The Irish standard., 1893-10-28

due reliance upon divine grace is sin
presumption.
/ am not afraid to say that men in th
Church in this century, whose sun is nov
setting, have made mistake in beinl
too slow to understand the new age, ant
too slow to extend toward it the concili
atory hand Of friendship. They are no
without excuses, the strength of which
respect The Church IN her divine ele
mentst Is unchangeable. Supremely con
servatiye, Ter dread Of change, so right
eoue in degree, is likely to go beyond
the legitimate frontiers; and to cove,
ground where change i'd proper. The
movements of the age, it is also true, were
frequently ushered into existence under
the most ipauspicious and repellent
forms. The revolution of 178S, whose
waters, rushing and de- tructiye as those
of the maddest mountain torrent were
crested with the crimson of blood, was
the loudeet signal of the birth of the new
era. It's standard bearers often bore aloft
the Insignia of impiety and social an
archy. Certain men, as Lamennais, who
attempted an alliance between the age
and the Church, were imprudent in
speech, and in their impatience courted
failure for. themselves and discourage
ment for their allies. But with all those
excuses, churchmen, / repeat, thought
and acted too slowly. They failed to
grasp the age, to christianize it's aspira-
lions, and to guide it's forward march; it
passed beyond them. There were the
few Lacordaires, who recognized and pro.
claimed the duties of the hour; timid
companions abandoned them; reaction
aries accused them of dangerous liberal
ism and semi heresy, and they were
forced to be silent. The many saw but
the vices of the age, which they heartily
mathematical; ite good and noble tend
encies they ignored and denied. The age
became in the eyes Of the Church the
dark world, against which Christ had
warned his followers. The tack of win
ming it to the gospel was considered q
torlorn hope. 1t was thought to be &C
complished only through some stupend-
Gus miracle from heaven, and until the
miracle came, the ministers of Christ
withdrew as TO winter quarters, into
sacristies and eanctuaries where sur
rounded by small band of chosen ones,
they could guard themselves and their
friends from the al]-peryading contagion
The action of the Church upon men.
upon the intellectual and social life Of
humanity, WAS reduced to almost mere
nothingnees. *
The ege, abandoned to itself and to
false and mischievons guides, estranged
each year more and more from the
Church on account Of the Church's de-
liberate isolation OF her energies, irrated
even by her seeming unfriendliness, be-
came hardened in it's eecularism, and
taught itself to despise and hate religion.
This deplorable condition Of things OBJ
tanned more in some countries thar in
others; but from none was it totally
absent The Church had furled her fieg
OF battle, her flag Of victory.
It was a mistake, and a misfortune.
s'Go and teach all nations the Christ
bad said once for all times, and in ebedi-
ence the first apostles rushed into the
Roman empire, speaking to the sages of
Athens on Mars hill, to the patricians
and senators Of Rome, in the very courts
Of emperors, to the slaves in their cabins,
and they christianized the Roman en-
pire. Erring and evil-doing as the pres
ent age might have been, the methods
and zeal of the early apostles would have
won it to the Savior. But, in veriest
fact, the present age, pagan in its talk
and in the exceeses Of its qualities, Is in
it's depths instinct with Christian emo
tion, worships unwittingly at Christien
shrines, and awaits but the warm contact
with the living Christian religion to
avow itself Christian.
am pointing out the opportunity for
the great and singular churchman. His
work is te bridge the deep valley separ-
ating the age from the Church, to clear
off the clouds which prevent the one
from seeing the realities Of the other, to
bring he Church to. the age, and the ago
to the Church. ii
Let us not believe that the age and the
Church are helplessly apart. Their union
10 secured. The nineteenth century has
seen in the latter days men ''by whom
salvation comes TO Israel. |" I name :
few-and IN naming them, 7 send to them
in their heavenly and earthly abodee my.
souls tribute Won Ketteler Of Cologne,
Layieerie Of Aleiers, Manning Of West
minister, Gibbons Of Baltimore, Leo 81
Rome. Two We especial lsvere
Leo, bail thee, ponhn of Thy age,
providential chieftain of the Church Is
this great cr.iisiis q her history. How veil