The Irish standard., 1907-02-16

When he joined tho Augustinian orfar
he WAS not An ignorant. inexperienced
youth; he was q wears old and was
d doctor of philosophy. His intentions
were unquestiona'bly sincere and holy.
Two years he remained in the novlti-
ate to probo himself and to study the
profound meaning and tho sacred obs
legation OF religious life. When the
young DOCTOR therefore, made his pros
fession at the age Of - we have alt
reasons to believe that he gave HIM
self to God with his whole l1aart, oc
his own FREQ will, with no other mo-
tive than to strive after perfection
and work for tho glory of God. We
may even suppose that he eXcelled
among his brethren in piety and learn
ing. lie WAS made superior, placed i'll
authority over eleven converts, and a&
sent to wittenbers to teach at the uni-
vcrsity. -.
ness; his surroundings were exceed
ingly bad We shall hardly find a. j.
time or place in the history Of the
Church when and where morals wcro
50 low as thcy We're in Germany in
tho beginning OF the sixteenth cen-
t,lry. Corruption infected the home,
the monastery, and even tha sane-,
trary. Father Denihc describes this !
moro clearly and moro frankly than
any other historian.
Luther understood the sad condi-
ton OF tho Church, feared for it and
tried to reform it. Speaking OF the
want Of lovo i'll tho heart Of the men
or the church he says, II am afraid /
his own to remain faithful and to re-
sist tho evil influences. Truly prudent
and wise is the advice he gave to al
fellow religious who was restless and
had a troubled heart. THE Father of
Mercy and the God Of consolation
he writes, has given you in the per-
son OF Bartholomew of Usingan thoI
best consolation He can give on eartl,.l
Deny yourself, then, follow his adviool
and keep it, in your heart" On an-I
other occasion, like a good spiritual
director, he recommends prayer andt
meditation on the bitter passion OIL
Jesus Christ. "A young. man." teI
writes, who has no devotion and mol
fervor in the service OF God, who isl
neHlectful and cares not for God can
not, ] believe, bo chas,e." ''The most
powerful weapon is prayer and thef
word or God. Let n man, in the hour
Of temptation, take his refuge to pray |
or, inblore the grace Of God, read and
mediate the Holy Gospels and study !
i'm them the passion Of jesus Christ"
TO strengthen his subject against the |
evil Influences or the bad examples
that surrounded them he writes: IT be-
lievc there has been no time in the
to be ~ religious than now, Just be-
cause a. religious is despised. II re-
ligious were filled with the love Of
God they would be the happiest men, |
and moro blessed than the hernits of
old, because they come near to the
Cross and its humiliation" In the
first ten years Of his monastic life,
therefore, Martin Luther, according to
his writings, seems to have been a |
true religious, and We may add that1
while he was good he wac happy.
The second picture Of this religious
reformer which Father Denifle draws
from the books written from 1915 to-
1921 indicates q great transformation.
a sad change and a deep fall. His
heart and mind, his life and doctrine.
all had changed. Instead Of q relig-
ous fighting the abussrs Of religion
we see an ex-religious attacking
church and religion, becoming the
leader and orrnnizer Of those who