The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-10-19
Continued from Page 81
A HERO or HUMANITY.

| OS0phefS and statesmen, among their
naked gods and goddnesses. Had he
not done more than they for the up
lift of the race?
But after while, they saw the
anomaly of saint keeping company
with such sinners. Look! they
cried, he was Catholic priest. He
worked for humanity, yes, but he be.
Iieved in God and Jesus Christ, taught
philosophy condemned, obedience
to kings, life after death, heaven and
hell. Therefore, his name must be
no more mentioned no more than
the Nazarene's. Down with his sta
tue!' So they trailed his statue
through the streets with curses. They
took his Sisters of Charity strapped
them, labeled and Enthusiastically
dressed, to horses and galloped them
through the bowling city. His priests
they whipped to prison Or to exile;
or lined them up, and shot them
down in companies of fifties.
They sacked the sanctuaries,
burned the churches, and the dust
of the holy dead they tossed to the
four winds. And when they came to
| pillage the church of ST. Lazare they
found a handful of old priests guard
| ing the body OF this Vincent. Silver
or gold these priests had none save
what encased the relics of their IA
ther And Judas-like, the robbers
cried, Why all this waste of silver
This could have been sold and given
to the poor! And you, old gray
hairs, must weep over rotten bones
Well fling them to the dogs in the
Streets One old cleric looked up at
them, and pointing to the dead cried,
will you desecrate the remains of
humanity's friend. You know full
well he never let the CALLED eye of
poverty weep in vain, nor crushed
the workingman, nor bent craven
knee to royalty Richelieu and Ma
zarin feared him when he pleaded the
cause of the people against the King
or the Queen. Have you now a man
among you that is better friend of
the down-trodden than was he?"
We'll, take these bones,' the leader
said, and guard them as you wish
Put them in a wooden coffin. Give
us the silver But the priests knew
that this was but a temporary respite,
when the bloodhounds came again,
they found that loved ones had TAX
en- away the master, and they knew
not where they had laid him.
"They would have mock process
sions with the relics of the saints
When they could find none, they took
the dead, bleeding bodies of their
slain wretches, placed them on their
shoulders, and marched in ragged
file into the churches. Upon the al
tar of Notre Dame where surpliced
choirs had lately chanted, and the
faithful knelt to receive their God
they enthroned lewd woman, har-
lot of the city, a wanton, lasciviously
draped, and, bending the knee before
her, they chanted, Gaze on our God
of the tabernacle! There are no gods
but reason and humanity, women and
wine, sin and slaughter
"A f1ame-storm swept DER France.
Women with fingers stretched and
tresses streaming, fed shrieking
through the burning cities. They fell
to death, or to worse than death
Over the charred embers the cavalry
plunged to crush whom the flames
spared, and the infantry followed to
bayonet whom the swords forgot.
Fair france became a reeking ruin,
soaked and smouldering in kissing
blood. The beauty of Sion was OBJ
scured, her temples overthrown, her
priests in sorrow, her virgins DESC
late. Babes dying at the breats of
their mothers; old men falling at the
heads of the streets. The people had
driven out God from their borders,
and a blackened waste remained.
From the ruins Napoleon rose,
blood-stained, and dashed the people
back to reason. He saw what a God
less people had done, and cried as
then must we make one!' For the
alteration of some God is a necessity
to people. But ah, Napoleon, how
will you bring back religion to my
people? You cannot shoot religion
into my peoples breast with grape
shot; you need sword, sword you
do not wield,-the two-edged sword
of the word of God. And will you
speak such word with bloody lips?
You may build our ruined churches,
build our affairs and our organs, and
clothe your hireIing apostate priest
with surplice and soutane. But that
is not religion. Religion comes not
with walls and altar stones nor garb
of men. 1t comes from the heart.
How will you bring back faith into
the hearts of the people? That they
again may rally around the cross of
| Christ, you must show them what
that cross has done for them; must
show them what that cross has done
for one of their heroes. You must
pick out the noblest Frenchman OF
us all, and bring us back to God
through him.
Archbishop Quelen of this city
thought so, too. And lately he asked
Where is the body of ST. Vincent de
Paul? He was a friend of humanity
and the friend of God; and friend
of humanity because he was the
friend of God. Where are his bones
Scattered to the winds?' And he
learned that after the sacking of st
Lazare they were hidden first in one
house of the Sisters of Charity, ther
in another; again in priests house;
/ and finally in SarVant-girlS room