Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-18

"This result in the lifetime of one
man convinces us of the advanced con-
dition of the civilization of pagan Ire
land when st. Patrick entered upon
his missionary work. That he should
have left an island of saints and schol-
ars advanced in the learning and lit
erature Of Christianity Is an evidence
that the foundations upon which he
built were foundations which evinced a
moral and intellectual condition of the
people whose apostle he became. Like
Abraham, he left his home and kindred
to become the father of nation given
to him by Cod like Moses, he was sent
to lead a people out of the captivity OF
error and idolatry into the promised
land of truth and faith. To his credit
and to the credit of the Irish be 1t
said that the entire race was convert
ed without the shedding of drop OF
martyr blood, but the preserving and
conserving Of the religion which he
taught has been the occasion in the
centuries that followed for a martyr
dom which has not been equaled in the
history of any civilized people.
"St. Patrick's day brings us face to
face with the Christian history of our
people, who as result of the gospel
became a great force in the educa-
tional work of Christianity. From the
sixth to the tenth century Ireland was
the home of scholarship, not only the
scholarship of the Christian life, but
also the scholarship of profane learn
ing. Her cloister schools were the
most celebrated in all the west and
from all parts of the continent students
flocked to receive their learning at the
hands of the Irish monks and nuns
Modern scholarship is paying it's trib-
ute to the work of the Irish monastic
schools in which the torch of learning
was never eXtinguished and out OF
which came an army of saints and
scholars who at home and abroad
stood for the highest Christian life
The monks went forth to teach at the
courts of kings, to eVangelize the ma
tions, to establish schools and uniVersi-
ties. Columcille at Iona in Scotland
Columbanus and Bobbio in Italy, are
typical of the zeal and devotion of the
Irish monks, who, formed in the
schools Of Clonmacnoise and Clonfert
and Bangor, went through Europe
bearing the blessings of the cross and
of knowledge to all peoples with whom
they came in contact.
Persecution of Ireland
"The Danes were filled with hatred
for the Christian name and wreaked
vengeance upon many of the monas-
teries They were succeeded in later
years by the greed and hate of the
Norman and the English, who, even in
their Catholic character, We're hostile
to everything Irish. The reformation
brought to the English a hatred for
the religion of the Irish which, added
to their national hatred, brought the
penal laws which form the most in
iquitous page in the history of any
civilized country Like the monks who
had gone abroad from the Irish mon
asteries to teach Europe the gospel
of Christ and the letters of polite
learning, the Irish soldiers in the
Cromwellian days We're scattered over
Europe, entering the Catholic armies
and hghting the battle of the church
against the reformers. The last CEN
tury brought to the Irish the cruel re-
suits OF iniquitous land laws and COM
mercial hatred and forced into exile
some of the best blood Of Ireland. The
story of the famine, the coercion laws,
and the forced emigration is but anoth-
er page In the history OF Irelands per-
secution for her faith. This last act
has had the result of scattering the
Irish all over the world, particularly
in this western continent, to which they
have brought their religion, the relig-
ion OF Christ as taught to their faith
ers by ST. Patrick. Through 1900 years
ia glory and In defeat, In sunshine and
IN darkness, amidst the bitterest OF
prosecutions. there has been a race