to-day is:--How to organise healthy and sinless amusements for
the people. Our skies are gloomy, our climate depressing, and the
very dreariness of country life causes thousands to fly. Look at
the groups of young men at the village corners, where is the hope
or contentment in their looks?
[Side note: Goldsmith's Days]
I think you may challenge the world's literature for more
wholesome pictures of rural pleasures than those mirrored in the
"Deserted Village." They are not creations of the poet's fancy,
but chronicles of facts that lived before his eyes. In them, you
have the image of Ireland as she lived before the black shadow of
'47 fell upon her. All went on in the open daylight, under the
eyes of parents and friends.
"The young contended while the old surveyed."
Virtue was safe, tired hearts were cheered, and, whilst these
sports flourished, few Irish boys or girls wanted to know the
road to the emigrant ship.
Would it be possible to re-create the Ireland of Goldsmith's
days?
[Side note: The Winter's Night]
One thing, however, is not outside the range of possibility--to
persuade parents in rural districts to make some effort to
brighten the lives of their children; to have all household work
done two hours before bedtime, to have a bright fire on the
hearth and a bright lamp on the table, and a plentiful supply of
the Catholic Truth Society books, Catholic papers and periodicals
always at hand. Many a poor boy and girl, whose thoughts to-day
are turning to Sydney or New York as an escape from cheerless
drudgery, would then read a new meaning into the word "home." No
matter how toil presses during the day, the prospective two hours
of brightness and pleasure cheers them.
"Give a man a taste for reading and the means of gratifying it,"
says Sir John Herschel,[1] "and you can hardly fail to make him a
happy man, you place him in contact with the best society of
every period of history--the wisest, the wittiest, the tenderest,
the bravest and the purest characters that adorn humanity." A
parent who cannot line his child's pocket with gold has in this
simple plan a means of enriching his head with knowledge, and so
sending him on the world armed. Self-respect would grow; the
gross pleasures of the card-table or the public-house would lose
their charm. Your own words would fall on ears steadily becoming
more intelligent. The parish after five years would wear a new
face.
[1] Eton Address
[Side note: Activity VI The country Schoolhouse]
Could not the young men be gathered once a week during the winter
months, and the school house be converted into a literary,
debating or lecture room?
If the young priest prepared one lecture a month, he might
revolutionize the district by teaching the people how to organize
and foster small industries or technical branches suited to the
localities. There is wealth in the mushrooms on the field, the
blackberries on the hedge, and the cresses by the stream. In
other countries thousands are made by these unnoticed products.
Why not here?
[Side note: Our Ruins]
When the summer comes, the curate could easily organize
occasional bicycle excursions with the young men to some
memorable Catholic ruin, in whose history he should be well made
up. The saints and scholars who have glorified our annals are
lying around our churches; we stumble over their graves for forty
years sometimes, without enquiring who they were or what they
did. I am aware there are laudable exceptions: they are, however,
isolated. When the public wants to know anything about our
monasteries, they often have to turn to the layman and even to
the parson.
The small number of priests in the Archaeological Society is a
striking reproach. One would think that our saints and their
works were something to be ashamed of, since the natural
guardians of their memories have practically abandoned them. This
country is filled with catacombs. Every child should be made
acquainted with the life of the leading saint, and the history of
the most memorable ruin in the locality; those hoary prophets,
now so mute, would then speak with tongues of fire out of the dim
past, telling the story of our fathers' Faith and heroic
achievements.
Let us now rise to a higher plane of the young priest's
activities.
[Side note: Activity VII Literature]
It is a stupendous and a humiliating fact that, while this
country is deluged with the writings of the sensualist and the
infidel, there are over three thousand brainy priests upon the
land, and the world of thought knows nothing of them.
[Side note: Cambridge and Oxford]
[Side note: First Premium Men]
When we read of brilliant students at Cambridge or Oxford, we
naturally look forward to see them leaders of thought or action
in their own land, and we are seldom disappointed. Our Irish
colleges are discharging yearly swarms from their doors, many of
them men with brilliant records. Who hears of them after? What
have these first-class premium men, who gave such splendid
promise, done with their gifts and knowledge? How little does the
Irish Church owe them? The day the premium book was handed them,
all serious effort died. They were content to rest for the
remainder of their lives under the shade of their academic
laurels.
The soldier is not satisfied with the triumphs of his recruit
days. He knows that the purpose of his life then is not to gain a
prize and stop at that, but to acquire efficient skill in the use
of his weapons that he may become a living force on the future
field of action.
The college is but the training ground, not the final goal; the
real field of our activities lies outside its walls. Yet when the
scholastic course closes these richly-gifted men dip below the
horizon, and the world seldom hears of them again; the
destructive wave that in its silent strength is covering the land
receives no check from them; they are engraving no impression on
the intellect of the day.
Our humiliation and surprise increase when we turn to the
publisher's lists and see parsons, who have to prepare to meet
critical audiences Sunday after Sunday, and are weighted with the
cares of heavy families, holding leading places in every literary
enterprise.
Now, if our young men set to work to popularise our native
saints, and in their lives dig up the buried glories of our
Catholic past, if each diocese produced even one crisp
well-written life, what a splendid step in advance.
But the demand for our literary activities is far wider than the
shores of Ireland.
[Side note: America and Australia]
The American and Australian Churches are daughters of this soil.
We are proud of them; they are the frontier regiments of our
fighting army; they are daily advancing Patrick's standard over
fresh fields of conquest: but what help have we given them?
The present generation of priests there are builders. But, like
the men on Jerusalem's walls, they have to grasp the sword in one
hand and the trowel in the other.
Protestantism in those lands is fast running to its final
declension--naked infidelity. Now the infidel knows no rest;
activity is the law of his existence. The buried ghosts of past
heresies are resuscitated and draped in all the attractiveness of
modern dress. The arsenal of error stored by every perverse
genius from Arius to Tyndal is daily discharged into the Catholic
ranks. There is scarcely a truth free from truculent assault.
It is hard to ask the men toiling in the glare of the camp fires,
to fight the battles and manufacture the shells.
Now, all that is best of French Catholic intellect has been given
to this cause for the past century. The priest who would devote a
few winters to the holy toil of translating this into a shape
suitable to the needs of our fighting millions would do an act of
merit that God alone could measure. Yet what ammunition have we
supplied to our brave soldiers? Scarcely a grain of shot.
[Side note: The Causes of Sterility]
Why this sterility? Why this barrenness? Is it our native
lethargy or our native modesty? or the defective training of our
colleges in neglecting to foster literary tastes?
We will not pause to enquire. That there is one sad cause is
beyond all question--the bitterness of clerical criticism. The
Irish priest who takes to the cultivation of letters ought to
choose St. Sebastian for his patron saint; for he will have an
arrow planted in every square inch of his body.
While we have no word of condemnation for the writers who are
sucking the life-blood of Faith from our people, should one of
ourselves show style in his sermons, or attach his name to a
magazine article, the amount of mordant criticism he has to face
is sufficient to make the stoutest heart sink.
The average Irish skull in the hands of a phrenologist will show
a development of destructive bumps surpassed by none, but when he
searches for constructive ones, a glass of no small magnifying
power must come to his aid.
The habit of sneering criticism begins in the college and should
be killed in its birth-place. The man who drops an icy or an acid
word into the warm enthusiasm of a young heart commits a great
crime. He may paralyse the purpose of a noble life. Let us
reserve all our hard blows and hard words for Christ's enemies,
and a cheerful encouragement to His friends should not cost us a
drop of blood.
[Side note: The Task is Finished]
Here we pause, fully conscious of the incompleteness of our task.
The many possible and profitable fields of the young priest's
activities are no more than hinted at.
We are passing through a period of change: old landmarks are
disappearing, but if the future is to be made secure, the priest
of the present must cling to the people and teach them to cling
to him. In the revival of their industries or their language, in
the Feis or the hurling field, the priest should be the source of
their inspiration and their controlling director.
Woe to the parish where the priest sits idly or sinks into dreamy
lethargy while the people pass from him, away.
[Side note: Farewell]
The world is moving onward. Our world is willing just now that we
move with and direct it. But how long, O Lord, how long? Let us
remain stationary and it will move without us; and once lost,
lost for ever.
A glance at the Continent should fire us to desperate efforts.
You see the Church dashed to pieces in the seething vortex of
destruction; in some countries honey-combed to rottenness, ready
to totter and fall before the first outburst of Socialistic fury.
The Press teems with ribald jeer and blatant blasphemy. The
priesthood, a separate caste, hounded like lepers of old from the
highways of public life, voiceless and despised--the apostate
priest hailed with delight smothered in incense--the faithful
priest lashed at the pillar of public scorn. O God, shall
Ireland--the last fortress--follow?
That question is for us to answer: the shaping of the future lies
in the hands of the living present.
Let listlessness prevail, and when an apostle of evil does arise,
perhaps in the not distant future, he will appeal to the past for
his justification.
He will tell the people, that for a full century three thousand
four hundred priests were upon the land. Talent, leisure and
unbounded trust were theirs. Yet, where are the literature,
village libraries, social organizations, or other agencies of
enlightenment promoted by them? Has not the country rotted and
the emigrant ship been glutted? Away with them! Why cumber they
the ground?
That day, please God, shall never come, if we sink deep into our
souls the conviction that a great effort is required, and fling
our hearts into it; that the ever increasing new needs and foes
of to-day cannot be met with the antiquated weapons of the past;
that the old rut must be abandoned and the new ground broken:
then the future is secure. The old citadel of Catholic
Christendom will continue a fortress, flying the old flag,
towering above the Atlantic breakers with a strength impregnable
and a Faith undimmed--a Pharos of spiritual splendour.
And when in other lands eyes grow dim with the mists of despair,
they will look up and the light of a new-born hope will enkindle
within them. And when hearts in other lands are sinking from
repeated failure, they will pulse with the inspiration of a fresh
courage when the story of our efforts and our triumphs is
recalled.
THE END
PRESS NOTICES
"Every thoughtful mind amongst us, whether priest or layman, will
thank the courageous writer who throws upon our insular
prejudices the flashlights of other civilisations, and shows us
certain defects which we can only neglect at our own peril. We
hope that this little book will find its way to every student's
desk in Ireland and abroad, and that its lessons will be taken to
heart by professors and _alumni_ alike. It is worth reading if
only for its style, which is far above that usually assumed by
writers on similar subjects. But its chief value is in the deep
insight it manifests as to the wants of the age and the necessary
equipment of the young apostles of our race, whose mission will
be to strange peoples and curious, though some times sympathetic,
souls who are seeking the light and failing to find it. It is a
book to be read with humility and a total absence of that mild
conceit which refuses to accept any but domestic and partial
criticism. The words are those of a thinker and an orator."--
Canon Sheehan in the _Freeman's Journal_.
"Anyone who has lived five years in Australia would advise every
young priest coming to this country to have a copy of Father
Phelan's admirable book in his luggage, and read it more than
once. The young ecclesiastic coming hither who treats lightly the
advice given him will find by-and-by that every line of the book
is true; every priest who has lived a few years on the Australian
mission will know already that it is so."--_Melbourne Advocate_.
"The Rev. M. Phelan, S.J., stresses the necessity of culture of
mind and manners for young priests and seminarians. Father
Phelan, himself a noted preacher, devotes several helpful
chapters to the means of acquiring excellence in preaching. The
book is brimful of valuable hints and helps, and their value is
not diminished by the fact that the style is racy and readable
throughout. The following is intended for Irish readers, but the
advice has wider application:--'. . . He should not commit the
signal folly of attempting to engraft an imported accent on his
own; he should speak as an Irishman, but as an educated
Irishman.' 'The Young Priest's Keepsake' should become a
_vade-mecum_."--_America_.
"With considerable skill and plenty of plain speaking, Father
Phelan gives some admirable advice to young priests in regard to
the study of English and the composition and delivery of sermons.
His experiences in Ireland and on the foreign missions are his
claim to say what his opinion is, and his opinion is weighty.
Father Phelan has wise counsels to give, and gives them in a most
pleasing way. He is always bright, always interesting, and always
instructive. His book deserves to be known to the clergy at
large, and we wish it the circulation it deserves."--_Catholic
Times_.
"This is, indeed, a very valuable book for the young priest. It
is intended chiefly for those who are going on the foreign
mission, and it would be well for them if they would take to
heart the sound advice given to them here by a man of wide
experience and great success in the missionary field. The first
chapter on the necessity of culture and gentlemanly manners is
alone worth the price of the book. Young priests have probably
often heard of the necessity of writing their sermons, but I
doubt if they ever had the advantage of having it put before them
in such a practical and convincing fashion as that in which it is
done by Father Phelan in his third chapter. The same notes of
practical sound sense mark the chapters on 'Pulpit Oratory' and
on 'Elocution.' Altogether, this book should be the _Keepsake_ of
every young priest. It contains many things that will benefit
priests, young or old, of every description. Father Phelan
deserves our thanks as well as our congratulations on the success
of his work."--_Irish Ecclesiastical Record_.
"A wonderful amount of practically useful advice, the matured
fruit of vast missionary experience, seasoned by conscientious
study and a fraternal longing to assist the young priest are the
most salient features of this inimitably-written volume. The
style is excellent. In crisp, accurate language every paragraph,
every sentence even, tells exactly what the writer wishes to
state, and no more. . . . The book has not appeared an hour too
soon. . . . It is bound to be of immense service to Irish
students, especially those preparing for a missionary life in
foreign countries. . . . I take the responsibility of highly
recommending Father Phelan's book to those for whose instruction
and efficiency the work has been written."--The Author of
"Innisfail" in _Sydney Freeman's Journal_.
"Father Phelan is a model of the ideas he advocates. His English
is pure without being dull for a moment. He exemplifies his
theories. If you are a preacher, or wish to be, if you are
teaching rhetoric or learning rhetoric, if you are a seminarian
or a friend of a seminarian, get this book for yourself or your
friend."--_American Messenger_.
"Those who know Father Phelan as a preacher will not require to
be told that his book is simple, solid, and practical, and that
his method of exposition is lucid, homely, and vigorous. Purely
literary effort has been no aim of the writer, and yet it would
be hard to name a recent book which can be read with greater
pleasure, for the charm of its style alone. The expression is cut
down to the last necessary word, but every necessary word is
there; every idea is expressed simply, but adequately, and with
the finish and lustre of the diamond. . . . It would be
interesting to the reader and a pleasure to the writer to quote
from Father Phelan's work some of the many magnificent passages,
but the book is so beautifully knit together, ideas follow each
other in such logical sequence, that no selection could give an
adequate impression of the work. But with an easy conscience I
can recommend every clerical student, every young priest, and for
that matter, old priests too, to procure a copy, confident that
any reader who takes it up will read it through, as I have done,
before laying it down, and feel the better for having done so."--
Ibh Maine in _The Leader_.
"The Rev. M. J. Phelan, S.J., says much that is sensible in his
little volume. We are glad that he denounces 'the signal folly of
attempting to engraft an imported accent on his own native one,
which is sometimes done by the Irish priest in England with
deplorable results. It is a useful little book, well printed and
neatly bound."--(English) _Catholic Book Notes_.
"The title of a clerical _vade-mecum_ is scarcely too ambitious a
one to give to 'The Young Priest's Keepsake'; a work which cannot
but be regarded by all whose good fortune it will be to read it,
as one of the most admirable works dealing with clerical life
that has appeared in Ireland for many a day. The author, Rev. M.
J. Phelan, S.J., bases his claim for a hearing upon a long
experience as missionary priest, and upon the possession of
ordinary powers of observation. Those who know Father Phelan rate
his claims much higher. His fame as a preacher is spread
throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. His wide and varied
learning, his acute powers of observation, his keen sense of
humour and sound practical judgment are common topics of
conversation amongst a wide circle of friends. The fine flower
and fruit ripened by constant study and wide experience are
modestly displayed in this little book."--_Irish Independent_.
"The ecclesiastical student who takes up 'The Young Priest's
Keepsake' will quickly realise that he has not only fallen in
with a wise mentor but a cordially kind friend, to say nothing of
a charming writer. The way is marked out for him by one who has
trodden it, and who, as we can gather, from the evident culture
and literary grace of his pages and his renown as a preacher of
missions, has been no laggard in those studies which he so
earnestly recommends to young priests and ecclesiastical
students. . . . If Father Phelan's lessons were taken to heart by
the coming race of priests we, or at least our children, would
behold the Catholic pulpit transformed into a mighty living
force. At present it is far from being that. It is in this
country the weakest part of the great redeeming machinery of the
church, and it should be so strong and effective. . . . The book
is brilliantly written, and, as Father Phelan maintains his
position in no mamby-pamby or apologetic fashion, the reader is
treated to some very lively passages."--_The Tribune_
(Melbourne).
"In this little work from the pen of Father Phelan, S.J., those
who are in course of preparation for the high calling of the
sacred ministry will find some advice worthy of serious
consideration. . . . It is an age of 'experts'; as an 'expert' of
undoubted merit in the sphere of missionary work Father Phelan
well may claim the right of giving authoritative advice to those
aspiring to that field of labour in which his own efforts have
been crowned with such signal success. . . . Were the revered
author not, in fact what he is, a Jesuit missionary of
acknowledged excellence and wide fame, the value of his advice
would be none the less evident on a thoughtful perusal of his
book. . . . Even a mere casual reading would send the young
student away with a clear realization of the steps he must take
to secure that in his mind or personality there shall be nothing
to make any man, however critical, however captious, think less
of that Living Word whose mouthpiece it will be his lot in life
to be. . . . He has done well and very well in trying to make it
easy for future workers in the same field to do justice to their
sacred calling and to themselves."--_Cork Examiner_.
"He knows what he is talking about, and he speaks with a
first-hand knowledge of what is required by young priests coming
to Australia."--_Catholic Press_ (Sydney).
"Amongst the many qualifications which the author has brought to
his delicate task, not the least are his earnestness and his
enthusiasm for his subject. These qualities are responsible for
some of the best features of the book. They have given it its
thoroughly constructive character and tempered even its severest
criticisms. The greater part of the book is devoted to sacred
eloquence. Here, of course, the writer speaks with the authority
of a master. He will deserve the gratitude of many a young
preacher for having given to the world the benefit of his own
experience in an art which he has made so completely his own. In
the chapter on elocution he lays down excellent principles for
the delivery of sermons and suggests means of curing the most
common defects that mar pulpit oratory. Finally, he gives
elaborate hints on the best means of composing sermons. For
instance, the sermon writer is advised to seize without delay,
and commit to writing, a brilliant thought no matter how
unseasonable the time at which it presents itself. When a train
of thought is allowed to go by it either never returns or returns
like the Sybil with diminished treasure. This is but one grain of
the practical wisdom which is scattered so liberally through the
pages of 'The Young Priest's Keepsake'."--_Mungret Annual_.
"A very thoughtful and eloquent book. No better book of its kind
could be in the hands of young priests who are at the beginning
of life's work. Its table of contents shows the subjects which
find a place in its pages. Under each of these headings Father
Phelan gives much useful information and adds a charm to the
knowledge which he imparts by the apt illustrations with which he
adorns it."--_Theological Quarterly_.