The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-03

wherever her festivities are remembered by
Christians, there faith, living strong and clear
in the divinity of Jesus, lives in the souls Of
men, Honors to the Blessed Virgin are the
guardianship In our souls of the faith in the
divinity of Jesus, as Mary herself was the
guardian of the incarnate God IN Bethlehem
and in Nazareth.
CONFESSES CHRISTS DIVINITY.
The wisdom of the Catholic church in ex-
tolling Mary! The wisdom of the Catholic
church in bidding her children, morning and
evening, repeat the words Of the archangel,
Hail! full Of grace, the Lord Is with thee;
blessed art thou amongst women!'' The wis
dom Of the Catholic church In having the can
te OF Mary ohanted Oft and oft in her sane
tuaries: my soul doth magnify the Lord,
because He that Is mighty hath done great
things In me-" Reverence to Mary is the con-
fession of the divinity of Christ Jesus. An
other momentous fact: Reverence to Mary Is
a source of the purest moral life in humanity;
reverence to Mary Is the exaltation Of woman,
the conservation of motherhood the blessed
ness OF the home, and the normal life of the
individual and of society at large is bound up
with the sacredness of the family and with
the dignity of woman. The dignity of woman,
the conservation of motherhood, the blessed
ness Of the home; and the normal life of the
mated, blessed by divine approval, when the
archangel said to Mary: Hail. full Of grace;
the Lord Is with thee; blessed art thou
amongst women" Before Mary's day the
respect but little sveneration, and only. here
and there did 1t even evoke this. little re-
spect and this little veneration Before Mary's
day, before the archangel had spoken to her.
In the Athens of philosophers, in the Rome
OF poets and statesmen and military COM
manders, the name Of woman was despfsed
It suggested nothing. as rule, save the dross
OF earth, the inferiority Of servitude and vile
Pleasure. The angel spoke to Mary, the Son
OF God was born to her, she was declared
blessed. Mary was made blessed and with
apostles told the Greek and the Roman and
the barbarian of the Orient of the Son Of God
born of Mary, womanhood in Mary was lifted
up before their minds to supernal heights
AS the name Of Mary was venerated in the
catacombs of Rome, womanhood in Mary was
honored, and as womanhood rose to sublime
heights, and as womanhoOd was honored, SO
were the wife and the mother exalted; so
was the family exalted; the woman became
the guardian of the home the virtue of pur-
1ty, the beauteous product of the skies, the
fruitage OF Calvary decorated the earth. AS
Mary was honored the family was made sa-
cred, divorce and polygamy, so destructive
of the family and of society, which is built
upon the family, remained only as memories
the light Of the gospel The elevation, the
emancipation of woman was accomplished
when the angel saluted Mary, Hail, full Of
grace" Little the world today thanks Chris
tianity for its benefits though it basks in the
light Of Christianity, 1t fain would attribute
to earth the light and virtue that were brought
from the skies by Christianity. AS we sur
vey the nations of the earth wherever there
is heavenly purity and honor wherever wom-
an is truly the queen Of the home and mis-
tress and guardian of purity, wherever there
is civilization, there the light of the gospel
has passed; wherever the light Of the gospel
never shone you have the barbarism of pre-
Christian times, and you have woman the
slave, the family temporary partnership,
and you have society built upon pleasure,
without thought capable of lifting up the
mind Of men towards heaven, without
spark of that divine love, which once made to
burn in the heart of man bids passion be
CIT ond INy.iu 10 hat yxhi 10
lives on earth he is child Of heaven; that
all his grandeur and worth consists not IN
joys or the possession of the world, but in his
heavenly dignity and in his hopes OF
heavenly inheritance.
WOMAN'S HIGHEST DIGNITY.
Much is said today of the enlargement of
woman's sphere, to enable women as it were.
to be fully enancipated, and to be the equal
of man. Well, in, much that is said and done
today for women there is the good. We do
enlarged We do not object that she may
have sufficient independence to be able to
provide for herself in case of need, without
mans aid, the necessaries of life; that she
develop her talents and powers that she help
to save humanity and build up society. But
do what you will for woman, let woman do
what she will for herself; all is lost to her
if she forgets the sublime dignity of woman
hood and motherhood, which. is based upon,
heavenly purity; if she forgets that her
highest dignity is in being the queen OF the
home; if she forgets that the divine model
held up to her, and through her to all hui
mainly, is Mary of Nazareth to whom one
day the archangel said: Hail! full of grace,
the Lord is with thee blessed art thou
amongst women When woman maintains
her womanhood in the light of this great
dignity, when above all things else she is
resplendent with the innocence of heaven.
when, above all things else, she deserves
to be called child of Mary, she is great she
is noble, she IS digniied. Hence, in this age
of materialsm. Of passion, in this age when
humanity, impatient of the restraints Of the
divine law, fain would break away from
Christianity itself; when passion stands at
the door Of the family and bids the home
yield to its empire; when often no life seems
to remain to the family save that of a part
nership in human contract, most necessary
to our salvation becomes the memory of
Mary of Bethlehem; most necessary is the
reverence paid to the purest OF virgins the
greatest Of the children of men; to her who
was found worthy to become the mother OF
the incarnate God. 1t is asked, why this
Because the name Of Mary is sa1utary to hui
mainly; because the name OF Mary sums
up all that is best in humanity. Therefore,
my brethren, love the name of Mary, revere
it, be proud to bear upon you symbols of de-
votion to Mary; when festivities in her honor
occur during the year be proud to observe
them as citizens of the country are proud to
observe their national holidays. Why extol
Mary? Because the archangel in Gods name
morning and evening we say, Hail! fun Of
grace, the Lord is with thee" we are join
ing in the anthem of praise which the
archangel intoned we are fulfilling the proph-
ecy made by Mary herself, when she said:
''Henceforth all generations shall call me