The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1900-11-24
as a means of protection against the

DIS Il lIcitiS VI piOlcStiol against tue
ravagcs of time.
The question is asked. why this love
and veneration for this wooden chair?
Where is the golden throne of August
us, the ivory throne of Nero, of which
history speaks? They have vanished,
but the humble chair of Peter remains.
Did you lift up your eyes to the radi-
ant cupola you would find the eXplana-
ton written in large gildel letters:
Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock,
will build my church. and the gates
of Hell shall not prevail against Her"
But to form an adequate idea of the
grandeur and majesty of this temple,
one must be among the 10000 wor-
shippers, who fill it when the Pope
pontificateS. 1t becomes then, in ap-
pearance as well as in reality. Il colos-
sal structure. These thousands of
moving, living, breathing beings make
of it Il picturesque, living church. The
light descends from the cupola, like Il
deluge of rain, of light illuming with
brilliancy the entire. edicc. The grand
baldachin over the high altar, ut
time obscured by the fumes of in
cense, the vague harmony of chants.
softened by the distance. the magniti,
cence of the decorations. the forest of
marble columns and statucs-in fact.
everything contributes to make it
scene of grandeur and beauty, trl-
umphant and glorious chant with the
three hundred voices. Of the glory and
magnificence of the Catholic Church,
when finally the Pope aScends to the
balcony to appear before the hundreds
of thousands who fill the immense pi-
azza. unable to gain entrance to the
Basilica, and then blesscs the city and
the world "orbi ct orb" The people
fall upon their knees, and so away
moved. charmed and enthuscd. saying
to themselves: Thou art Peter. and
upon this Rock ! will build my church
anu tle SateS vi i1eil Sliiiil Hot liS-
vail against Her.
y charming promenade. which tn"
visitor to the Eternal City takes when
he has time and leisure is Il drive to
the environs to the west of the city. to
return in the evening with the setting
sun. If the weather is perfect, If the
sky is clear, as it most always is dur
ing the summer season. you witness
scene not soon to he forgotten. After
having reflected during the day, the
beams of the sun, the turrets, towers,
cupolas. domes, palaces and ruins are
tinged with roseate hue of light. You
think Of the burning of Rome in the
time of Nero.
Moved by the beauty Of this specta-
Gle, YOU will fix for a long time your
eyes on these SUBMITS lost in light
and unconsciously your thoughts will
travel back to 1000 years ago. There
are the ruined arches of triumph, the
remains of temples, the great Colise-
um, the circus maximus which con-
tanned 10000 men and where 10000
gladiators fought in the days of En-
peror Claudius. To labor then was a
disgrace, to be idle 'was a virtue.
Rome was amused with the massacre
of men, with beasts and Christians in
the Coliseum, with fights of athletes,
and chariot races in the circus maxi
mus, with pantomimes in the thcater
of Marccllus; but to-day the gilded,
brilliant dome of st. Peters under the
rays of the setting sun oversladows
all. Why? Christ has spoken: 'Thou
art Peter and upon this Rock | will
build my church, and the gates Of Hell
shall not prevail against Her"