The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1910-03-18

| exposed Lhelr HveS IOr tne- sake OF
knowledge, learning was more highly
honored than in the greatest univer-
stiles of the world.
We read also of the midnight mass
upon the mountain. Priest and con-
| gregation risked their lives by it's cele-
| bration. But they required strength to
| bear their sufferings and where would
they find it were the holy sacrifice de-
ni9d to them. Thus my dear brethren
by faithfulness to their religious .du-
| ties the Irish people have kept the
| faith in face of the most stupendous
difficulties.
Another characteristic of the Irish
people has been their missionary &C
tivity. st. Patrick enkindled in the
hearts of his disciples a love of God
which could be satisfied only by
spreading the knowledge of His holy
name amongst other nations. 1t was
this zeal for souls which caused Co.
lumbiade to leave the land he loved
SO well and found in Iona a monastery
which led the way in the conversion
and civilization of England and Scot
land. But the Irish missionaries were
not content with spreading the good
tidings in Britain and Gall. They ad-
NdhCeu " ueILuduy, AuSITld anu OWllZ
erland. They even crossed the Alps
into Italy and today Tiesole, Salerno,
Tarents and other towns in Italy honor
Irishmen as their first bishops and
patron saints. st. Coleman founded
on the banks of the Danube monas-
terry which still bears his name. The
I city of st. Gall had it's origin in an
Irish cloister. The names of Virgilius
of Salisbury, Columbanus, Gillian and
Fridolin are to the present time house
hold words in Tirol, Bavaria and
Saxony.
These names recall what has been
styled the golden age of the Irish
church. But in the designs Of Provi-
dence a still greater work was in store
for their downtrodden race. Thel,
rulers had forced them to forget their
own language and adopt that of the
conqueror. in so doing they wished to
deprive the people of one of the great
est supports of their religion. But out
of evil designs Almighty God drew
good. The people were forced to speak
the language of Protestant England:
In so doing they consecrated 1t
to the work of winning back to the
speaking world. If" says an eminent
German writer, "by missionary you
mean any person who carries the
knowledge of the true faith into dis
tant lands, then we may class amongst
the most active of missionaries the
Irish emigrant and his family
Remembering the history of st.
Alden and his followers and observing
the course of events in England in his
own time, Cardinal Manning asserts
that England had been twice disin-
herited by the faith and twice to a
great extent received the gift of eter
nal life from Ireland. So great has
been the influence of the Irish race in
upbuilding the church in all English
speaking countries that the same
writer truly said that in the vatican
counsel no saint had more mixed sons
than st. Patrick.
If such be true of the sons and fol-
lowers of st. Patrick, what shall we
say of the heroic daughters of ST.
Brigid who have left all to win souls
to Christ. They are to be found work
ing for God not only all over the
English speaking world but in every
part of the globe. They have Ipene-
trated to the heart of darkest Africa.
They devote their lives to the CONVEX
sion and education of the natives of
Ceylon, Indian and the vast Chinese
empire
In this age of materialism and re-
ligious torpor when so many countries
are taxed to the utmost to maintain
what faith they possess, the sight of
prosecuted, impoverished Ireland send
ing forth her children to preach the
gospel in every land should cause us
to conclude that she is engaged in
spreading the faith as no other nation
has spread 1t.
My purpose, my dear brethren, in
thus tracing the history of our people
has not been to arouse bitter feelings
against our oppressors. Nor would l
wish to give rise to mere pride or self
complacency. Time devoted to such a
purpose would be worse than wasted.
But from the consideration of the suf
ferings of our people would have you
form some idea of how they valued
their faith. They priced it above all
earthly goods. Did they for the sake of
social advantages minimize their faith
or neglect its practices? No, my dear
friends. A Catholic in his own land
was despised and looked down upon.
He had no existence in the eyes of the
law, yet far from hiding their religion
the people gloried in it. They suffered
poverty, degradation and death itself
rather than forsake it. Their faith
was not cold impersonal entity to be
donned as a cloak on Sunday. It en-
tered into their everyday life and per-
meated their whole beings. Thank
God that faith exists in Ireland today.
I have often heard old men and women
who had never known anything but
sorrow and hardship thank God for
His goodness to them. 1t was no mere
profession, either-they meant what
they said. That, my dear brethren, is
religion-that is faith!
In your veins flows the blood of
those heroic martyrs and confessors.
Are you worthy of your race? Have
you got that same life-giving faith ?
When Almighty God sends you sorrow,
do you ever complain? Do you ever
forget Him in your prosperity? Do you
value your faith above all earthly
goods? Is it your first and proudest
boast that you are Catholic? Do you
ever sacrifice your principles in order
to please those whom you foolishly
consider your social superiors?
You imagine that you would brave
death upon the mountain side to hear
the midnight mass. How often does a
trifling excuse cause YOU to lose mass