The Irish standard., 1895-06-08
OF THE IRISH
,lIasf IRISH SAINT was a POET
FoFsi ansrs Have Been Struck BY iii,
Beauty and Poetry Of Everyday
ssf Solicitations.

r. II Z. vi
]. Francisco Monitor. There is something
In. the blood Of the Celtic race that is
opposed to mere n,aseriaiism, and that
y leads TO the higher supernatural world.
Even under pagan influences, the irish
Celts had marked religious Instincts ana
nothing shows more clearly the purified
and spiritual character OF even Celtic
paganjsrn than the total absence IRON
it Of all Indications Of cruelty Kindness
even towards animals, was always a Cell
It's virtue Providence had so arranged
that towards the end OF the Fourth cen
tury.the pagan worship Of the irish peo-
pie had lost its aefiniteaess, and the Gae-
lie people longed for something that
would satisfy their desires Tor tfue
God and a faith that would appeal their
naturally devout hearts st, Patrlcks
mission was, therefore, an immediate
and general success. We can gamer
from the Saints own confession" that
he was himself filed with astonishment
at the rapidity with which the new faith
had seized hold of The whole people,
""rhe sons Of the princes and the dauga-
ters Of the rulers are now consecrated to
God" he says.
From that day to the present moment
the Irish people had never lost their faith
H. has become part Of their character as
a. race, it is entwined with their patriot
ism, it is knit UP with their language,
literature and traditions. The Irish
faith has tenderness peculiar TO ltsei1
Hence the success Of the Irish mission
aries.
Almost from the day St. Patrick set
foot in ireland, churches heritages and
monasteries began 70 spring up on every
side. They are seen to the present day,
preserved in tact by the reverence Of the
people. On the fertile island places, by
the beautiful lakes of Erin, in the glens
and on the mountain tops, on the most
remote islands and rocks, these holy
places of ireland are seen, small in size,
but perfect in shape, and lasting as the
faith of their builders. Besides many of
them stands the round tower, whose per-
feet lines and great height long proved
the stumbling block of foreign writer's,
although any Irish speaker could have
told that it was simply S'bell house IN
name. The Irish cross, bearing III the
hard stone the story OF the revelation,
decorated with Gaelic ingenuity, still
speaks eloquently after thousand
years. Treasures Of art, like the Book
of Kells'' and the Book of Durrow,'
bear witness to the labor and patience
which the Irish Catholics Of the first
Christian centuries layiShed in the Sa~
cred books.
sedulius, the first native Irish Saint,
was poet. Born in ireland, he was
destined to live in Roman territory and
to become one of the great masters of the
Latin tongue The words in which
the Catholic Church throughout the
world salutes the Mother of God came
first from the heart, and We're first writ
ten by the hand of this Irish exile. It is
more than a coincidence. Irish devo
ton to the Blessed Virgin does not re-
u,lire to be proved from theory; but has
any other nation a separate name for the
Blessed Virgin Mary, distinct from other
Mary's? Any ordinary Mary is .'Maiye'
pronounced Maurya; but "Muire" (pro-
nounced NIWirra) is reserved for her.
Often she is called 'Muire Mhor," the
Great Mary; or, ''Muire-Mhathair,"
Mary Mother. Looking for a term of
our own st. Bridgid, the Gaelic writer's
could do her no greater honor when they
gave her the name of MARY of the
Gaul.'' Irishmen were glad to assume
Mary as their patroness, and the Chris
tian name now lives Miles, but really
"Maolmhuire," means the 'client of
Mary" Its Latin form is Marianus,
and more than one Irishman bore the
O. JN1> oIk ~c
John; Mulvihill, client of st. Michael;
Mulreedy, client OF St. Bridgid An
other title was Servant OF Mary"
"Giolla Mhuire.'' and the families then
placed under her patronage are now
named Gilvarry, Gilmor and some are
Gil1nurry. In Highland Scotland there
are many nom Catholics Of that Gaelic
name, and the name alone will prove
forever that they have fallen away from
the faith of their fathers. In pain or
sorrow the poor Irish soon learned to
call for succor in the name of Mary, and
the familiar "wirra, wirrra" is but the
vocative in use-a Mhuire, 0 Mary,
Mary! So also "wirra sthrue'' is
'MhuLe is truagh," o Mary, it is sad!
Foreigners have been struck by the
beauty aud poetry of our every day salu-
tations. Instead OF the cold good day.
''how do you do?' or "hello'' of modern
civilization, the Irish: speaking man,
woman and child all say to friend and
stranger, God bless you.o And the
answer must be ''God any Mary bless
you Sometimes st. Patrick and st.
Columbia are brought in. To welcome a
friend we say, God be thy life." When
parting one says, "A blessing be with
you the other "God prosper YOU
Wren you see a man working, s"God
bless the work" Answer: 'The same
to yourself or "And you. too.'' In time
of trouble, "God save u.s. 'sI'he cross of
Christ upon u.s. God is strong with
tho rejOinder, "'Antl Mary" In thanks,
rGlory TO Cod" 'Exaltation to Cod
~ th eusand thanks and glories to
Cod" When they meet q. priest who,
In the wild districts where Irish is now.
spoken, III .is usually on sick call, bear
inc the blessed Sacrament, they say.
ssA thousand thanks and exaltatfons to
the Son Of Gcd" OF the dead, s''.The
blessing Of God on their souls!''
"a Even animals in the Gaelic mind, are
under spiritual Influences. The red
breast is called Mary s little one and a
graceful legend explains the name. The
crow OF the common rooster, instead Of
being pagan Cock a-doOal e-do,'' is a
ssosig &c triumph, Mac ma b Oighe Sian, z
TIE son of the Virgin is Free. J" There
sharyais called pardflin, the little prayer.
The whole Of the Gaelic literature is
M EaouS In tone. The part OF 1T that III
S,niirely devotional is very large and very
49, 4sss los hvrnn a mo In.