The Irish Race in the Past and the Present

impulse of his grace. Those exterior proofs are generally termed "the evidences of religion." They produce their chief effect on inquirin

days, many strangers are brought, on reflection, to the faith of Christ, always

n the soul of the convert; but the Holy Ghost acts in conformity with the disposition of the soul; and we know, by what has been said on the character of religion among the Romans and the Greeks in the earlier days of the Church, that it took long ages, the infusion of Northern blood, and the simplicity of new races

g Nature, but always keeping it in mind, and consecrating it to God, truly endowed, consequently, with the promises of earth as well as those of heaven-the Christia

ions supernatural, into heaven itself. The Trinity, the Incarnation, the Redemption, the mission of the Hold Ghost on earth, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection of the

by faith and hope. He has acquired a new life, new senses, as it wer

y and eternal. Hence the holiness and perfection required of them-a holiness, according to Christ, like that of the celestial Father himself; hence contempt for the things of this world, so strongly recommended by our Lord; hence the assurance that men are

neglect entirely his temporal advantages, forget entirely Nature, and think only of grace, or rather,

mself. It is, indeed, a worldly treasure, belonging to God, as all else, and which the hand of God scatters profusely among his creatures. God will not fail to grant to every one what he needs,

natural aspect of the universe. The change produced throughout by the new religion was indeed remarkable, but not what it would have b

fficient knowledge of the Christian mysteries, but, above all, to make those mysteries infl

he requires a change in their whole being-that it be spiritualized: by deeply exciting their feelings, by speaking of Christ as their spouse, by making them wish to receive him in the hol

that we cannot refrain from presenting an extract from it, remarking that this beautiful hymn has been the great prayer of all Irishm

od instruct me, may the eye of God view me, may the ear of God hear me, may the word of God render me elo

at my right, Christ at my left; . . . Christ be in the heart of each person whom I speak to, Christ in the

m he converted, true supernatural Christians-forgetful of

on of the people, a power beyond that of man; and history shows the same phenomenon in all pagan countri

several chieftains supported them. Prestiges were, therefore, tried in antagonism to miracles; but, as Moses prevailed over the power

of incantation written under his white garments; he fell dead. Laeghaire himself, the Ard-Righ of all Ireland, w

verts, so completely were they under the influence of the supernatural. Thus Ruis found it hard to believe. To strengthen his faith, Patrick restored to

arth still possessed. "Hasten, then," said Patrick, "for thou art at the gates of death." Sechnall, not

the holy abbot. "We will not receive thee." "Before I leave this place," responded Kynrecha,

thing is certain: the people who lived during that apostleship believed in them firmly, and handed down their belief to their children. Moreover, nothing was better calculat

sire of dying, to be united with Christ; the indifference, at least, as to the prolongation of existence; the readiness, if not the joy, with which the announcement of death was recei

young, the middle-aged, or the old. The young, closing their eyes to that bright life whose sweetness they have as yet scarcely tasted, never murmur at being deprived of it, though hope is to them so alluring; the middle-aged, called away in the midst of projects yet unaccomplished, see the sudden end of all that before intere

er with an indelible mark, distinguishing it

their strong belief in the power of the priesthood. This is so striking among them that they have been cal

Turkish slavery-when the great doctors sent them by Providence spoke on the subject, what were their words, and what impression did they make on their supercilious hearers? St. John Chrysost

s descended from heaven, the man consecrated to an office higher than any on earth, and as high as that of the incarnate Son of God

an read the details of those privileges with respect to the remission of sin, the conferring of grace by the sacraments, the infallible teaching of truth, the power even granted to them sometimes over

n their veneration and trust. And if we would ascertain the cause of their standing in this regard, we shall find that other nations, while firmly believing the words of Christ, keep their eyes open to human frailty, and look more keenly and with more suspicion on the conduct of

lways possessed for the Irish nature, when developed by grace. They accept fully and unsuspiciously what is heavenly, because they, more than others, feel that the

d before the heavenly honors of the priesthood. They have been taught by St. Patrick that e

to repress theft, punish adultery, not to keep buffoons or unchaste persons; not to exalt iniquity, but to sweep away the impious from the land, exterminate parricides and perjurers; to defend the poo

o directs, the anchor that stays, the hammer that strikes, the sun that enlightens, the dew which moistens, the tablet to be written on

the interior qualities of a spiritual Christian

shops, abbots, and priests, supported by an invisible power, st

king by the hand and led him to the northern city-walls; there he opened the king's eyes, and he beheld all the Irish saints of hi

and there he saw the white-robed glorious army of Ireland's virgins, led by Bridg

chapter are from the "Leg

sick restored to health, the dead even raised to life, are occurrences which the reader meets in almost every page of the lives of Irish saints. The Bollandists, accustomed as they were to meet with miracles of that kind, in the lives they published, found in Irish hagiography such a superabundance of them, that they

rish have manifested a holy avidity for every thing supernatural and miraculous. Do they not know that our Lord has promised gifts of this description to his apostles and their successors? And what the acts of t

ormer; is it not unnatural, then, for the same Christian soul to reject the latter becaus

reserve; and in its entirety it is supernatural. The criticisms of human reason on holy things hold in their eyes something of the sacrilegious and blasphemous; such criticisms are for them open disrespect for divine things; and, inasmuch as divi

ever separated from its Maker; the hand of God is ever visible in all mundane affairs, and the frightful parting between the spiritual and material worlds, first originated by the Baconian philosophy, which culminate

e passed long ages ago, and not continuing through all time; and thus they are bound by their system to hold that miracles are very extraordinary things, not to be believed prima facie, requiring infinite precautions before admitting the supposition of their having taken place; all which indicates a real repugnance to their admission, and an innate fear of supposin

re, God's handiwork, instead of repelling them from God himself, draws them gently but forcibly toward Him, so tha

e inferior part of creation? Who can say so, and have true faith in the words of our Lord? Who can say so, and truly call himself the fo

nity, to continue, we hope, forever. It ought, therefore, to be carefully distinguished from that love for every priest of God w

pon to exercise their authority and power against princes and chiefs of clans, accustomed to plunder, destroy, and kill, on the slightest pretext, and unused to control their fierce passions, inflamed by the rancor of feuds and

o bring under the yoke of Christ, that the saints, in taking the side of the po

t, she sent one of her maidens. When the nun returned: 'Mother,' she asked, 'why would you not go and see the queen? you pray for the wives of peasants.' 'Because,' said the servant of God, 'the poor and the peasants are almost all good and pious, while the sons

elpless; and their great number in the lives of the old saints at once gives a reason for the deep love which the lower

ce and awe resulting from the supernatural character of their office. The first feeling is merely a natural one, produced by deeds of benevolence and holy charity fondly remembered by the individuals benefited. The se

in freedom or in subjection, they always preserve an instinctive faith in the unseen power which Christ conferred on those whom He chose to be his ministers. This feeling, which is

the title of a "priest-ridden" people, which has been fixed on them as a term of

natural character of the Christian religion, is the extraordinary ardor with which, from the very beginning, they rushed into the h

mmandments of God; it is only the few who feel themselves called on to enter

nd delight he experienced when he saw in what manner and in what numbers they begged to be consecrated to God the very first day after their baptism. Yet were they conscious that this

ght of Christian life. Monasteries and nunneries could not be constructed fast enough, although they contented

veral centuries; it was still in full flame at the time of Columba, more than two hundred years after Patrick; it grew into a vast conflagration

to be explained by the large number of children with which God blessed those who pursued an ordina

emains, because of the perishable materials of which they were construct

d his children with the thought of erecting more substantial structures, of building walls of stone and roofing them in with tiles and metal; and the island was literally covered, not with Gothic castles or

urse profaned, converted to vile or slavish uses, many altogether destroyed to the very

hen commissioners were appointed to publish lists and diagrams of the former dwellings of the "saints," which the "zeal" of the "reformers" had battered down without mercy? To the astonishment of all, it was proved by the ruins still in existence that the greater portion of th

ing, the Irish were not only "priest-ridden," b

sh hagiology, that a great number of those who devoted themselves to a life of penance and austerity, did not dwell even in the humble structures of the first monks, but, deeming themselves unworthy of the society of their brethren

n the modern tourist in his summer explorations, teemed with Christian life, and e

ngle sin. They often passed a lifetime on a rock in the midst of the ocea

eed, to the feelings of worldlings, but in reality devoted to the conte

tablishments have been alike; that those of mediaeval times were simply the reproduction of earlier ones. An abbot, the three vows, austerity, psalmody, study-such are the general features common to all; but those of Ireland had pec

rins, wherein the West reflected more truly than it ever did subsequently th

and the Anglo- Normans, introduced this afterwards; but the genius of the Irish race is altogether opposed to it,

ngth in Rev. Dr. Moran's "Early Irish Church," are not monastic rules, although many canons have reference to monks.) St. Columbanus's rule is the only one which has come down to us; but the monasteries founded by him were all situated in Burgundy, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy-that is to say, out of Ireland, out of the island of saints. He was compelled to furnish his monasteries with a written rule

iples came, they were to observe it, or go elsewhere; if, after having embraced it, they found themselves unable to keep it to the letter, the ab

they could. St. Fintan, who was inclined to be severe, received this warning in a vision: "Fight unto the end thyself; but

and showed themselves severe to those under their authority. But this severity was tempered by such zeal for the good of souls, and consequently by such an unmistakable

y. In St. Patrick's life we read that Colman died of thirst

all ecclesiastical and monastic traditions were lost to Ireland, through the sheer impossibility of following them up, the Irish still show

lse to the same extent, and which we call their second peculiar feature after they received Christianity. This is beautifully expressed in a hymn of the offi

s Bridget, such was Gildas, such were the disciples of St. David of Menevia in Wales, such was any one whom the Spiri

er; for the whole country round joined in the goodly work. As some one has said,

history - in the earlier stages at least - of those long charters granted in other lands by kings, dukes, and counts, and preserved with such care in the archives of the monastery. It seems that the Danes, after they became Christians, were the first to introduce the custom; after them, the Anglo- Normans, in the true spirit of their

ards; within small cells begin to appear, as the slight partitions are erected between them. Symmetry or no symmetery, the position of the ground

ver and above the students committed to their care. And, in addition to the cells to dwell in, there are the halls wherein to teach; the museums and reposito

ut. Within, the heavenly mysteries of religion will be performed. Should you ask, "Why so small?" the answer is ready. That large space empty around holds room enough for the worshippers, whose numbers could be accommodated in no edifice. The

the fragments we still possess how, on the arid rock of Iona, Columba remembered his former residence at Derry, with its woods of oaks and the pure waters of its loughs. In all the lives of Irish saints we read of the deep attachment they always preserved for their country, relatives, and friends; what they did and wer

with some of his monks, were chanting psalms around the corpse, and asked him the favor of dying with his brother, and entering with him into the heavenly kingdom. 'Thy brother is already in heaven,' replied Fintan, 'and you cannot enter together unless he rise again.' Then he knelt in prayer, the

purify it, exalt it above ordinary feelings and earthly passions, and keep it constantly in a state of energy and vitality

render their nationality imperishable in spite of persecution. How ardent and pure in the heart of Columba was the love of Ireland, from which he was a voluntary exile! Patrick, also, though not native born, yielded to none in that sacred feeling; one of t

ds of Irishmen for their country; and it is, doubtless, that holy and supernatural feeli

ndled in their hearts a spirit of enthusiasm; their whole monastic life wa

ny pilgrimages to perform, so many shrines to venerate, so many works of brotherly love to undertake. Other monks in other countries, indeed, did the same, but seldom with such universal ardor. The whole island, as we said, is one church. On all sides you may meet bishops, and priests, and monks, bearing revered relics, or procee

enough for their ardor, those men of God were early moved by the impulse of going abroad to spread the fai

e the Norwegian pirates landed there. Then they evangelized Scotland and the north of England; and, starting from Lindisfarn

on, under the Carlovingian dynasty, they became celebrated in the east of France, on the banks of the Rhine, even in the north through Germany, in the heart of Switzerland, and the north of Italy. This is not the place to attempt even a sketch of their missionary labors, now known to all the students of the history of those times. But w

l, son of Coelmuine, brought from Rome the law of

St. Degan, St. Kilian, the apostle of Franconia; St. Sedulius the younger, who assisted at a Roman council in 721, and was sent by the Pope on a mission to Spain; St. Donatus, afterward Bishop of Fiesole, and his d

Lotharingia, eleven in Burgundy, nine in Belgium, ten in Alsatia, sixteen in Bavaria, fifteen in Rhaetia, Helvetia, and Suevia, besides several in Thuringia and on the left bank

y to the Danish invasion. What contributed chiefly to make that ardor lasting was, that every thing connected with religion made a part even of their exterior lif

s the monks. These had also their processions and pilgrimages; they went forth from houses over-full to found others, not knowing or calculating beforehand the spot where they might rest and "expect resurrection." Such was their language. Sometimes they applied at the doors of monasteries, and if there

seen angels constantly coming down from heaven, and the souls of the just at their departure going straight from Ireland to heaven? Both in perpetual communication! Had the eyes of all been as pure as those of the best among them, the truth would have been unveiled to all alike, and the "isle of saints" would have shown itself to them as wha

rated the holy spot they dwelt on by their deeds of blood. The Saviour predicted

and in blood. Family quarrels, being in themselves unnatural, led to the most atrocious crimes. The old Greek drama furnishes frightful examples of it, and similar passions

ated leading a celestial life. We know from St. Aengus that one of the glories of Ireland is that many of her saints were of princely families, whereas among other nations generally the Gospel was first accepted by the poor and lowly, and found it

by their virtues, and find place in the chronicle of Irish saints. Who can read, for

erection of churches, and the wants of Christ's poor." "And what wouldst thou ask?" said the king to Fota. "I would," he replied, "have as many holy books as the church could contain, to give all who seek divine wisdom, to spread among the people the saving doctrine of Christ, and rescue souls from the bondage of Satan." Both then turned to Caimine. "For my part," said he, "were this church filled

natural to the Irish mind in the great as well as in the lowly, in

my longing.' The night was dark; it grew light for her, and the world appeared to her gaze. But when she had beheld it, she turned

hat the spirit of the words of Daria was congenial to the Irish mind at the time, and that none but one who

inary human and natural feelings, which not only ceased to become dangerous, but became, doubtles

ody and blood of our Lord. Ninnid resolved that his hand should remain pure for so high and holy an office. He enclosed it in an iron case, and wishing at the same time to postpone, as far as lay in his power, the moment that was to take Bridget fr

island the natural feelings of the human heart were wholly absorbed by heavenly emotions, in which nothing earthly could be found? Hence the celebrated division of the

h them, occupied in common. Double, or even mixed monasteries, so near to each other as to form but one

thing similar in the order, of Fontevrault in France; but there it was a strange and very uncommon exception; in Ireland for two cent

even to the best men of other nations. The elevation of human feeling to such a height of

of the Christian religion, if the spirit brought on earth by our Lord had been more thoroughly diffused among men, if al

to the working of the Spirit of God in the souls of men, that comparatively f

at least in the practice of the commandments; but the object proposed to himself by the Saviour of mankind was imperfect

een the characteristic of the people. "Centuries have perpetuated the alliance of Catholicity and Ireland. Revolutions have failed to shake it; persecution has not broken it; it has gaine

k, St. Columba, and St. Bridget:-the second under the general title of "Acta SS."- Barnwall, an Irishman born and educated in France, published the "Histoire Legendaire d'Irlande," in which he collected, without much orde

idge, unless the MSS. he used differed from those of Dr. Todd. The whole is a rich mine of interesting anecdotes, and Montalembert has shown what a skilfu