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amber 8 15—
_ THE CATHOLIC HERA
Is Pubtisired EVERY. THURS.
"M. PITHIAN,
“No 6L North Second Bereet, 1
elphia. us
to ordering a paper to be discontinued,
tances, must be
f the Catholic Tiereld, Philadelphia,
Doctry.
* » For the Catholic Herald |.
_ WELCOME ‘TO BISHOPS ROSATI P LORAS.
KASKASKIA, ILLINOIS
What streams this day shall wake thy se's lyre,
Or breathe th’ inspir'’d soul’s poetic
“Shall I demand of It’ly's bards to tu
Their matchless songs, and with our cormune
‘To hail the Son of her imperial shor
"Tho" now its bosom he shail tread ni e5
© Ah no, twere vain their willing aid
Mine, tho’ unworthy be the honor'd }.
So'let me breathe to you my simple la).
: Which voluntary Joveand rev’rence
Thrice hail ye Prelates! ‘Ministergheay ‘n
a Whom,entd now, Religion’s cause Hdriv'n
Fromall that nature held most dear farth,!
. The parents, home and land that gaypu birth. |
“Let me revert to these past scenes aj,
1 Tf twill not give your aged bosoms jf;
Turn back to gaze on France ar Iv'ly}ore,
«Oh! how the soul doth throb, the lifejod flows,
‘The heaving breast with youthful trdort glows ;°
»Agaio you wander thro’ the sunny cbs,
¥ our infant footsteps trod in former ths 7
, The rill, the plain, the shady grove yfea. >)
» Where you were wont to sport in infy.
When earthly bliss was lavish’d on jr head,
And each bright morning’s sun new fssings shed.
‘And pleas’d, the golden cup of knowlge drank,
Twas there, in wisdom’s deep resea¥ engaged, |
Tnsatiate still to quaff the fount of Iq,
“And yet more deep its secrets to exple, as
Each day its store of ample wisdom jught ‘
‘And blest religion, too, her precepts hght, :
Thus early train’d in all that art coulgoast
Or heav'n itself could yield of preci cost;
Rear'd equally to virtue’s purest tru
And aught that wisdom could implantn youth, °
The copious fruits now distant clime| yoy; 8
* Which to dispense doth heav'n your Inds employ.
. , ‘Then sigh not, tho’ from home and f¢ nds exil’d,
* You tread afar the unbroken “ West] Wild 3”
Suill let the fruits your zealand laborpin, * :
F Assage each sorrow and relieve eac} pain.’
Belota the land’ that late the ¢ eavag rod, !
Whose rites, unholy, stained th’ uahabw'd sod,
- ote i Whence blest Religion from such howprs fled,
Bonet “Nor e’en one beam of pure effulgencished, .
Behold dispell'd that shadeof darksorb night
, Beneath the smile of heavy’ 'n’s auspicib's hght ;..
- See far around the sacred temple reakd, :
When once alone the heathen shrine pear
_ See too, the schools of sacred Jearningraised
Where God with worthiest homage mily be prai
Behold! where once unhonor'd and ofknown,
Mis holy name is now adored alone. oy
Then haste! complete the work that hlay'n ondains .
To be the price of your laborious pain; | .
"Thus shall the desert sm: ‘le, the land q
Shall hail the sunrise of eternal light,
And bless the hour when Europe's ge
“STore from the bosom of her holy ones,
{ ie “and broke the ties that nature's self Bad wound
: . © Like strings of Jife the bear ‘8 warm
night
tC
rows sons
"Twas there you rival’d in the clad rank . ~
| Nought tired your ardor, nought yougirst assuaged; :
wt
i clings round
Terms, —Three Dollars per annum, ble half year
yin advance. Five Dollars will be reg) for 2 copies, |
or.J copy for two years,‘ “All arrearages mpe settled prior
1 Communica-
tions, except from ofigents, or Subscribd pclosing remit-
aid, and addressegi'o the Bditor
By aaiss EMILY CAROLINE, PUPILIN THE ACADHE THE VISITATION
ty
e.
+ While the warm heart would still thdcenes explores :
:
To fly like angels over these savage lands, ; ;
And lead to life their rude and barb’rous bands; >..."
‘Them to subdue with blest Religion’s laws
And gain e’en thousandain her sacred cause; *
Oh! thus may heav’n your toils and cares repa
And shed her blessings on each rising day, . ;
May ail her gifts, her graces thro’ your hands .°,'
Be pour'd profusely o'er these savage lands;
Till thus you see your gen'rous Jabors crown’
And virtue’s standard rear’d on ev'ry ground.
howdy
Meanwhile may God's own special care be giv'n
To guide in safety your rough path to heav'n;
Oh! there may crownsan hundred fold of joy
Repay the cares that now your years employ.
“| not.to claim the mead of unsullied virtue, has not de-
| they adopted fur the consolation of the dying,
|| the eyes of the devout Saxon, an object of high im-
'.|to pray “for the souls of the’ deceased members.
EXTRACT FROM DR. LINGARD'S ANGLO-
| SAXON CHURCH.
‘Origin of, prayers for the dead—funeral ceremonies—
aces of sepulture.
By the philosephers of antiquity, the immortality of
the soul was but faintly descried 5 “fevelation has with-
drawn the veil, and unfolded that system of retribution
which reserves to a future life the rewards of virtue and
the chastisement of vice.’ But in the ‘scale of merit
and demerit there are numerous degrees ; and if every
stain be excluded ‘from’ the celestial paradise, if the
flames of vengeance be kindled for nope but deadly of-
fences, what fate the ' inquisitive mind will anxiously
demand, is alloted to im, who, though he présumes
served the severest’ punishment of ‘vice?’ To this in-
teresting question, our ancesiors unequivocally replied,
that such imperfect Christians neither enjoyed the bliss
of heaven, nor suffered the misery of hell: that during
a limited period they were detained in an intermediate
siale of purgation; and that their deliverance might be
accelerated by the pious solicitude and devotion of their
friends. . This was an ‘opinion that interested in its
favor no less the feelings than the judgment of men.
The religion: h teaches ‘that death removes the
soul beyond the inlluence oF human exertion, teaches
atthe best, a cold and cheerless doctrine. ‘The mind
quits with reluctance the object of its affections ; it fol-
lows the spirit of its deparied friend into the regions
of fatarity ; and ‘embraces with’ real consolation the
means which religion may offer of meliorating its lot.
The practice of praying for the dead ‘remounts to the
origin of Christianity. | That it had been universally
adopted before the fourth century, is not denied by the
most violent, that it was in general vse during the. sec-
ond is admitted by the more candid of its adversaries."
To the Anglo-Saxon it was taught with the other prac:
tices of religion by the Roman and Seottish missiona-
ries; and the docility of the converts cherished it as an
institution acceptable “to God and profitable to man,
Its influence on their’ manners was powerful and ex-
tensive : and this chapter will decribe— Ist.'their anx-
ious endeavors to secure the’ prayers of the faithful
after their decease; 2d. the religious practices which
» and the
interment of the dead.
"Ist. From the severity of the penitentil canons they
had learned to form the most exalted notions of the jus-
tice of God, and of his hatred for sin ; compensation
they considered as necessary to atone for the transgres-
sion of the divine, as well as of human laws; and
while they trembled Jest at¥the hour of death, their
satisfaction should be deemed incomplete, they indulged
a consoling hope, that the residue of the debt might be
discharged by the charity of those who survived ‘them.
‘To: secure the future exertions of his friends, was in
portance ;‘and with this view numerous associations
were formed, in which ‘each individual bound himself
Nor were these engagements confined to the commu-
nities of monks and clergy; they comprehended per-|t
sons of every rank i in society, and extended to. the most
* The Catholie may smite, the Protestant ma: at the misera-
ble evasions to which the spirit of system has degraded such writers
as Moshiem and Bingham ‘The former derives the custom of pray-
ing for the dead from ithe impure source of the Platonic philosophy,
the Janter has Jabor rove that when the ancient
sought one of the dead, they believed ther 0 be
: distant countries.’ Gilds were. an institntion of great
antiquity among the, Anglo-Saxons; and in every po-
-| pulous district they existed in numerous ramifications.
They were of different descripyions. . Some were re-:
stricted to the. performance ‘of. religious, duties ; of
others the professed object was “the prosecution of
thieves, and the preservation of property ;: but all were
equally solicitous to provide for the spiritual welfare ”
of departed brethren., As a specimen:of their engage-
ments, I may be allowed to translate a part of the laws -
established in the gild at Abbotsbury. ; *If,’’ says the
legislator ;*s any one belorging. to ,our. association
chance to die, each membér shall pay one penny. for
the good of the soul before the body be laid. ii the |
grave. If he neglectithe shall be fined ina triple sum. ||
If any of us fall sick within sixty miles, we engage to" + |
‘find fifteen men, who may bring him, home, but if he
die first we will send thirty to convey him to the place
in which be desired to be buried.. If he die in‘ the
neighborhood the steward shall enquire where he is to
be interred, and shall summon as many members as he
cau to assemble, to attend the corpse in. an honorable
manner, carry it to the minister, and pray devoutly for
the soul, Let us act in this manner, and we shall truly
perform the duty of our confraternity. "This will be
honorable to us both. before God'snd man. For we .
now not. who-amongst us shall die first ;. but we be-
lieve that with «he assistance of God, this agreement
avill profit us all if it be rightly observed.”
The same sentiments are frequently expressed i in the
numerous letters addressed to St. Boniface, the Apos- ~ .*
le of Gertnany, and to Luljus his successor in the see
of Mentz, by abbots, prelates, thanes and princes. , Of * .° .
many the sole object is to renew their former engage- a
ments, and to transmit the names of their farmer asso- .
ciates. ‘It is our. earnest: wish"? says the King of uN
Kent, and the Bishop of Rochester in theircommon’ ~. ;
letter to Lullus’**to: recommend ourselves and our | ~
dearest relatives to your piety, that by. your prayers we .
may! be” protected till we come to that life, which
knows-no end. . For what have we to do on earth but
faithfully to exercise charity towerds each other? Let
us‘then agree, that when they aitong us enter the path
which leads to another life, (may it be a life of happi-
ness }). the survivors shall, by their alms and sacrifices
endeavor, to assist him in his journey.. We have sent
you the names of our deceased relations, Irmige,
Norththy, and Dulicha virgins dedicated to God: and «
beg that you will remember them i in your prayers. and
oblations.”” "
With the same. view the Anglo-Saxons were anxious -
to obtain a place of sepulture in the most frequented
and celebrated Churches. ‘The monuments raised over.
their ashes would, they fondly expected recall them to
the memory, and solicit i in their behalf the charity of
the faithful. The earnestness with which they solicit-
ed this favor, ‘and the numerous benefactions with
which they endeavored to secure it from the gratitade
of the clergy, testify the importance in which it was
held.’ -Amoug the many instances which crowd the ‘
Saxon annals, T shall select one from the history of
Ely. Brithnod, a warrior whose reputation had been
earned in’ many ‘a well. fought battle, was ealdorman of
Essex perhaps of Northumbria, . In a great victory at
Malden he had taught the Danes to respect his valor.
The vanquished invaders sailed back to Denmark, re-
cruited their, numbers, and returned in search of re-
venge. “T hey again advanced to Malden, that the place.
which’ had witnessed their defeat might be the theatre
of their fuiure ‘triumph. ? A’ challenge was sent to
Brithnod; which found bim ‘unprepared and attended ©
by few of his retainers: “But the “high spirited ealdor-. - -
man preferred the probability of-an honorable death
to the disgrace ‘of a’ refusal. As hé passed through
Ely. his litle army was hospitably received. by the
monks, and forgot their past fatigue and future danger. -
In the morning he entered the chapter house, returned
thanks to the monks for their liberality, and offered. .
them several valuable manors on condition’ that, if it”
were his lotto fall in battle, they should bury his body |:
within their Church.” ‘Ihe condition’ was accepted, "*
and he marched towards the enemy. Within the short
space of a fortnight fourteen battles were fought with
the most obstinate valor. _ In the last the men of Essex
3.
ee ayy vy
already ina Hale oF restan appi
rushed with h impetuosiyy, into the f midst of the barbar
RAY fon 2a tL 7