q lhe magning. Hyaeihlhe, being his
eS'lAk< Fse1seesBoFs. VIXEN Hya-
aboslali1ea lhs Church locked
B0sz1 fsf smother IngelIeclual chanpion
and found him il this feEy- Dom;niean.
He was Got tnknowti 10 fame even then.
Laeordaire had marked him for great
orator; he had carried alt before bin 1t
the seminary. particularly In eiassleal
lore. - = -,
TssA AT your age BOsstet himself could
not have done better" said delightA
"a professor Of one Of hiSyhgsss. They
gave him his 6rsk chance AZ the Church
ei st. Thomas Aquinas. in Paris. A.
class Of youths wanted instruction IN
theology; he was invited to instruct them.
He didit with such el0aaenee, logic, es-
prit-mastery, in short, of ala the stops
ioE The Gallo mind-thaf The gravest
seniors In theology sconcame to mingle
with the Juniors sitting at his feet. He
was launched, but he bad long course
| to run before he found his present post.
He went from city to city with hever-in-
creasing fame, until no building seemed
big enough 10 contain the crowds of
gentle and simple that came 10 hear
him. Then HyaciEthe fell away, and
| this opened to Monsabre the doors Of No
| ire Dame. IL was fortunate that he was
ready, both for him and for the Church.
There was no time to lose; h was the
year Of theseouncil and the war. ous.d
He was then forty -three and intel
lectually in the very flower Of his age.
Study, practice, nothing Of art was
wantibg TO complete what nature had
given him. Hecame like Especial gift
of Providence to the Church; ne wasan
UItramone Of the Ultramontanes--an
antidote to the Hyacinthe bane. He
preached on the council and defended
It through thick and thin. Then came
the disasters Of the war and trying
moment for him and for his order, but
he saved the reputation Of both by
showing that he was essentially q
Frenchman in feeling If not in faith
He happened to be preaching at Metz
when the city was on the eve OF its sep
| aretion from France, and he let Bis
marck and Bismarck's masters feel the
rough edge Of his tongue.
There is also a resurrection for peo-
pies, !" he cried, 'iwhen they have been
bathed in the grace ufChrist, and when.
in spite Of their vices and their crimes,
they have not abjured the faith. The
sword OF the barbarian. the pen Of the
ambitious, cannot kill them forever
You may change their name, but not
their blood. When their expiration
touches its term that blood begins to
circulate once more and to mingle with
the current Ofthe old national life. For
me, my brothers, my friends, my coun-
trymen, you are not dead-no, you are not
dead! WhereEerIg Igo-I swear ito you
/ will speak ofyOur patriotic griefs, your
patriotic aspirations, your patriotic wrath,
and / wall call you Frenchmeneve to
that blessed day when IshallretuFn to this
cathedral TO preach the sermon Of dss
liverafce and to sing with you such a
Te-DeuEp as ats walls have never heard" I"
To characterize HIM according to
Catholic notions ne may be said 10 be a
st. Thomas Aquinasfo the crowd. He
las formed himself on The model Of that
Glant theologian who undertook 10 re-
view all the truth known 10 the world
and to harmonic it with the teachings
Of the Roman Church. The Ssama
TKeoIogie j. his second Bible, and his
self.imposed mission is to make its
teachings as famihar to babes as to the
wise. A Frenchman as well as . close
student Of the most philosophicr Ofthe
fathers, be is nothing if aot argnmenta-
tive, logical, system builder. The oc-
casional sermon is IN no way TO bis
taste; with few exceptions bis discourses
belong to one vast series, and are but 50
many finely fitting parts OF . majestic
structure Of faith. f ,4a4
He has been years preaching on the
creed, and be has only just got beyond
the opening clause. "l believe ia Cod
Ibis sermons on that theme I'LL vol
ume. The Father Almighty
other volume is taken up with his ex-
position on that point, and there was .
long interval Of solitary study, fasting,
prayer and modification between the
two. Young men must become. old
men before they eanhope 20 hear the
end Of his comment on this declaration
Of q dozen lines. But IL is imposing in
Its very slownessi we seem 10 be watch
ing nature herseif IN process of evo-
luton. He il more than fifty now, 50
be Wonld seem 10 Be courting the faith
Of his doctrinal master-dealb-with
bis. .nn6nished work in bis hands
Meanwhile he goes bTavely on. Last
year his exposition reached ''Msker OF
Heaven and Earth" this year It has
come 20 aAnd In Jesus Christ, His only
Son. our Lord iiSsf ha5
His text for every sermon Is the
phrase oftbe series, given IN Lstsn and
pronounced in the curious French way,
the phrase for this year, for instance,
sounding somewhat - follows; "CrG.
DO fn Jc8om ChrSsscB Ghfoss Dae uai-
ewv," the '.u'' in fiie final word shar-
pened and drawIed out IN 4 manner that
makes Italians stare. name ID m
rather than any other modern people,
because they seem to have the best
,elsim % The inheritance of the Old Ro-
man trick Oi the tOngue. - aih