The Irish standard., 1895-06-01
having made bargain? Plenty Of mar

having made bargain? Plenty OF mar
ried people would like to be single again
but it was too late. The Bible told them
repeatedly that they must always be
careful to pay their vows TO Almighty
God, and apart altogether from the con-
tract there was the vow to Goo that must
be paid, and this only Just and reasona-
ble The Catholic Church would be tri
fling with God if she were to allow a
man for every trifiing wI1inl and fancy TO
break his solemn vows and engagements.
1t may be asked whether the church
had right to impose these obligations,
because a society might go beyond its
powers. They had in the teaching ct our
Lord as well as the apostles the highest
sanction in compelling the minister's of
the Catholic Church to live cllaste and
pure lives. In sacred Scriptures they
were told of the beauty and splendor OF q
chaste life "Oh, how beautiful IS the
chaste generation, for the memory there
of is immortal. it is known Doyh to God
and to man
They had the teaching of Almighty
God; they had the testimony OF reVeta~
ton and they had Jesus Christ and His
holy apostles extolling the state OF cell
bacy. And not only had they divine au-
thority, but 1t WAS also necessary Tor the
propagation of religion ana for the
spread Of the kingdom of God OH earth
that the Church of Goo should have a
celibate and cllaste clergy.
1t would be really impossible to carry
out the work that God had given His
church to do il the ministers OF that
church were married Let them con-
slider for a single moment the state OF
those ministers Of whatever church they
might belong to who were married ann
had wives and children to care ter, and
they would lind how true it was that they
were divided ard were unable to give
themselves wholly to God. Just Imagine
for q moment q young curate IN parish.
Ee decided to change his CONDITION and
he fell in love with some Young woman
or perhaps half Il dozen young ladies feli
in love with him. Consider this young
curate attending to the things or the
Lord and at the same time couTunS Il
certain young lady. Suppose this young
curate was married, then were his troub-
les over? No, for when mans mar
ried his troubles begin
Perhaps he might get married to al
ungodly woman, fond Of fighting and
drinking and quarre1s with the neigh
bors. The preacher had an extract from
a daily paper of a clergymans divorce
suit He was married in 1861 and in his
evidence before the Judge alleged that his
wife was addicted to paroXysms OF tenl-
per, during which she called him abusive
names and threw things at him. Fancy
the dignity Of the clergyman. She not
only assaulted him by throwing things
L: I,,x oh oil rhpH him! and
once she kicked him ont Of bed. Poor
fellow! Just imagine Catholic priest
being in this pyadicament! Once, III Il
rage. continued the divorce report, she
swallowed some hair wash which nearly
poisoned her. The lady, in reply to the
charge, said her ourate husband was not
sufficiently demonstratiye in his sitfec-
tions. She denied assaulting hin', and
comDlained that her husband was never
nice to her.
Fancy minister Of God with all these
troubles and trials striving to win people
to God. and by word and example en-
deayoring to lead them TO heaven. CoNld
they in the face OF this approve Of q
married clergy, would any Protestant
with anv common sense argue that it
would be better to have married clergy
than those who were bound by the vow
of celibacyo Look at the priests of God,
look at those who had made sacrifices,
aye, and given their lives for others;
could they DO 1t if they were not cell
bates? Who was 1t in every age who
had been the pioneers of civiization-to
whom did they owe their learning and
literature? The celibate priests and
monks of the Catholic Church; men who
gave themselves TO God and humanity;
men who thought 10 sacrifice too <5reat.
Who was it that converted this land
when the pagan Saxons had driven out
the old religion Of the Britons? Was it
married men? No; the ceiibate monk.
Who again was it that carried religion
into Germany and to every part OF the
globe? Was it not the celibate monk2
60 to the hospitals where fever was rag
ing and who would they find kneeiing at
the bedside of the dying man or woman
but the celibate priest. Look at Father
Damien, who lived among the lepers, ad-
ministering to their spiritual wants,
Would a married clergyman follow in his
footsteps?