The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-18
FATHER COYLE DELIVERS
 EUL0GY ON ST. PATRICK
Great Montgomery Congregation Listens tt Panegyric on Ireland's Patron Saint by an
 Eloquent Birmingham Priest.

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 ed after three centuries death strug- : gle. was being swept away, and the world would have to be converted again. To convert the world once more,
 to bring christianity to nations that | were rising on the ruins of the fall-
 ing empire, to civilize them, God sent ' St. Patrick to convert the Irish peo-
 pie. who during this fierce political turmoil were removed from all strife, l that they. once converted might con- | vert these nations. once conquered to | christianity might conquer these con 1 querors of military Rome, tho Rome of | the Emperors. and make of them sub
 missive subjects to Christian Rome,
 the Rome of the Popes.
 i. ''of the birthplace of St. Patrick mo-
 thing is. known with certainty. As seven cities contended for the honor l of having given birth to Homer, so four nations claim St. Patrick as their own. The most generally accepted be- lief nowadays is that he was born
 in the province of Brittany in Northern | France. and lived there, educated and
 brought zap in the Christian religion l till his sixteenth year. At that time the Irish chieftains. especially the fa- nous Neill of the Nine Hostages. sent | out piratical expeditions to ravage the neighboring coasts. One of these
 bands landed in Brittany and carried \ OH FdtFIcH ana EeperHt others t0 lre- land as slaves. This happened provi- dentia1ly. God wfiIed that the youth, destined to do such great things for | the church, should become acquainted with the manners. language and GUS toms of the Irish, and should more 1 over. by long six years novitiatc of
 hardship in foreign land. under d | hard taskmaster, learn absolute sub mission to Gods good pleasure, perfect reliance on the Lord who was able, and who could when He would and who did when his time was come. break the captive's fetters and restore him 1 to freedom and home
 1 At this time it Is more than proba- bfel that St. Patrick had. If not per- feet knowledge, at least a suspicion. an inkling of the great work for which God had destined him. for we read in l the earliest lives of the saint, written by his disciples and immediate success sors of visions and dreams and heay- enly voices and other marks of divine power which God usually gives those who, having reached an exalted de- gree of sanctity are destined to do great things in the church. So Patrick when he reached, after six years ab- sence his own sunny France. betook himself to the monasteries and schools to acquire the learning necessary for the priestly state.
 Edueath0m Of fhe saint
 At the famous school of I4erins, in the company of the greatest saints and scholars of the age. and under the spir- itual guidance of the great St. Ger manus, the glory of the church at that period, he made rapid advance in sacred learning, and became so learned that, when the Pope wished to end the Pelagran heresy, that crushed on the continent, by the bulls of popes and aH If NHyaa fuf Ina fba cL Irch in Britain, he sent one saint to that land as companion to St. Ger menus Their mission was in every way a success. The heretics recanted their errors and submitted to the papal delegates.
 "On their return St. Germanus, sec ing the wonderful sanctity and zeal of St. Patrick sent him to Rome to rep resent to Pope celestbne. at that time occupying the chair of Peter. the sad condition of the Irish people who were lying as yet in the darkness of idolatry, ignorant of the saving faith of Christ, This Pope had previously sent Palla- dius to the island, but his mission had been far from successful. God had des- tined Patrick, not Palladius, to be the apostle of Ireland, so, blessed by Christ's vicar, St. Patrick set out on his jour ney. At the little town of Ivrea, that lies nestling at the foot of the Alps. the saint was consecrated bishop. then, led by the spirit, as he-himself tells us In his confessions, he came to Ireland.
 He first landed in the south of Ire land, but was repulsed by those same people who refused to hear his prede- cessor Palladius, so he sailed north ward, along the eastern shore, till he came to Strangford Lough: there he landed, and converted some of the neighbOring people. As he was so near the scene of his former captivity, he wished to return good for evil, by con verting his hard master. Mglcho, but this latter, too proud and too naughty to submit to one that had been his slave. rejected the grace and perished by his own hand. The saint then re- turned to the County Down, and spent the winter preaching to the surround ing people. and storming Heaven by austerity and prayer for the conver- sion of the Irish nation.
 Tn the spring of the following year, Patrick. enlightened by Heaven, re- solved to attack Paganism in It's strong hold, on the royal plains of Tara, so he entered his boat with his compan- ions and sailed southward to the mouth of the river Boyne. where he landed, and went on foot across the plains of Meath to the royal seat of Ireland's king.
 DIsObeyed Prohibition.
 
 When the saint arrived at Slane near Tara on Easter eve, he prepared to celebrate the great feast of the nor row by lighting the Parchal fire. Now 1t providentially happened that at the same time the king and druids were celebrating the great pagan festival. during which celebration all lights on the island were to be extinguished, and no one, under pain of death. might light a fire until the pagan fife was seen blazing from the hiIl of Tara. Patrick perhaps knew of this prohibi tion which he disoheyed. The druids told the king that if that fire was not extinguished 1t woul1 soon eXtinguish all the sacred fires on the island. so an armed cohort was sent over to seize the daring offender. Patrick advanced to meet them, and by prayer, and through Gods assistance, which he in- voked and obtained. he prevented the soldiery from inturing himself or his clerics. The king, seeing hIs power lessness. invited him to come next day to tn royal court and to explain to the assembledr chieftains the doctrines of the new creed. so on Easter Sunday morning. Patrick, robed in white, wear ing his mitre and carrying in his hand the famous crozler, the stan of Jesus. followed by his priests in sacerdotal robes, presented himself before the naughty king and the assembled court to preach to them for the first time Christ and Him crucified.
 what a scene Is here for painters pencil or for poets pen! The king and tLo acaau,hlad chiafa of Ireland listen