The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-05-07
Christianity, which, backed by the ex-

Christianity, which, backed by the ex
perience of ages, proclaims this earth
to be land of exile and valley OF
tears; Christianity, which has conse'
Grated poverty and reprobated wealth.
which it brands as the root Of all evils
,(Tim. vi:1O); Christianity, which com.
,mands submission to higher powers
for conscience sake-"For there is no
power but from God, and they that re.
sist, purchase unto themselves damna.
ton" Rom. xiii:1O) Wealth, bound
less wealth, for all is the last word of
Socialism. 1t says: eve will all be
wealthy, and riches having become
universal will be the solution of the
social problem"
1t cannot be denied that this mad
rush in the pursuit Of wealth is the
characteristic mark Of the American
people, and that there is not another
nation ON the globe with chances for
making money equal to our own. Our
enterprise and industries lead the
world; our manufactures and products
compete successfully in all the markets
of the world; our laborers are getting
better wages and live more comfortably
than in any other civilized country; as
a nation we infinitely surpass any other
nation in wealth and the luXuries Of
life. Are we, therefore, n happier
people? If it is true, as Socialism pro-
claims, that it is wealth that creates
happiness, then we ought to be the
happiest people on earth.
Is this the condition of the Ameri-
can people? We know it is not. Not
withstanding all our opportunities for
wealth, and all the comforts it can
procure, we are not IL happy nation.
For, strange to say, nowhere else do
the two main arteries of wealth, labor
and capital develop such Il bitter an
tagonism as in the United States.
Every year, all over this land, and
with an alarming frequency of recur-
renee, the two come to Il deadly coll
tlict wherein millions are lost in wages
and profits by the two contestants.
And the reason is that the more money
either party makes, the more they
want. The capitalist, with Il million
to his credit, is not satisfied; he wants
two or ten millions; the laborer, with
a fair living wage. is clamoring for
more, and at an inverse rate would
increase his earnings by Il diminution
of his hours of labor. Both are the
dupes of their own hearts, which moth
ing finite can fill. The millionaire is
dupcd by the hollowness Of wealth,
which, whilst it strews flowers upon
his path, leaves his heart empty and
saturated with the gall of diSappOint-
ment; the poor laborer is duped by
the hollowness of his desires, which
never materalize. II, by !; sudden
veering of fortune, they We're to eN-
change roles, they would both con-
tinue to be as unhappy as before.
Here is Il mystery which religion
alone can and does solve. The human
heart is an abyss; it was created for
the infinite and nothing less than the
infinite can fill and satiate it's bound
less capacity. God has made that
heart for HIMSELF and has reserved it's
fullness for Himself to fill, and thus
placed upon it the seal of the infinite;
but, having lost Him by it's infidelity,
it can now only regain possession of
Him by faith, hope and charity. BY
faith it beholds Him as in mirror;
by hope it possesses Him in anticipa-
ton, and in love it actually enjoys Him
as in virtual possession and finds
therein the complement of its happi-
ness here on earth. This explains the
happiness of a truly God-fearing Chris
tian heart, even in the midst of power
ty, want, misery and suffering. These
privations are the price it pays here
on earth for the perfect happiness that
awaits it in heaven.
Now, Socialism, by it's denial of God,
its forfeiture Of heaven, with it's sub
stitute of an earthly paradise which
it cannot give, robs the human heart
Of the infinite, and therefore creates
therein an unfathomable void which
nothing finite can fill. Earthly pleas
ures, as experience shows, far from
satisfying the heart, serve only to in
flame it by arousing new desires and
creating new wants, calling for new
pleasures. Happiness is contentment
with it's sweet calm and genuine fruit
ton. 1t consists in the equilibrium
between the desires of the soul and
the realities Of life; the balancing be-
tween the wants created by nature
and the resources supplied by labor
Thus a man of ordinary means, with
few wants, which are easily satisfied,
is, by the very nature Of his condition
in life, q happier man than the multi
millionaire with boundless wants
which he can never fully satisfy. 1t
is this very unrestrained hankering
for wealth which more than anything
disturbs this equilibrium between the
souls desires and the actualities of
life, and, therefore, repels true happi-
ness by the very violence it exerts in
its pursuit.
If this We're all, it were bad enough,