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 t