The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-03-15
Received His Mission and Jurisdiction
from Rome and Was Subject
to the Holy See.
People Accepted the Faith INTERESTINGLY
and Clung to 1t With the
Utmost Fidelity

him his views, and requesting his au-
thorization, to follow, without molesta-
tion, the usages of his own country.
COLUMBIA had not the consolation of re-
ceiving an answer from His Holiness,
for, having heard that the impious
Brunehaut had design upon his life,
he was obliged to leave his monastery
and fly from France.
st. COLUMBIA, when he left Ireland,
was Of mature age, and had number
Of monks under his direction. He ut
tered his opinions freely in all his writ
ings, and was, moreover, much at
tached to the institutions Of his own
country; circumstances which impart
considerable weight in his testimony
in regard to the faith Of the Irish
Church.
The arguments already adduced
should be quite sufficient to silence our
adversaries, as they prove directly that
the Irish Church was, from its origin,
in communion with the See Of Rome.
The Irish Church was in the closest re-
lations with other portions of the Cath
olic Church in Europe, and, moreover,
the faith professed by the latter was
also held by the Irish people, whence
we are forced to conclude that the su-
premacy Of the Pope, as acknowledged
throughout the churches Of France,
Italy and Germany, was likewise rec
ognized by the churches in Ireland.
Before the death Of st. Patrick he
had converted the entire people, found
ed 355 churches and consecrated as
many bishops. Tradition states that
expounding the doctrine of the Holy
Trinity, he used little sprig of tre-
foil, or three-leaved grass, whence the
shamrocks come to be the national en-
blem, as st. Patrick is the national
saint or patron of Ireland. Ard-Ri
Laori was holding Druidical festival
in Tara, at which the kindling of a
great fire formed a chief feature of the
proceedings, and it was crime pun
ishable with death for any one to light
fire in the surrounding country on
the evening Of that great festival un-
til after the sacred fame on Tara Hill
blazed forth. To his amazement, how
ever, the monarch beheld on the Hill
of Slane, visible from Tara, bright
fire kindled early in the evening. This
was the Paschal fire which st. Patrick
and his missionaries had lighted, for it
was Holy Saturday. The king sent
for the chief Druid and pointed out to
him on the distant horizon the flick
ering beam that so audaciously violat-
ed the sacred laws. The archpriest
gazed long and wistfully at the spot,
and eventually answered: 20 king,
there is indeed a flame lighted on yon-
der hill, which, If 1t be not put out
tonight, will never be quenched in
Erin" Much disquieted by this oracu-
lar answer, Laori directed that the Of
tenders, whoever they might be, should
be instantly brought before him for
punishment. st. Patrick, on being ar
rested, arrayed himself III his vest
ments, and, crozier in hand, marched
boldly at the head Of his captors, recit-
ing aloud as he went along a litany
which is still extant, in which he in
voked, ION that momentuous day for
Erin," the Holy Trinity, the Father,
the Son, the Holy Spirit, ever Blessed
Mary, the Mother Of God, and the
saints around the throne Of heaven.
Having arrived before the king and his
assembled courtiers and Druidical high
priests, st. Patrick, undismayed, pro-
claimed to them that he had come to
quench the fires Of pagan sacrifice in
Ireland and light the flame of Christ.
ian faith. The king listened amazed
and angered, yet no penalty fell on
Patrick. On the contrary, he made
several converts on the spot, and the
sermon and controversy in the kings
presence proved an auspicious begin
ming for the glorious mission upon
which he had Just entered. His death
occurred on the 18th of March, 493,
having lived over 100 years, sixty Of