The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-01-15
ARCHBISHOP ON HOLY NAME

L
pends upon the human zeal and pru-
dence and devotion of her rulers and
her people. Let their faith fail or
/ their zeal grow cold and she fails. Let
it flourish and she fourishes.
History has this lesson for us, and
we Catholic men of Chicago brought
together. tonight in this great meet
ing OF the lovers of the Name of Jesus,
may we'll pause as we consider the
Apostles magnificent act of faith to
apply its meaning and significance to
this dear Church of our own land.
Christ, we know, shall not fail us, but
are we in any way through over con-
fidence or through boastfulness fail
ing His Church The coincidence of
the New Year with our patronal feast
invites to study the methods of the
wise children of this world, who, as
they cast up their accounts, learn
more for the future from the mistakes
and the failures of the years gone by
than they do from their successes
Now, on an occasion such as this,
it is well for us Catholics to be, honest
with ourselves, to confess our faults,
if we are at fault, and to be our own
sharpest critics. However well or ill
it may be for us to do so, the fact is
that we rarely do so. We meet usually
to- praise ourselves, to exclaim at our
own greatness and to, marvel at our
growth. Yesterday we had nothing,
we were nobody. Today, as in Tertull-
oT y,
We are millions; we are firmly estab-
lished; we are deeply rooted; our
churches are everywhere; our schools
are being multiplied; our institutions
are legion. No Church in the land
can assemble such crowds, can mar
| shal her men in such thousands, can
count her children in such millions
1t is the. theme and the tone of our
frequent jubilees. 1t is the welcome
phrase of our orators and our preach
ers. 1t is the vibrant note of our most
acceptable seers and prophets.
Largely Derived Faith.
yet, venture to say to you that so
far we Catholics of the United States
| have done little or nothing which
gives us the right ta. think or to. say
THAT the future or the Church in this
country is assured. Up to this, the
faith of American Catholics has been
largely derived faith, the faith of
the immigrant, whether Irish, Ger
man, Polish, French, Italian or what
ever the country of its derivation may
be-. 1t has been strengthened and sus-
tained by the memories of other coun-
tries, by the languages, the customs,
the traditions of the Old World 1t
| has thriven in this soil. It has sur
prised the enemies of our religion. 1t
has quickened our resourcefulness and
| produced results which are the admir-
alton of the world.
"Still, repeat it, the Catholic move
ment in the United States so far has
been largely controlled by the .momen-
tum it received in other lands and
bears the, characteristics and the limi-
tations of its origins. 1t is rather a
congeries of movements unrelated and
disunited, except for the sacramental
bond and the minimum Of unity, which
! the Church's discipline requires. 1t
does not yet appreciate the economics
of combination, the strength of soli-
! darity.
Irish. Catholic immigration on a
large scale was providentially pre-
ceded by the religious renewal of the
i Irish people which accomplished
| O'Connell's political agitation for
Catholic Emancipation, In one sense,
the great liberator was another apos-
| tie of Ireland, for he found his coun-
trymen intimidated and he left them
militant Catholics. Now, militancy
was precisely the quality which the
Irish immigrant needed on his en-
trance into a new country, which, al
though it had espoused the principle
: of political equality half century be-
& fore, had still retained the prejudices
and the ostracisms of an extreme type
of Englishman. He expected opposi-
ton and was prepared to fight for his
religion when the expected opposition
came. This conbative quality is still
his marked characteristic, surviving
the pressing need for it and perhaps
absorbing the energy that had better
in our modern day be directed towards
La more constructive apolegetic.
II Fiery Ordeal Of Persecution.
HThe German Catholic, when in fact
a Catholic, came here at time when
the Church in the Fatherland having
been tried in the fiery ordeal of perse-
cution, had developed a policy and
: perfected an organization which for
: many years has established : it as a.
tower, of, strength in the German En-
! pire. The many activities of, the Cath
/ olics of Germany in the field of poll
E ties, of social betterment, of intelli-
: ,gent propaganda, are, the admiration
Ell of all who know them intimately. 1t
4 WAS natural that the German Cath
d olic immigrant should seek to, asso-
lciate himself with, the thoughts and
1.-THE programs of his relatives at home
whose language, customs and manners
J. were still familiar to him and, If any
e thing, dearer to him in what seemed a
e land of exile than they were before he
J. crossed the ocean. Still, his very sin.
4 cere attachment to, the vigorous Church
r militant of Germany has HAD this limi
> tatioh that he has frequently worked
i-Iwith his eye more oh Eurbpeari condi