The Irish standard., 1914-02-21
IRELAND'S FIGHT TO =
KEEP THE FAITH

KEEP THE FAITH
Henry VIII paved the way in Eng
land for the new religion which had
recently appeared in Germany. Eliza
beth embraced it and forced it upon
her subjects in her own masterful
fashion. 1t was her worldly interest
to bring all into that Church of which
she herself was the recognized head.
Ireland fell within the circle of that
interest. 1t was then her ambition to
drive that land under the dominion
of Professionalism.
A servile Parliament was ready at
her beck. Laws soon sprang into exist
ence for the conversion of the two isl
ands. Race hatred added fury to the
assault upon the Catholic Church in
Ireland. The Irish were prosecuted
for being Irish and for being Catholic
with equal intensity of feeling.
Race and Religion.
AuS 1oCS dAu 1cll6lOu Scclueu W
balance the scales of their enemies
malignity. Two weapons were chosen
for their subjugation-the weapon of
poverty and the weapon of ignorance.
The laws soon made it impossible for
the Catholic to advance along the
road to fortune. They forbade him to
become or remain the owner of real
property. The honorable professions
were all closed against the adherents
of the old faith. Law, medicine, en-
cheering in their various branches
were reserved for the professors of
the new creed. The lowest and poor
est walks in life we're open to those
of the old. The nation was reduced to
poverty and degradation. The Irish
had become 'hewers of wood and
drawers of water" in the land that
was once their own.
Whilst little mercy was shown to
any class, the blow Of persecution fell
with heaviest weight upon the gentry.
Their properties were confiscated and
they themselves forced as beggars
upon the highways.
They had refused to take the new
medicine prescribed for their souls
and were sent adrift by the new doc
tors as unworthy of further care or
habitation. The tenants were left upon
their farms as necessary evils. Eng
lishmen could not be induced to come
and take their places.
The second weapon of persecution
was not allowed to rust in the hands
of the prosecutors. AS knowledge is
power, so ignorance is weakness. 1t
was decided accordingly to reduce the
Irish to that unhappy state. The light
of heaven was to be taken away from
them. Their churches were confis-
Gated for new lights to shine from
their pulpits, and the robbed owners
were forbidden to build others in their
stead.
The Mass was banned everywhere
under pain of death. The priest was
hidden to quit the country or forfeit
his life. He was likened to the wolf
by a reward of five pounds for either
head. Many priest paid the death
penalty in those evil days for his I'M
shaken fidelity to conscience.
The law that would Danish the
priest had no hospitality for the
schoolmaster. They were then, as
now, joint-workers in spreading
knowledge; and they were ordered to
cease work together, or give up their
lives. The priest took his life in his
hands when he celebrated the Holy
Sacrifice in the glen and the mountain
pass, where his forefathers were free
to roam. So did the schoolmaster
when he taught his little flock under
the shade of the prickly hedge. The
old religion was to be driven beneath
the earth. The Catholic sky was as
Egyptian darkness. There was no
silver lining to the cloud of gloom that
then enshrouded Erin. It seemed inn
possible for hope to live in any breast
UnwaverinQ Perseverance,.
Yet hope did live, struggling patient
ly amidst the sorrow and the oppres-
sion on every side. The unwavering
perseverance that bound the Gael to
the faith in those trying days had its
reward at last. The firm grip of per-
secution gradually loosened, and
crushed liberty began to breathe fee
bly,. The seeming corpse still pos
sessed a soul. The nations life re-
turned slowly. Her stiffened limbs be-
gan to recover their lost elasticity
and power. The trance was over. Ire
land had kept the faith; she had done
so by suffering, by resistance and by
the fixed determination never to yield.
The hidden priest once more moved