The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-03-17
SAINT PATRICK.
The Rev. Owen Hill Tells
st. Peters Sodality Of
His Work.

The Literary Society of st. PETER
Church gave an unusually good celebra-
ton last evening in st. Peters new hall
in honor of st. Patrick. There were fully
fifteen hundred people present.
The programme was a varied one. 1t
opened with chorus by the members OF
the society. Mr. James A. Hamill delivered
an essay on "Irishmen in America" The
speaker was given a lot of applause.
Mr.. Mark A. Sullivan also gave an
essay, History of Ireland and Mr.
Charles F. O'Brien spoke of "Daniel
O'Connell. Solos were rendered by Miss
katherine Griffin, Miss Clara McTague
and Mr.. Thomas Moore. quartette,
composed of Charles Schaeffer, tenor;
Charles Ezell, second tenor; Mark A.
Sullivan, baritone, and Edward Cavanagn
| bass, also sang.
| The event of the evening was the lecture
delivered by the Rev. owen A. Hill, 5. j.,
who spoke on 1.-THE Shamrock and Erin
The speaker, who is widely known
throughout the East and West for his
ability as an orator, showed the hardships
the Irish had to contend with and their
| fight for freedom. He said:-
.Trelanld's love for St. Patrick is now
| fifteen hundred years old, and 1T is today
as strong and as holy as ever; as sweet
to the lips of our patron in Heaven to-day
| as it was that happy hour he stopped on
| one of his missionary excursions to teach
the gospel of virtue to two lovely prln-
cesses of the royal house of Munster and
prepare them, by baptism, for death. He
has an abiding place in our hearts. his
memory is going to endure as long as
Ireland's fame, and that can never die
'sHe was born in 373, somewhere outside
of ireland. Gaul, known today as France,
is. according to most writers, the favored
SPOT. A miracle was wrought at his very
baptism The monk called to perform the
function was blind. No water was at,
hand. Taking the child's fingers in his
own the old priest traced the sign of
the cross on the ground, and forthwith
brimming fountain rose. The child was
baptized. the priest washed his eyes in
the stream of miracle and recovered his
sight. The boy was taken captive when
sixteen by a band of pirates and sold,
slave ON the west coast of Ireland. He
tended his masters fiocks for six long
wears and put the time to good use by
unbroken hours of prayer in the solitude
of the hills and valleys. During this
|
a. plain intimation of his future apostle
ship. Escaping at the age of twenty-five,
! he at once set about preparing himself
for the. priesthood.
"After thirty-eight years spent in pray
er, penance and study, under the greatest
masters in Christendom ne was conse-
Grated Bishop in 4S2, the sixtieth year OF
his age On visit to Rome Pope Celes-
tine had previously commissioned him to-
carry the faith to Ireland and conse-
Grated him apostle to that wild but docfle
people. Then began his sixty years on
missionary work, extending over the
length and breadth of the island. He
landed at Wicklow, on the east coast, no
| long journey from Dublin, and by slow
! stages made his way along the shore to
the northernmost province of Ulster Then
| he retraced his steps to hold that de-
| cisive meeting with the King, his druids
! and bards, at Tara, in the county of
! Meath.
.On his way to Tara he composed that
remarkable hymn to the Holy Trinity,
Loriea or Breastplate: Christ with me;
| Christ before me; Christ behind me;
| Christ within me; Christ at my right;
Christ at my left; Christ at the foot;
Christ in the chariot seat; Christ in the
| heart of every man who thinks of me;
| Christ in the mouth of every man that
speaks to me-. Christ in every eye that
| sees me; Christ in every ear that hears
me; 1 bind to myself today, The strong
virtue of an invocation of the Trinity, The
Faith of the Trinity in Unity, The Creator
| of the Elements.
| tiara has ever since been famous in
Irish song and story. 1t is the birthplace
| of Irish faith, and the shamrock plucked
that day from its green fields to illus
| trate the mystery of the Trinity, the Di-
| vine three in one, has been transplanted
with the listening bards' golden harp to
| our battle flag, and harp and shamrock
| are Erin's boast the idols of our hearts
| affections, the symbols of faiths first con-
| quest, the emblem dear to men singing in
| their hearts in grace to God.
ssWe thank thee, st. Patrick, for dress
| ing religion in so sweet guise, the three
| wee leaves of soft green that smile upon
| us at every step we take through Ire
| land and the tuneful harp, with a hu-
man tongue, to talk comfort to our musi-
cal natures No cross! Oh, Catholicity
| in ireland has been hanging on a cross
| for the last four hundred years, and
| Catholics in ireland and Irish exies are
| today silent martyrs for the faith and
| lovingly kiss the hand of Father who,
for reasons known to Himself, prolongs
| their agony.
From Tara passage was made across
! the Shannon to Connaught, through Ros-
| common, Killala, Sligo and Mayo. On the
| hill of st. Patrick, near Mayo, our saint
passed forty days in fasting and prayer,
| and himself notes that ever after oppo-
| sition to his work of conversion ceased.
! He spent seven years in Connaught and
| left only to revisit the North touching at
| Donegal, Antrim and Tyrone. Then down
again to Meath, Cashel and Tipperary.
The kings of Munster received him most
Hospitality, and one of them, ancestor to
Brian Boru, he baptized near Limerick.
After seven years in Munster he made
ready to return to Leinster. But the men
| of Tipperary were fifteen hundred years
ago the same warm-hearted, generous,
! fighting devils that they are today, and
! they were minded to make St. Patrick
settle down forever in their midst They
rose in a body and with neighbors from
all the surroundings of Munster, gave
chase to the Saint to prevent him from
entering Leinster. The Saint, however.
contrived, after some parleying, to send
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