The Irish standard., 1889-03-30
Our Sister U1tv.

sermon was delivered bv Rev. Father
John Conway, at St. Joseph's church,
St. Paul, on st. Patrick's day:
'Lct us now praise men of renown, and our
fathers in their generations. g Let the
people show forth their wisdom and the Church
declare their praise Eccles. IA.
The inspired word invites us to praise
men of renown, and it invites the peo
pie to show forth the wisdom of such
men; and it invites the Church to de.
clare their praise. The world has it's
men of renown--its warriors. its poets,
it's sages, its scientists, its philanthro-
pists; the world praises them, and holds
high festival In their honor. Thus. on
this principle, some few weeks ago the
whole American union made holiday
in order to commemorate suitably the
birthday of George Washington. The
Church, too, has her men Of renown,
for she has her saints. The men of re-
nown in the Church of God are God
own saints. And as the state makes
holiday to commemorate her great ones
so does the Church make holyday to do
honor to her saints. The saints of the
Church are her warriors; her soldiers
against satan; the saints are the
Church's poets, singing the songs of sal
walton; the saints are the Church's sclen-
fists, teaching the knowle ge of God,
the saints are the Church's philanthro
pists, helping the world to be better.
At the invitation of the Church we
honor the saints, with an honor, now
ever, different from, and less than, that
which we give to God-even less than
that which we give to the saint OF
saints-God's own mother.
AS the moon derives her light and her
loveliness from the sun, yet does not
rob the sun Of his glory, 50, too, though
our saints receive all that they have
from God, yet they do not deprive God
of this due, but rather show forth Ills
wealth of greatness, for God is wonder
full in His saints. They are powerful
in their intercession for US; they watch
over us, they guard US, they defend us;
there is joy in heaven for one sinner
who does penance. Hence, we in turn
commemorate their memory on earth,
that they who have gone before US may
not be unmindful of us before the throne
of God in heaven.
The saint to honor whom we are as
sembled to day has splendid claim
upon us, and indeed upon the whole
Church, for there are few in the calen'
dar whose sanity work has been as
lasting and as widespread as that OF
St. Patrick, the Apostle OF Ireland,
Almost every nation in Europe had to
be converted twice to Christianity land
conversion third time would not be
lost on some of them), but the work OF
St. Patrick was so thorough that he left
little. room for perversion, and conse-
quently little necessity for reconver'
sion. There is hardly any saint whose
work has been so far reaching, for the
faith which he delivered to the Irish
people in the fifth century has been car.
ried by their descendants to every guar
ter of the globe.
Fancy has been allowed to PLAY tast
and loose with the history Of our saint
English writer's have ever been found
to prostitute their pens against pool
suffering Ireland. L. has been thus
with the poet Spencer, the philosopher
Bacon, the historians Barry and Froude
who may lbe Justly STYLED arch-fallsifierl