The Irish standard., 1917-02-24

TO- satisfy the world, with all reverence
opened the graves, and she found un-
doubted traces of a body. She did like
wise where st. Paul was said to have
been buried.
But arranged around the feet of St.
Peter, or the feet of his body, were
the bodies of the first twelve bishops
of Rome, placing him in the position
of his Lord with the twelve around
him. Is there anything more needed
to show that he was the Vicar of
Christ? Is not that remarkable? They
opened the earth around st. Pauls
burial place. No bodies inferred there.
That was to teach all ages that what
our Lord was to the twelve, st. Peter
was to the bishops of Rome. When
came in contact with that fact, as the
result of deep research, that settled
me. So far as st. Peters claims were
concerned, they were absolutely right.
came in contact with another OBJ
stacle to non-Catholics, and that was
the place of our Blessed Mother. 1t is
very remarkable thing that passage
which said she was to be the mother
of our Lord. 1t does not say Behold
virgin shall conceive" 1t is Behold
the virgin shall conceive" And that
was the Blessed Mother. We find the
Hebrew word Alma joined to the Latin
word Mater. Alma Mater means Vir-
gin Mother, but we put it in our Ian.
guage as loving mother
1t is the Hebrew word alma, mean
ing virgin, and so it is the holy name
which Catholic scholars long ago gave
to universities and to colleges, alma
mater, Virgin Mother. What glorious
faith the Catholic faith is, isn't it?
But why should l detain you speaking
of the Blessed Mother. Only l will
tell you this-the light of faith will
never come to places that today are
afflicted with a plague of the most de-
plorable kind. have in mind the
country | know best, that is England.
1t will never change the streets of
London by night. and they are re.
prOach to the universe. 1t will never
change these conditions in the large
cities in this country, in the large
cities of England and every country in
Europe, until there be restored to the
hearts of the people of those countries
the generation of the Blessed Mother,
for she was dethroned from their
hearts at the time of the reformation.
Once you dethrone the Blessed Mother
from the hearts of men then you de-
grade womanhood. 1t lost its sanctity
and we see today the results. Think
of what motherhood means. Before
came into the church l wrote little
poem on the Blessed Mother. 1t brings
into prominence the great truth of
motherhood. entitled the poem Cur
Lady" l wrote it while | was still a
non-C Catholic but | was coming to the
church without doubt
The invocation of the saints is an
other stumbling block, and you know
very we'll how we answer that. God
is not the God of the dead but the God
of the living, and if the saints who are
alive today find happiness in being of
service to their fellowmen and fellow
women, what would be their happiness
in the life beyond but to continue the
happiness they had on earth in being
of service to God and man. We should
invoke the saints just as we should
ask their prayers while they lived, for
God Is not the God of the dead but of
the living, and they are living with
him, and ask them, being nearer to
God, to obtain privileges for us.
Then we have confession. That is