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The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc , peuvent dtre film^s A des taux de reduction diffiVrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmd d partir de I'nngle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants lllustrant la mdthode. y errata )d to nt ne pelure, i9on d t 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 jil/H»J|,M« I I -1 1 m ttmil i ' I'S U.dJ. a«AI>i.lHH*ro NVW-YOW< \ > !f^" ■■>i / LIFE '.(.'■f A^'A" -^--— ^ -- / ov CATHERINE M^AULEY, FOUKDBEBS .AKD FIB8T 8UPBBI0B OF THE INSTITTJTB OF SELIQIOUa blBTESS OF HCBOT. BY A MEMBER OF THE OKDEB OF MEBCT. >;, ' %wi c/llt*'^'^ /^-r-i^«t-A^ w<^<-*^'<^ Xl^^l. r-rit-ti^ WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BY THE VENEBABLE RICHARD BAPTIST O'BBIElf, taxmamLVM of ldoouok, TicAB-«aiiHAi, >ia; lonnuT raonHOH or MOKAL TUOIOOT IX AIX-KUXOWl' OOIXMl^ BVSUK. Job, xxzl. IS. **Th« Fomdrcn wu bolf, u£ Mdnntlr holy. Her hatrt oT*rflow«d with tbii ehtrltj of jMui."— Biaat Bit. Bnaor Blaei. " aod knowf I vonld rttlin M e .1 tMUl.lFK * ro NKW-Y' ihK \ ^1 ,j «iii»i H I < — L I F E 1 f ' 0» CATHERINE M<^ATTLEY, POtJNDEESa ASt) FlF^iT W;£'T:R10B OF THS IHSTITTJTE OF 'fcJ8l.i43IOt38 !iS»?'Sa*» «5* timet. BY- A MEMBEE OF THE OBDER OF MERCY, ., u WITH\4N INTIIODUCTION, "If , TUE VENEEABIJE RTCUAKD BAI'TIST O'BRIET^, » " JVom wjf :n/aMy, irnrry jrrt;- up aSA »*•' Job, xxt). IS. . "Tills roandrtH mt boljr, nsid failotntljr holy. Ha hwtrt ovpiygiK,,! witlJ Ui« (lurilf of y»«Mii — Rtgat R«i, Bunor Bi.iii£i. ■ Ood kni>. ^Irj^jbislfop JjitRrtflt. NEW YORK; iK A Jf. S!A!!>LTSR A CO., 3 1 BARCI-AY 8TBKET. con. MOTUK-UAME ANJn ST FRAJftilS XAVlK! ^ :: ;,l- I'-riir.nri rTiriHrf-f A, IF '*\ ■ A^'^: n f ^ 9 Bntored (MoordlDc to A«t afObngrtn, In Um jtai ISH^ Bt D. k J. BADLIBS A 00^ tk the Clerki OffiM of th« DIstriot Oonrt of the Untte£ BtatM for tM Boatbwn DUtriet of Now York. JOHN O. SHEA, Sttrti^N* 60 Ctntrt SIT, N. Y. ■If.dOT ■ f I iwBWi VSSSSSStJtKK^ t 173 M A K Y, m BRIOHT BOM OF OHABITY; TH> 8P0TMM LILY OF PUBITT; TBI riUORAOT TIOLBT OF HUMILITT ; TBB OL0BI0B8 BXEMPLAB OF BBLioiOD* pbbhotion; tub mothbb of mbot, THB MOTHBB OF GOD, THIS LIFE OP CATHERINE MoAULET. THB F38T 8UTXB OF HBBOY, B AFriOTIOlTATILT DBDIOATID. ;:■ ! ..I. . . r i l l i |i i M. I I yj, I | „j I m i ^j iii I ; '"^ tr- CONTENTS. iMiBODVonoir. By Bev. Biohard Baptist O'Brien, D. D.. etc, ato Paga IT CHAPTER I. Woman in the Chnroh. — "The devout sex." — General oharaoteriatioa of Catherine Mc Aulejr. 87 CHAPTER II. Dablin. — Baggot-atreet House, 1827. — Era of the Emancipation. — Opening of the year 1787. — Apostasy of Lord Dunboyne.— Birtli of Catherine.— Differ- ence of statements as to the year of her birth. — An Eastern tradition. — Reli- gions state of Ireland in the 18th centnry.— "^, Mu»a &t." — Extract from Oerres.— A tragedy.— The Eari of Chesterfield, viceroy.— He permits tha reopening of some old Catholio churches. — Attempts to open schools. — Nano K'agle.— Princess Louise 41 CHAPTER III. Jamea MoAuley, Esq.— His seal for instructing children.— Little Catherina Eleanor McAuley.— Domestic altercations.— Death of Mr. MoAnley. — Besponsibility of parents.— Ghosts in Stormanstown Honse. — Its inmates remove to Dublin. — Madame St. Qeorge. — Mrs. MoAnley's eariy training, and its consequences.— Her judicious mode of governing children. — Catherine on "good manners."— Death of her mother. — Its influence on Catherine.— The contrast between the deaths of the mother and daughter. — Catherine's seat for preparing children for Confirmation. M CHAPTER IV. Snrgeon Conway.— Catherine and Mary removed from all Catholio inflnenoe.— The two Cathedrals of Dublin.— Amiability of Catherine.— She eMays to writa Latin exercises.- The pedagogue.— Catherine's religions diffionlties.- Her esteem for her Protestant friends.— Her theological and historical studies. —Surgeon Conway's financial reverse, — Catherine's cheerfulness under affliction. — She is adopted by the wealthy owner of Coolock House. — Dean Lub4.— Very Bev. Dr. Betagb. U 3 — ^ 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER y. Catherine instructed by Very Rev. Dr. Murray. — Mr. Callahan.— His portrait- Mrs. Callahan. — Her generosity. — An unfortanate alliance. — Another. — A death-bed. — Catherine's godchild, Teresa. — Importance of prayer and delib* •ration before choosing a state in life 7i CHAPTER VI. Dr. James MoAuIey.— Dr. William McAuley.— Table-talk.— Calberine'o eon- sideratenesa for converts. — Bigotry usually the result of early training.— Catherine's life at Coolock.— Her trials. — Her zeal for the poor. — Her vieWB on the importance of the education of women of the lover classes 80 CHAPTER VII. A soul Id danger.— The Servants' Asylum.— The lost sheep. — Sbadows of coming events.— Catherine's efforts to make the poor industrious.- Her mod- erate expectations. — The rich man and his heiress 69 CHAPTER VIIL Oonversion of Mrs. Callahan.— Her death. — Her husband's grief. — ^Rev. Mr. M prescribes vint as a preparation to die well. The new gospellers and the old. — Mr. Callahan's conversion and death. — ^His will.— 'Very Rev. Dr. Armstrong. — His disinterestedness 98 CHAPTER IX. Catherine's fortune. — Her charities. — Death of her only sister. — Mr. WiUiama' grief.— An exciting scene.— Catherine's midnight sortie.— The sentinels.— The reconciliation.— Her hair becomes " gray, but not with years." Ul CHAPTER X. Beauty everywhere. — Something lovely ia every one. — Mary Teresa McAnley.— She evinces a desire to become a Catholic— Her aunt's devotion w the Blessed Sacrament.— The Mia Culpa 190 CHAPTER XI. Projects of the Foundress. — First stone of Baggot-street House laid.— V. B. Dr. Blake's presentiment. — He ia summoned to Rome to restore the Irish College.— Miss Fanny Tighe.—Miis McAnley ■■ architects build a Convent- Very Rev. Dr. Armstrong's illness and death.— Mr. Callahan'6 will con- tested.- The Institution opened.— Action «rved in the Abbess and Beligions of Geoige'a Hill.— Pupils of the Presentation Nuns 16S MoAnley.— >tlon vo the ... IM CHAPTER XVI. Caroline Murphy.— Caroline, Princess of Wales.— A seraphic death.— rstraor- dinary kindness of the Carmelite Fahers.— New trials for Sister Mary Catherine 170 iiad.-v. B. >r« the Irtth Convent- will oon- n.— EztraoU .... 1«6 CHAPTER XVII. Bister M. Catheriae's Profession.— Her return to Baggot-stroet.— Her first leo- ture. — Extracts from her instruotions. — Her mode of correcting.— The offloa of Superior.— How Mother McAuIey exercised it.— One paragraph suffices for rules and constitution for the Institute. — A generous rival. — Mother MoAnley combines the active and ccatemplative lives.— Intercourse with seculars. 178 i i 8 . CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIII. Tiie first Reception. — Costume of the Ordv-r devised by the Fonndress.— Gen^ eral end of all Orders.— Special end of the Order of Mercy. — Mother Mo- Aaley'x arrangements for the protection of distressed women.— She insista that they shall be governed by u.l.dness. — " A shirt for the Lord-Lieutonant" causes a little commotion. — Contrasts. — A soul rescued 181 CHAPTER XIX. Visitation of the sick. — How Mother MoAuley caused the public hospitals to be opened to all religicMS bodies that chose to visit them.— The poor, the middle class, and the rich. — Court life at Versailles considered by Madame Louise to be more monotonous than conventual life. — " Qood Queen Maude." —The poor the treasures of the Church. — Anecdotes 191 CHAPTER XX. Mother McAuley's views on education. — ^The regulations she made. — Catholic aud Non-Catholic educationists. — Anecdote. — Pestalozzi, Bell, Lancaster, Jacotot.— TUe Eildare-stroet schools.- The National Board.— The Christian Brothers. — Gerald Griffin's grave. — Catholic priests inaugurators of gratuitooe instruction. — Education of the middle classes. — Effect the example of our great edueatiouista ought to have on those engaged in education 201 CHAPTER XXI. New trials.— Death of Sister Aloysia O'Orady.— Illness and death of Sister M. ' Elizabeth Uarley. — Besignatiou of the Foundress.- Supernatural joy at the death of a member, always characteristic of Religions Orders SSO CHAPTER XXII. The cholera in Uai. — Zeal of the Catholic Clergy. — Excitement of the people.— Mother McAntey takes charge of the Cholera Hospital, Townsend-street. — The garrulous nurse.— Extract iVom Dean Qoffney'a Memoir of the Foun- dretd 836 CHAPTER XXIII. Distress of the poor in 1882.— The Duchess of Kent.— The Princess Victoria.— The Catholic queens. — A royal donation. — New accessions. — ^Profession,- Extract fVom Very Rev. Dominic Murphy.— Mary Teresa McAuley's interview with the Archbishop. — Her last days.- -Her death. — Grief of the Foundress. 229 CHAPT'dJR XXIV. Rule and Constitutions of the Order of Mercy. — Lay Sistart. —Very Rev. James Rice. — Oppoiiition to the new Institute. — The Pope scuds his approbation, and iis apostolic benediction to its members. — Mother MoAuley gives an aucount of the foundation of the Order.- Letters 289 ^■iweWWfWSP? C0NTEKT8. 9 ess.— Gen» [other Mo- She inuisU jieutonant" 181 hospitals to Id poor, the by Madame en Maude." m e. — Catholio , Lancaster, be Christian of gratuitous mple of our 201 of Sister M. ral joy at the 880 the people.— jend-street.— of the Foun- 886 iss Viotoria.— -Profeasion.— ley's interview foundress. 889 ry Rev, James iprobation, and ves an aooount 88» CHAPTER XXV. "IJttle Catherine."— Generosity of the Ft.-.">dr«s«.— The Lord Bishop of Dro- more. — Chief events of his life.— His eonneotion with the Foundress.- -His love for the Institute 848 CHAPTER XXVI. Virtues of the Foundress. — ^Faitb. — Hope. — Charity.— Prudence. — Justice. — Fortitude.— Temperanoe.—Humility. — Obodieoce.— Chastity.— Poverty. — De- ToMon to the Blessed Sacrament. — ^Anecdotes SM CHAPTER XXVII. T|ie First Branch.— The wreck off Dnnleary harbor.— The excommnnioation, ' anditM consequences. — Sussex-place House.— Trials.— Mother McAuley hiding from the sheriff.- Her letters.— A beautiful specimen. — Kingstown convent relinqnlahed.— Beopened.— Glastlinle 878 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Tnllamore Foundation.—Sermon of Very Kev. Dr. Ourtis, 8. J.— Mother Mary Anne Doyle.— Father Mathew.— Generosity of the Foundress.— Tnl- lamore will neither lend nor give.—** A bitter soolding for Tnllamore, and three cheers for Coflow." 887 CHAPTER XXIX. Mother McAuley and her absent children. — Bhymes.— Her mode of preparing Sisters for Superiority.— Her advice to a young Superior.— The Charleville Foundation.— Very Be v. Mr. Croke.- -Sister M. Angela Dunne. — ^Mother MoAuley refuses to give a colony to her firiend, ths Bishop of Ossory. — Other applioants. 894 CHAPTER XXX. Very Bev. Andrew Fiti^erald, D. B.— The McAuley boys.— The Doctor and the Monk.— Young men's sermons.— Bight Bev. Dr. Nolan.— Dr. Doyle's error. — Mother McAuley's temptation, and its remedy. — She Voses two of her Sisters. — Sets out for Carlow. — The Bisters' entrie.—Schools for the middle classes.— The silver breakftist service.— Death of Bishop Nolan.— Letter of the Fonndress.— Letter fVom Dr. Fitsgerald 806 CHAPTER XXXI. The Cork Foundation.— Miss Barbara Qoold.— " Saint Mar'.Vs of the Isle."— The Foundress incurs the displeasure of the Bishop. — " Catherine the Less." —An eligible postulaute.— The Meeting of the Waters.- Largo, Lento, a Grave.— Death of Little Catherine.— Her Aunt's letter.— Df. Murphy.— Severe retort.— A heavy purse and a fair escutcheon.- The English Bisters.— A compliment. 888 1* ■ .I ' . ' ■»II HH 10 30NTENTS. CHAPTER XXXII. Bister U. >^* Chaiital.— Deaths.— A brokeu arm.—" A boy that will not b« good."— The Chaplaincy diffionltiea.— Letters. — Dean Meyler.— " Obrist'a Blessed Cross."— The Liineriok Foundation.— Death of Sister M. Teresa Pot- ter.— Letter of oondolenoe Ul CHAPTER XXXIII. Sister M. Oertmde Jones.— She shows her brightest oolors in dying.— Death of Kobert MoAuIey.— The English Sisters.- National pride.— " Geraldinf."— The last glimpse of Erin.- Visit to Newiy.- Departure of the Fonndress for th^. London mission 84S CHAPTER XXXIV Oeneral govemment.- Lady Barbara Eyre.— Her Reoeption.— The Conrt Fri- •eiA-.— An amusing incident.— Gratitude of the Foundress.— Letten. ... . 85S CHAPTER XXXV. Oalway.— " A second Mary Teresa."— The English Sisters.— The Lanndry.— Dr. Griflths entrer.ta more aid for Bermondsey. — ^Beception of the Sistera for the Birmingham Foundation.— BecepUon in Galway.— Difficulties —Very Bev. Peter Daly 86T CHAPTER XXXVI. The Apostle of Temperance and the Sister of Meroy.— A Howard among the TeetoUlers.—Blrr.— Worse feuds than the " O'CarroU Feuds."— The Apostle's expedient. — The Crottyltes.- Mother MoAuley on the progress of Tempe- tance.- Letters fVom Birr.- Conversion of Bev. Mr. Crotty.— "The sun ■hlnes too brightly" for the Foundress 877 CHAPTER XXXVII. Fresh objections to the Institute.- Beverend Mother appeals to Borne.— Let- ter. — She loses the last of her " earthly joys."- Her warm attachment to her relatives.— The Naas Convent.— A severe letter.— O'Connell's speech at Car- rick-on-Suir.- -rbe Wexford Convent— A spoiled Tocation 889 CHAPTER XXXVIII. Declining health of the Foundress.— The English Sisters. — Letter of the Bishop of Birmingham.— Bishop Wiseman. — The Bishop of Liverpool.— Miss G , of Eaton Housa.— Benewal of the Liverpool negotiations.- Let- ter of Dr. Yonens,— Dr. Pusey.— Confirmation of the Bnle,— The Blrmiog- bam Foundation 888 MiHMi OONTENTO. u CHAPTER XXXIX. B«tnm of the London Superioress.— Innovations and reformation*. — UnfiiTOiv able Beport by an English priest. — ^Vei-y Kev. Dr. Batler oongratulates him- self on being independent of " borrowed plumes."— Stormy nationality. — Forbearance of the Foundress.— Visions.— Bishop Baines.—" Where Paul and I differ." — ^Tlie lady who has had the visions secedes.— She goes to Borne, —la protected by Cardinals Acton and Fransone.— She gives her revelatiofiS • in a Catholic novel..— The " Solitaries" and " Handmaids" disperse.— Their * projector writes another story ,— Why did she lea ve ns t 407 CHAPTER XL. The Foundress writes to thv. Bishop of Galway.— Her return to Ireland.— Let- ters to Very Bev. Dr. Burke, of Westport ; to Sister M. Joseph Joyce ; to Mother Teresa White.— Her oo~itinued interest in her Houses.- Her xeid. — Old opinions about the New World 4S8 CHAPTER XLI. All Saints' Day. — All Souls' Day Joy of the Foundress at the approach of death.— She receives the Last Sacraments.- Her last moments. — The ruling passion strong in death.- Her obsequies.- The remains of her departed chil- dren are brought home.— Her personal app'>arance.— Her portrait.— Statistiea of the Order. 480 CHAPTER XLII. Letter of Bishop Blake.— Letter of Dr. Oaffney, Dean of Maynooth.— Obitoaiy, fVom the Sal^fam BegUter , 448 CHAPTER XLIII. Mother MoAuley's views on various subjects. — Gentleness.— St. Anselm. — St. Catherine of Bologna. — Sweetness and condescension. — Importance of the education of women.— Patron Sainta. — Amusing anecdote. — Converts. — Kegular ol)8ervance.— Works of literature and art.— M. l'Abb4 Qrou.— Mother MoAuley's special devotiona,- Her abstraction. — Her appreeiation of the Sisters. — Her nnbounded conAdence in them. — Profession and renovation. Prayer.— De La Mennais. — Conclusion 448 CHAPTER XLIV. Baggot-itrest Convent— St. Paul's Hoipital, Jervis-itreet— The Mater Miieri- oordin— The Female Kefarmatory 4S8 ■I OTBWl i w « il|U ff ,uu»i ■ « ' i i t;y-'"" ' " «n ii -, ' .'i i"*'*«fw*npiww^!W*i ii n wi i ■ii m i 12 OOMTEKTS. APPENDIX. L«tt«n 478 Lift of the Conrenti, eto., foonded by Mother MoAuIey 4M R. I. P.— Obituiy 495 Coarenti of Mercy founded up to the yew 1863 008 Sgigjaatifcafi 478 4M 495 SOS PREFACE. MOBE fortunate than the other Foundresses of Beli- gions Institutes in Ireland, Catherine McAuley's memory has been preserved, not only in the traditions of her children, but also by the pen of able and distinguished biographers. The first account of her was published in the DtMin Beview, by her friend. Very Eeverend Mile- tius Gaffhey, Dean of Maynooth CoUbge, in 1847. Where he and her other historians disagree, we follow him in preference to any other, because, as her friend and spirit- ual director, he had abundant opportimities of acquir- ing accurate information, and was, in several instances, an eye-witness of what he relates. This sketch, however, is very short — about ten pages. In 1848, a biography was commenced by Mother M. Teresa Wildridge, of the Oon-^ent of Mercy, Cork. TMs lady, whose memory is still held in benediction jy the poor of the city ia which she passed her short but full Eeligious career, was equally fitted by her piety and tal- ent to accomplish this useful undertaking. But she was called to a brighter world ere she could complete her task. Very Kev. Dominic Murphy, Dean of the Diocese of Cork, continued her work. His connection with the Order as friend, benefactor, or confessor, gave him ample opportunities of learning facts connected with the Foun- dress, whom his solid piety and judgment enabled him to appreciate as she deserves. We have been informed that ll y 14 FBEFAOS. this learned olorgjman delivered a course of lectures on " Fotmdrasses of Active Orders," several of which were devoted to the Foundress of the Order of Mercy, but these, we regret to say, have not been published. For some reason or other, Dean Murphy's " Life" was not published. It contains about fifty pages, and is rather a dissertation on the duties of the Oi der of Mercy, than a biography of its Foundress. A short sketch of the Foundress by " a Sister in Lim- erick," also remains unpublished. About five years ago. Mother Mary Y. Hartnett, of Boscommon, wrote a " Memoir" of the Foundress, " from her own personal knowledge, and the narrations of others." This was published, with a fine Litro«^uotion by the present Archdeacon of Limerick. The style is simple and affectionate, occasionally more like a panegyric than a history. Mother McAuley is evidently the writer's ideal of every thing noble, beautiful, and holy. The sweet and genile spirit of Mother Hartnett, which, indeed, was formed on that of the Foundress, has lately been sum- moned from this vale of tears. This " Memoir" contains two hundred pages, 12mo. The preceding sketches are partially included in it. The Authoress of the present " Life," in every other way inferior to the above biographers, has had one ad- vantage over them, that of being able to draw upon more ample sources for the information she has collected ; as the narrations of several of the early companions of the Foundress, her letters and other writings, the traditions of the Order, and a Memoir specially written for this work by the godchild of the Foundress. The letters which form the most valuable part of the book, are mostly copied from the originals, now chiefly in possession of a venerable Religious, whose kindness in permitting us to use them we here gratefully acknowledge. We are of: mssismMmm PBEFACB. 16 also indebted to this lady — one of the oldest mombew of the Order — for several incidents of the early life of the Foundress. If, notwithstanding all our efforts to verify each cir- cumstance connected with Catherine McAuley, any inac- curacies be found in this work, they may be easily recti- fied in a future edition, as the brother of the Foundress and several of her early associates are still living ; and should they deteot any error, which they will readily do if it exist, they have only to communicate with us. It is almost unnecessary to add, that in using the word "Blessed" or "Venerable," or applying the term f heroic" to any virtue of which we treat, we do not presuii/e to anticipate the judgment of that Church of which it is our highest privilege to be a member. We use such terms merely as they are ordinarily used with reference to those who are reputed to have died in the odor of sanctity. With the Decree of Urban VIII. before our eyes, we have, perhaps, been overcautious in this respect, fearful lest in our ignorance we should exceed the proper limits. Yet Very Eev. Dr. O'Brien, as we have lately seen, does not scruple to spoak of Catherine MoAuley as possessing " heroic sanctity," and as " a person whom we may one day expecii to see raised on the Altars of the Chuzoh." ConvxiiT OF OuB Ladi of Mbbot, St. Louis, MiaBoori. FKUt of Ou" Lady ofMtrey, 1866. Dean Murphy'i work, above aUuded to, hai lino* been publiahed in " SketobM of Iriih Nunaeriei." Dublin t JuB«i Dnffjr. I ■WM* is? =»'J4'S;S«St<:''' ''>B»«t?3* iHia INTRODUCTION. Bt Vkbt Rbv. KIOHARD BAPTIST O'BBIElSr, D. D., «to., im Thrbk ore many and edifying reasons for publishing tlie following "Litie;" bat were there no other than the nnmber of Gonvents of Mercy now established in every part of the world, the reason would be more than sufficient. Over three thousand religious ladies, attracted by the spirit of Oatherine McAuley, now minister to want, and labor to redeem ignorance, in almost every quarter of the globe, and it must bd deeply interesting to them to know the life of their Foundress ; while that larger number who have partuken of the benefits of her great Institute — ^those who have long admired, atid those who may feel the first movements of grace towards sharing its merits and labors, must necessarily desire to contemplate the model upon which the Sisters of Mercy have been formed. Indeed, such a life will be interesting to every class of Catholics. Almost every reading family has some object of affection among the cloisters of Mercy, or can point to a quiet grave where a sister of their kindred reposes in the convent cemetery ; and to read the life of Oatherine MoAuley is like bringing back and around us the gentle beings whose virtues we trace, while we follow the career of their spiritual Mother, who begot them in Ohrist Jesus. But there is something of even more general interest than that referred to, and which would seam to demand the present publication. The manifestations of heroic sanctity which, from timo to time, Ood Almighty inspires and produces, have their objects remote as well as immediate, and are intended to subserve the one as well as the other. In the v'ifor of Faith, Hope, and Charity the Church lives; and, although the life and beauty of individual perfection may in many cases be like the desert flower, hidden from every eye but that of God and His Heavenly Court, there are many others in which He moat 18 INTRODUCTION. evidentlj wishes that they Bhoald ahine forth like " light in the dark place"* of our pilgrimage, for the guidance, encouragement, and hope of the world. Thej have their allotted place and appointed work in their time or epoch ; but, beyond local limits and temporary results, their mission is to the future preaching of the gospel of perfect love, and revealing the embodiment of perfect religious devotion. And in the life of Catherine MoAuley will be fonnd the most striking proofs of heroism of almost every description, united to a prudence which never allowed enthusiasm to control common sense. There will be found a passiveness that looks almost like insensibility, and a firm- ness unshaken in every trial ; a recollection that never slept, and a sweet joy which was never clouded by pain or apprehension. Per- haps no one could be more sensitive, and none more patient. No one could labor more intensely, and no one could, with more equanimity, see the fmits of pain and sacrifice utterly destroyed. She had a soul of tUe softest feeling, and at the same time a most resolute will. Tadol- gent and rigorous, exacting and liberal, prodigal when God's glory was concerned, and sparing to a degree, where charity wonld permit the lessening of individual comfort ; tried by every ordeal, physical and moral, and changeless in every vicissitude ; overwhelmed with cares and labors, yet never hurried or excited ; utilizing not only hours but moments, yet wondering how one so imperfect could accomplish any thing ; ever the most dif&dent, and always the most confident ; receiv- ing gifts of Divine bounty with fea^" and crosses with joy; praising Qod with gratitude for the one, and looking upon the other ao harbin- gers of coming benediction ; the certain calm of one who " knew in whom she trusted" reigned over her whole career, and diffused itself in such serene tranquillity around her death-bed, that, as St. Bernard says of St. Malachy's departure, no one could know which was the repose that stole over Crod's servant, that of sweet sleep or that of the grave. '■^ Such will the following pages reveal Gatherine McAuley to have been ; and such she will appear to have become by an instinct, rather than by reasoning or gradnal formation — a real child of His covenant who was to establish the offspring of Israel as "universally taught of ♦Ijc Lord." And yet the events of her life may seem common enough. And her moral greatness — what we would in all humility call her heroic sanctity — partook of the nature of these events, as in some manner they should, because ordinary ftiots will generally be treated •XI Pet i. 18. INTHODUCTION, 19 in ordinary ways. She was auetere to berselfl bat the full amonnt of her mortification was bnried with her in Christ, and can never be known. Often she contrived to be the only one in the convent who had no cell to rest in, and she was always the only one who had no cessation' from toil The obligation of satisfying the opposing views of ill-tempered patrons, and bearing the ire which punished her for not effecting impossibilities or practising absurdities, natm-ally fell to her share. With all this the "nominal" meal in the refectory comes to onr mind, and the "discipline" so habitual with her that only a day or two before her death she bade it fkrewell, when wet with her blood she handed it to the eister who waited onlier and commanded her to bum it Bat ell was nothing to her sinless life, her recolleo- tibn, her sweetness, and that "facility" of performing acts of devoted- ''"fls above and beyond the ordinary acts of good people, in which Beixidiot XIV. places heroic virtue. " He who possesses it," says this great pontiff "works with ease, readiness, and delight above the ordinary measure for a supernatural end; and so without human reasoning, with an abnegation of self, and with an entire subjection of the passions." As we quoted St. Bernard's life of St. Malachy, we may give Bartoli's words regarding Cardinal Bellarmine ; for one and the other seem formed on the same model as the foundress of the Order of Mercy. And why should it not be so? Those "who put on the Lord Jesns are one spirit with him," and the spirit governs the deeds. Thus Bartoli speaks of the venerable servant of God of whom we have made mention : "Many would think they heard a miracle of virtue if we told them that, for seventy-nine years. Cardinal Bellarmine wore a hair shirt, and that his loins were girt with a heavy iron chiun, which he wore all his life. But they would not think the same if we told ;;hem, what in fact is true, that for seventy-nine year', of his life he never stained, by venial sin deliberately committed, the innocence of his baptismal robe ; and yet, mach less perfection of virtue is required for a man to subjugate and tame his body by fastbigs, watchings, and bloody sooci^ings, than in every variety of accidents to keep the af- fections of his mind so subject to the spirit, as that they never btir — never make themselves felt, or show their life, except only so far as when he pleases. It is not the perfection of virtue that it should be visible or create a stir ; the deeper great rivers are, the more silently they flow." One thing which must stride the most cursory reader of this life, Is, how little Catherine herself knew of the mission for which the ii 20 INTilODUCTION. Almighty had destined her. Like St. Francis Assist, St. Dominic, St Ignatiu.1, and nearly all, if not qnite all, the fonnders of religions orders, she looks the passive instrument of God's love for man, "worked by the Spirit," as the children of Ood are, and for the beneficent object of becoming the stewardess of celestial bounty to those whom the world passes by. She wishes to bnild a school for poor girls, rnd her architect builds a convent ; she engages a few ladies to help her, and for convenience' sake, they begin to take a spare meal on the premises. Religion suggests a parb grave as their occupations, and a dark cos- tume is assumed; intercourse begets the name of "Sister," at first playfully applied, and spiritual authority is offended at the usurpation ; thus the casually associated little band have insensibly come within the charmed circle of monastic feelings and habits ; its spirit has in- sensibly stolen in among them, and shaped their lives and ordinary practices, until at length they stand on the threshold of the sanctuary, and retrogression or progress becomes a necessity. Happily the step is made forward, and the Church has a new gem in her brilliant diadem. We behold, here, the full illustration of the words of the Master in Israel : " If the work be from Grod, you cannot destroy it." Cathe- rine's work was like our Divine Lord and His work : " a sign to be contradicted." She had, as the reader will perceive, the crosses, and conflicts, and misconceptions which wait upon great enterprises ; but from all of them the weak woman came forth, radiant with the victo- ries the Divine Spirit deigned to bestow. The simple truth is, that her work was a plant whose growth was in, and of, the Church — which belonged to the special season predetermined by Heaven — and was, therefore, only one of the series of the "Father's planting," which, in mysterious order, grow along the fields of ages, and mark the necessi- ties of mankind, as well as the vi jilance and lovingnesa of Qod. The same Wisdom which gave a Panl and an AStony to piety, a Benedict to learning, a Bernard to discipline, a Dominic to assailed orthodoxy, a Francis to spiritual life, a Peter Nolasco to philanthropy, a Vincent de Paul to ecclesiastical reform and charity, a Nano ITagle and a De la Salle to the education of the poor — the same gave to Ireland, coming on the famine time, the cholera time, and the days of awM emigra- tion, and Queen's Colleges, and growth of materialism — Thb Obdxb OF MxBOT. Refuge was to he needed for our young women, and homes for our orphans, and education for our girls, and angels of God's love for our decaying and dying brothers in hospitals, garrets, and oabini ; and just as it always happened, at the proper time— nntber linic, St g orders, )rked by it object tiom the rnd her her, and premises. lark 008- " at first srpation ; ae within rit has in- ordinary lanotnary, f the step r brilliant Master in ." Cathe- sign to be rosses, and (rises; but I the vioto- ith is, that ch — which -and was, ' which, in he necessi- Gk)d. The a Benedict orthodoxy, , a Vincent e and a De ind, coming rfol emigra- Tmt Oedbb romen, and els of God's garrets, and me — nether INTRODUCTION. n sooner nor later — Qod spoke, by the presence of the Sibtsbs of Mibot: " I am with yon all days, even to the consnmmation of the world." It was quite true for the Foundress, when she congratnlated Mother Elizabeth of Limerick : " Gratitude to God" for being made instru- ments of good, is the only feeling that can ever have place in a ra- tional mind, that contemplates the results of labor and sacrifice as the fruits of God's own husbandry. In no case is there a philosophical proportion between the exertions of religious founders and thnir won« derfhl success. " God grant yon lively gratitude and profound hu- mility," wrote the Foundress; "then, indeed, you wiU be a child of benedicH'>n." Such is the mere common sense of those who see the truth, as jix\j ui^ clean of heart can behold it Herein lies a secret which unhappy dissent can never fathom, and which it wearies itself in vainly describing. Lord Macaulay, speaking of the Church, naid truly enough, that never was any " human institu- tion" so worthy of being studied, because no human institution can be compared with the works of God. Having, however, agreed with his readers, that the Ghurch was a " human institution," he commenced to initiate them in the arcana of her indcstmctibilily. He made her power consist principally in her liberality; and declared that had John Wesley belonged to her communion, the Church would have tied a rope around his body, and sent him on her work to the antipodes ; she would then conclude by making him a Saint. The English schism, he says, made Wesley a schismatic to itself, because -it did not know how to employ his enthusiasm. Another writer places the strength of the Church in her coercive power and activity — declaring that she would long since have fallen by the wear and tear of time, and the intelli- gence of " the nineteenth century," only for the fictitious strength im- parted to her by bigotry. Earl Bussel thinks her attractive points are those ceremonies, which ^^xalted intellects like his, call "the mum- meries of superstition." Bishop Forbes, and many of the Church of England people, now say on the contrary: "The real sacramental ob- jective presence of our Master in the Sacrament — ^the duty of adora- tion and oblation — the obligation to pray for the departed — the belief that all the Saints in Paradise unite in prayer for us on earth — the»e thinffi are our euential professions.^^ One says, " confession" is the thing; another, the "monastic orders;" a third thinks "celibacy" the secret; and a fourth places the spring of the Church's life in "in< fallibility." Each of these doctrines, or all of them, accompanied by 1 1 22 mTBODUOTION. certain oeremonies, will then be adopted by taste or by principle, and the Novattan vainly thinks he has discovered an elixir for sfaotarian immortality. But it is vain. The gardening in God's Ghnrch is Gh)d's. The soil is Hia ; the preparation of the ground and the growth of the tree. In alieu land the plant mast fade and perish, for the fertiliziDg dew falls only on the spot which is coi !!ecrated by the pbouisb. The people ot whom we speak are like northern travellers, who find themselves in the midst of tropical f .~ wers, v/hose rich hnes and miyestio proportions fill them with admiration. " Had we only sach flowers at home 1" they exclaim, and they forthwith begin the work of transplanting. Bnt the labor is useless. The chill bosom of the north was never in- tended to supply the warm current which is necessary for their life. Tho frosts nip, and the winds scatter them. They grow healthfnlly and Inxuriantly only at home. The Religions Orders grow np in the.< Ghnrch by a fixed law — betimes they live only their period and make> way for others — but spontaneity is their character. The same general objects — God, and the neighbor — bnt as "the neighbor" is ever changing his needs, the Orders ever change their aspects, or new ones spring up to compliment the exertion of the old. Founders are the hand of God dealing with His Ghnrch to the end of time ; bnt " go down to the land which the Lord thy God will show thee," is, it might be said, their only rnle. Never was any thing more nnfounded than the supposition that "the Ghnrch," meaning the execntive of Ohrist's Ghurch, originates Religions Orders. They only spring up in her, a^d she " dresses and keeps" the garden God has given to her care. And it may be allowed for a moment to delay the reader while the remark is made, that nothing occurs more frequently than the singular division which Dissenters make between the Ghurch and hent^. Looking at her operations through all time and in all places, they sup- pose a kind of Directory in some place not very well defined, and they attribute to this Directory the universal motion in which they behold the members of the Ghurch's organism. An "Order" is instituted? The Church adopted that plan to effect such and such purposes. Is a mission undertaken ? Tha Church has sent so and so into these dis- tant regions to eoonre her dominion. Does an institute of peculiar rigor and great lul>or appear? The Ghurch has adopted this new form of appeal to secure her infiuenoe. And what appears very wonderftil, is, that many intelligent people— people of travel— repeat the phrases of visionary hypotheses to which use has given the privilege of passing without examination. INTRODUCTION. 23 Probablj manj vould be astonishea t^ hear that there is no sooh Directory — no board or government inventing religious orders, or organizing severe institutions and laborious ccr.yregatlons. The Church— if by the Church is meant the Holy See and the Cardinals at Borne — ^hear about such tilings for the first time when they are in life and action. The Sovereign Pontiff gives them their passports to travel, and the stamp of tlioir origin ; but he no more makes them, invents them, or plana tlieir objects, than the head of the human body institutes the hand or regulates its powers. They are, every one of them, and all of them combined — the Church working — Rome doing her own great part, and imparting to the rest authority and real life. They spring forth from 0HAnmr, the fruits of the Divine Spirit, claiming their origin from the Most High. Rome judges, but does not create them. Lilce the Okdek of Mkeot, they spring up unexpectedly, present themselves suddenly, and take their places harmoniously, with only ONK Inteixigenob to which they owe their origin. Reflecting minds will see, In the adaptation of means to end, thus observable In the combination of the religious orders directed to one purpose — achieving identical results, and converging from all times and all places, though all apparently coming from the ever-varying impulses of the human heart — a harmony of man's liberty and God's eternal designs, such as only Omnipotence could accomplish. In fact, all these functions which persons outside the Church perceive in cease- less action everywhere, are, all of )hem, the Church working ; and to speak of the Church employing them, or instituting them, is to say something which has no meaning; or to say: "Ob, see that man's hands and feet I oerttdnly his head made thera ; fur they act In perfect unison with it." It would be easy to explain it all by saying that God made the members, and gave them a Hka.d to govern tbem ; but that explanation wonld never answer for people who must see things ac- cording to their preconceived views, and who. If they have said n man Is his own father, will insist that every other fact must square with their supposition. How beautiful is the consistent love and mercy of the good Qod displayed towards the poor 1 All the blessings Religion promises to sufferings are shadowed forth In the devotion she always displays to the wretched. The outcasts of the world's pride — who seem an offence to Its ei^joyments and Intellect — the ignorant and the pauper- ized — they are just the persons for whom Christ reserves whatever la most precious to His affection, by His graces and their good-will. Just as if to prove His PuBsnxfcB, and the wonderful " virtue which 24 INTRODUCTION. went forth from Him," He selects the chUdren reared in laxnrj and shaded from the view of sorrow, and makes them servants of a class fh)m whom even poverty would often fly with horror. We see nature thus transformed or exalted, mortality divested of its clay, the lost in life's race march first hy Divine love ; and we lx»hold the perpotnation of that celestial economy, which songht the fallen woman at Jacob's well, and watched the funeral coming out from Nain, to give the dead son to the mother, " who was a widow." We learn the real meaning of "love one another as I have loved yon," and can no longer understand the principle which makes imprisonment in a workhouse the condition and exponent of Ghi-istian love. Let it be again repeated, that religious orders grow out of the roots of faith, hope, and charity, always alive in the Church. They may take different forms, because the necessities of the world will always vary with the condition of the human family, and the objects to be attained by charity will always vary with them. One thing, how- ever, ii invariable, and that is, that the stamp of ^heir origin is ever, not only on the works done, but, by a blessed providence, on those who do them. Not only in the oasj of Catherine, but in that of nearly all her associates and followers, the individuals and their occupations were the least likely in the world to be combined. Education, tastes, habits, pr^udices, and one would say, even capacity, were opposed to the selection of a state in life like that which the Sister of Mercy seeks so ardently. The poverty in which she lives con be known only to those who will not reveal it, and the labor she performs is a marvel to those who know her best, and even to herself. The brief repose— the lengthened devotions — the spare diet, and even the hot school for hours of a day, are not so much in themselves; but the sickness, dis- tress, filth, stupidity, insffi^ibility, and even obduracy, to which they become daily handmaids, are things with which it requires an effort of the mind to connect the joyous, radiant young creature who is tbo sunshine of home and the pride of her parents. And when yon think of the way in which she has been brought up— the tender care of home— tlie hardly less anxious attention of the boarding-school — the worship jouth, beauty, and good means obtain, if they do not in- spire—the very vanity inseparable from adulation, and oven the oon- eoiousness of right and claim to these things according to the world's node — they all remove the individual so far from the scones and sor- rows to which we have referred, that you find such persons among them, 08 you find the sick made sudden^ whole, or the sinAil sud- INTBODUOTIOK. u I niryand )f a class io nature tie lost ia potniitioii it Jacob's pve the the real no longer workhouse ' the roots They may rill always ijeots to be ling, liow- gln is ever, ,i on those »rly all her ations were ates, habits, Dsed to the roy seeks so nly to those •vel to those repose— the ; Bohool for ickness, dis- whioh they •es aa effort e who is the in yoa think ider care of school— the J do not in- ven the oon- the world's ones and sor- irsons among e sinftal sud- denly converted. It b not natare. It cannot be nature. And when to all this you add, perhaps grace's greatest triumph — that while the child of God works away, no one sees the sacrifice — there is no word of wonder at her chivalry, or praise of her heroism, »r pity for hnr suffering; but all her toilsome life she "plods her weary way," going where she is sent, not knowing what she is to do next — praying, reading, teaching, and reposing, by no taste or will of her own, but nil by unquestioning obedience — you find no difSculty in pronouncing the old judgment : "The finger of God is here." It is easy, oompar^ktively, to go forth amid such scenes for a day or two in the mouth or week ; though for ten or twenty years you will find few to do so. Tou are free to go or to stay — and that does something fur pride and selfishness. Tou have your own home on your return in the evening, and the contrast makes domestic enjoy- ment even more happy. Tou have your friends to meet and your lamentations to indulge in, and the long, story of your experience to narrate — ^and all these do a great deal for p< or humanity. But a far different thing is the "Sister's" life. The long day's wearing toil — the sealed silence on her relum — the never-ceasing duty calling her still to some engagement— and then the lonely cell and hor own soul. These are the things that make the life of a religious impossible to selfish- ness, ivnd created and sustained only by grace. The writer has seen some instances of the heroism of which he speaks, and which comes only from the Former and Fashioner of hearts and resolutions. Ho has seen them in the cholera hospitals, where his own duties called him the days and nights of 1840, and he has met them at the fever-sheds in '46, '47, and '48. It was not tbe exer- tion, though such ex^ion wore out many a strong energy; nor the patience and devotion, for both one and the other seem to be the nor- mal growth of gentle souls; but it was the changeless, sleepless, oon- querless activity, the mirooulons kind of omnipresence of these young, fair daughters of the faith, during the whole time, day and night. Gome when you would and go where yon pleased, you found them there still. And yon saw, or imagined yon saw, the same per ' son everywhere ; the same sweet, contented, happy look and bearing that spoke of b&.ven within and around them. How they could address themselves so continuously to the wretched, surprised one. The poor sinner was softened when they spoke of God, and suffer- ing relaxed half its grasp as the Sister of Mercy held the cross before the glazing eyes of anguish. It need not be observed that many Protestants were converted by the grace of their very looks, for they a ; I ■ I •;?. ■ 3 i m F mm 26 INTBODUCTIOK. never spoke of controversy. One case was amnsing enough. It oc- curred during the visitation of 1849 : " Well " BMd a hospital officer to an English seaman, who appeared to be rapidly sinking, "well, friend, what minister wiU you have?" "Minister, eh t» "Yes, what minister?" " Well, I'm sure I don't know. I say l" "Well?" " Do you see that tall black 'un there?" •' Yes, that is Sister Mary— one of tiio nuns." " Oh, well, then, I wiU have her minister. She works hard I know, and I h'ard she doesn't get no pay." The pool fellow had afterwards better motives for entering thi Ohuroh, and " the tall black 'un" closed his eyes. Of a truth, only God's power in God's Church reveak snob resources in the heart of woman. Nothing demonstrates the rapidity with which Christian morality shares, in Protestant communions, the fate of Christian dogma, more than the relations which subsist between property and pauper- ism. It was thought by the eariy reformers that personal judgment which regulated the nature and extent of belief, would never usurp the direction and specification of moral principles. Habit had fixed them, and the public conscience appeared their guardian. But only a brief period was necessary to show that the indepenience which defied aU teaching in the matter of fdth, renounced all guidance in the matter of practice, and that no higher sanction of moral law any longer existed than public taste and private safety. Men did precisely what they pleased, and restrained their impulses only in the presence of shame or danger. And the results ot the principle, or want of principle, here indi- cated, were i. . nd in the altered condition and position of the poor. The kind fellowship that took them by the hand, and that sunny joy which in the presence of sympathy beamed in the face of patient want, were found no longer. The rich looked at the poor askant, and the poor bent their brows as wealth passed by, and made them feel the contempt of pride and high station. The dosses separated one from another like castes, and began to reckon each other as natural enemies, and the seeds of ever-growing repulsion were widely sown. It is not to be siud, of course, that this was universally the case, but only generally, and quite sufficiently to render such a state of thingi • characteristic of our time. i^mm iiiim""iiii-ii"ii»aiiiiiiiaiiiii gh. It oc- o appeared have?" hardl intering tbi eveak snob an moralitj bian dogma, and pcuper- al judgment never nsnrp tit bad fixed But only a lence vbiob . guidance in aral law any did precisely the preaenoe e, here indl- of tbe poor. lat Bnnnyjoy ce of patient ir askant, and de them feel leparated one er as natural widely sown, tbe case, but te of tbings • IKTBODUCTION. 27 Workbonses are among tbe ideas whiob sprang ont of the new con- dition of society ; and they sprang ont of a double feeling, or a treble feeling it may bo. They were a safety to governments ; tlu'y rfmoved want from the presence of competence ; and tliey supplied the place of voluntary alms, which were no longer found available. It is no part of tbe purpose of this Introduction to make national contrasts, or to laud foreign philanthropy; yet it is worth remarking that tiie workhonse system is entirely a Protestant idea. Catholic countries may be good, bad, or indifferent, but it is certain that sorrow and want find sympathy and sufficient osustance iit brotherly love, and that perpetual imprisonmenc and the rnpture of all feeling are not a condition necei'sary to avoid starvation. Why slionld it be so? Po liticd or social economy 7 Assuredly, Christianity must be wiser than modem socialism, which finds tbe principles of religion inconvenient or transforms them by misinterpretation. What is tills thing which Christianity calls love? Modern philoso- phy has, in many thmgs, found the Scriptures behind modern progreus, but fearfyiy in advance of it in the notion of the relations of man- kind. And modem philosophy accordu.gly takes as much Christianity OS comes up to tbe mark of modem wisdom, leaving the rest as a monnment of what is called ancient civilization, now extinct. Lovb is one of the objects of Chriatian precept which serves to enlighten the dull history of the middle ages, and which is dignified with tho white garment of Herod in these days of industry and political science. It is not too much to say that the i.ovs of the Gospel — illustrated by the life that animates the Gospel— is found only where the Church has sway. If we never saw tho sacrifice of lovb, "greater than which no man bath ;" and never heard the precept of love — " love one another as I have loved you ;" or never bad known the interpretation of i,ovk, as the Acts of tbe Apostles, the Epistles of Sts. James and John, have preserved it for our edification, we certainly could judge without serious difficulty that lovb did not mean indifference, hostility, con- tempt, shutting out suffering from our eyes that iU agonies may not disturb us, and incarcerating poverty perpetually that we may not be offended by its rags. No ; love has feeling, action, anxiety, watchAil- ness, on ardent curiosity to discern necessity, and an ardent impulse to relieve pain. It does not confine itself to feeding and clothing its object, and locking it up within stone walls, to curse its fate and brood over human ii\)ustice ; but it seeks, cores, consoles, and cheers distress, more by tho nnpurcbasable sympathy of a compassionate heart than by measureless oontribntions of money, which are han^V valued by ■■ INTBODUCTION. those •w]\c give or receive. The apostle gave his glom upon the view of our Lord Je^iia Christ when he said : " We ought to die for tlie brethren." The Church at all times felt and demonstrated her feeling, that the poor were emphatically Jesas Christ: "As long as you have not ('.one BO to one of these little ones, you have not done it to mel' Thus "all things were in common" in the early days of her history, when the echo of Christ's injunctions were still in the ear of the disciples. And far Zowa in the ages, until we feel the presence of the laws in our traditions and habits, the episcopal treasury was the excess above the necessities of affluence, to which all the poor had an irresistible right. "We understand at once how it was that temporal necessities became the signal for Christian devotion, and even the manacle of the slave was freely shared or assumed when Christian lots contemplated the slavery from which love divine had rescued it. The listers of Mercy, sitting by the beds of the plague-stricken, their light forms flitting up and down the hospitals dnring the cholera-time — mingling with the dying on the battle-fields of the East, or hanging over beds of pain and disease at Scutari and Balaklava — are sometimes miracles in the eyes of earnest Protestants, and not unfreqnently an illustration of the " wonderful power the Church of Rome has over its votaries." To one who views the picture in the light of the " Oruoi- fled," there is nothing seen but snccessorsliip to those who gloried in the Cross of our Lord Jesus, and who heard His voice calling them to the holy mountain: "Go, sell what ye have— give it to the poor, Fol- low Me, and yon will have treasure in heaven." The writer remembers the cholera of 1882, and had the happiness of spending some nights in a cholera hospital. It was in early sum- mer-time, and life and death came in awful contrast when countless coffins moved along the roads and across the country, amid the fresh verdure and blooming flowers of June. There r. os a complete paraly- sis of hope; and many sank down beside the plague-stricken, whose fears poisonetl the current of life, rather tlian the disease which smote their neighbors so suddenly and fearfully. At that time a young lady of nineteen assumed the direction of the nnrses in a Southern hospital. Educated, attractive, noble in her bear- ing, dignified in her address and manners— it was a charming study to watch her as she passed iVom bed to bed, from ward to ward — not with the cloud of saddening sorrow, but with the smile of heaven- hope in her face. For every one she had a kind word, and her look was even more eloquent in consoling the wretched th«n her language. '■■^wm INTRODUCTION. a» the view ,e for the ;, that the > not ('.one Thus "all when the pies. And iws in onr ahove the tible right, es became r the slave iplated the ioken, their iiolera-time or hanging I sometimes equently an lias over ita the "Ornol- D gloried in ing them to I poor, FoL- e happiness I early snm- jn countless lid the fresh )lete paraly- icken, whose which smote action of the I in her bear- ling study to to ward — not e of heaven- md her look lior laoguage. Even in their direst extremity, the sufferers felt the balm of new con- solation when that joung girl stood by their side. To some of the medical men she was a plienomenon — particularly to Protestants — who more than once exclaimed to the writer: " What a singular taste that young lady must have!" They conld hardly understand what is meant by the constraining love that wastes itself and rejoices while it pines — that transformed the heart of St Franeis Xavier into a paradise, and made thecholer& hospital a heaven for the child of sacrifice. The girl of nineteen of that day is now a Sister of Mercy ; and has, in many a place and many a heart, reproduced, by GUkI's goodness to her, the idenl which then filled her young soul. No cnrions eye shall discover the daughter of benediction, whose greatest grace is the mantle of hn mility, with which, in all her days, she has been able to conceal the gifts of Grod. The purposes the Almighty has to servo, require virtues equal to their holinens and their magnitude. And when Catherine McAuley was chosen to be the medium of salvatiim— of applying the divine mercy to so many in religion and out of it— we find her graces eqnal to her mission. Was there ever a creature more unselfish — who lived more entirely by faith, hope, and love T And do we not see in the special nature of the lights God vouchsafed to her, that wonderful il> lumination of soul which reflects the near Saviour, by communion and indwelling? It is happy for us who pursue her through the brief and fnll career Ood permitted unto her, that even so much rumaips to illustrate her exalted views of spiritual life and holy charity. From the letters which have been preserved, we may easily see what a treasure the Ohuroh in general should possess, if a colleotion of her writings conld be obtained. Tbe communications to Kingstown, Oariow, Limerick, &o., — pointing out the connection human efforts have with the work of God, and the way to employ trials, contradictions, and sufferings, in order to give them their place in the economy of God's govern- ment, — are beautiful expositions of the thoughts of an interior soul, and indicate a virtue quite kindred to that of the great Saints of the Church. To such a one nothing comes amiss. Every success was the good Father's mercy to the poor and to the Sisters ; and every bitter trial was sent only to purify our thoughts and stimulate our exertions, while, if received with humility, it was the sure forerunner of soma singular blessing. Such an interior is, of course, the effect of the grace of Heaven, and the true reflection of the perfect will of God. It is the victory which ocnquers the world, which is {^ven into the hands 80 INTBODUCliON. of Christ's servants ; and a new proof of His dear love for the poor and forlorn, in whose canse He works such wonders. It will be remembered that Catherine had been reared among Pro- testants, and that some men.bers of her own family bad apastatized from tlie Church. Hence her early days were only partially enlight- ened, and were obo deprived of the aids to knowledge and sanctity which thuQsands of Catholics possess in such abnodance. Thus she continued nearly to the hour that beheld her in possession of wealth, and mo^-od by that insatiable spirit for helping want and ignorance, that was the writing of God in the pages of her great destiny. Then, what men would call an accident, made her a novice at George's Hill ; and eighteen months were given to religious training. Such was her whole schooling, one might say, in the science she was to teach as a mistress — in the difficult up-hill path of perfection, where she was to become a guide. And so it was with regard to tlie government of otiier^. She hud known little or no theory of it ; yet hundreds of hearts were to be swayed by her, and hundreds of dispositions to be ruled, and the energies of hundreds directed, while every variety of difficulty and trial was to be encountered in all kinds of chftraoter, and arising from every kind of position. Her enlightenment and her pru- dence — her never-wavering faitJi, hope, and humility — led her steadily to the successful results we ei^oy. Ker letters will be read with in- terest, and will attest these observations to be facts. She had no "vain fear or superfluous solicitude;" and as she did all f <" God, who governs all, she accepted disappointment with the same readiness as success — perhaps indeed with more pleasure, because of the hnmilia- tion that came with it. Speaking of St. Teresa, Benedict XIV. quotes from the process of her canonization : ." The Auditors of the Rota, in their report on thti virtues of this saint, have proved the heroism of her life from the fact that she placed her hope and love in God Himself as the end, but in all created goods only as the means necessary or conducive towards obtaining eternal good; that she hoped in God with dl her heart, with full security and without any doubt or hesitation, but with a firm, noss which excluded all vain fear and superfluous solicitude ; that she flew to Him alone in every necessity and danger, by humble prayers and persevering supplications, with oil the trustfulness of her soul, and that in Him and for film, she hoped for and achieved most difficult things, namely, the reform of her order, although she was a woman, poor, in bad health, and destitute of all human aid, although she waa impeded by powerful obstacles, and dangers were hanging over her." ^mimmssm^S INTBODUCTION. 81 ■the poor long Pro- postatized y enli^ht- il sanctity ThoB she of wealth, ignorance, ly. Then, rge'8 Hill; h was hor teach as a she was to >rnment of imdreds of ions to be r variety of racter, and id her pru- ner steadily ad with in- he had no - God, who readinesB as he bninilia- I process of )port on the •om the fact end, but in ive towards L her heart, with a firm. le; that she nble prayers ler ponl, and lost difiicnlt ia a woman, ugh she was t over her." Every word here spokea will be for.nd jostified if we apply the pas* sage to the subject of these pages. And what renders such coinci> deuce of virtno the more singular is, that the facts which tlie Sacred Oongregation of the Bota describes as an evidence of the heroic virtue of St Teresa, come out in those of Mother MoAnley's life with a facility which makes the language of the Bota only like a deduction from the pages now given to the public. Benedict XIV. sayn agun, quoting from the prooest- of canoniza- tion: "The entrance of St. Aloysius Oonzaga into the Society of Jesns was rightly accounted among his heroic acts of hope by the Anditors of the Bota; for he, cheerfully resigning tb^ marquisate of Castiglione, which was afterwards made a principality, and putting aside the pleasures and delights of this world, embraced the aforesaid insti- tute." Oertainly, we may condudr as much of Oatherine MoAnley's sur~ render of the world. She was extremely well fitted by nature to take what is called " a high place in society ;" and her talents had had an education suflScient to give them a striking development. In fortnnA and prospectr, she was far in advance of the Catholics of her position in our day. They were then fewer, more prominent, and singular enough, far more courted than at present. The truth is, that both high and middle class Catholics, towards the close of the eighteenth century and in the boginning of the nineteenth, were among the ob- jects of Protestant patronage, and could not be esteemed the objects of Protestant jealousy. Tho land belonged to a section of its people, and they were satisfied to be liberal and even kind, so long as their ascendancy was unquestioned, When, however, the advances of true political principles began to threaten their supremacy, they gathered more closely together ; and when law, prosperity, and education began to ruse the old race to the same platform with themselves, the " odi pro&nnm valgus"* principle began to prevail, and the "arceo,"of course, succeeded. Catherine McAuley, then, had all the temptations which yonth, beauty, fortune, and ra'-e ability encountered, particularly when whirled along by a handsome carriage and four. How humbled and edified wo feel when we tarn to the poor Nun in her ill-fhrnished cell, with her broken wrist, and lonely nights all unattended ; and how pliunly we see the ennobling grace of Qod in the only complaint which * " I bBt« that ignorant rabble, and oommand them to stand off."— ^r. Oar, lib. 8, od. 1. «i as INTRODUCTION'. escaped her when the death-congh seized her, and made her nights so gloomj — "I so disturb the poor Sisters!" The separation from the world, however, was not the only triamph vhich God gave Catherine McAulej over flesh and blood, for she was wddentlj so identified with God that, like the blessed Teresa, " she so loved Ood for Himself alone, that she bnrued with desire for the glory of God Almighty, and labored in the highest degree for its increase, as well in the reform and propagation of her order, as in the admirable doctrines she left us in her writings, and in all her actions and heroic virtues." Towards the end of this ivlnme, an obituary of the Foundress, by tbe writer, then connected with education in Nova Scotia, informs the reader of an acquaintance with Catherine McAuley, dating nearly thirty years ago. If ever there was a time when the originator of a great institute is particularly attached to the work, it is when first obstacles have been overcome, and diffusive life shows the wide reign and range the system is about to enjoy. There before the eyes is the BQCcess — and just in its vigor too — when hope can picture nothing too great to be achieved, and experience inspires a confidence before, per- haps, not particularly reliant. Afterwards, when the work looks finished, and the machinery b moved by other hands, and other minds have made their own of its success, interest and effort may rule in imperfect souls, but every thing natural and supernatural binds one to the old arena at such a period as that to which we refer. It was just at BQch a time the writer encountered Mother HcAuloy, and just at such • time she wished to join him in a mission of charity to Nova Scotia. Reverend Mother was a person never to be forgotten. Her face, look, bearing, and conversation are jt.t as fresh to-day, after so many years, as they were the evening of the day alluded to in the obituary The fiill, steady, blue eyes, so (aiH of light, and yet not dazrJing— " Her spirit sita aloof and high, But glances from lier tender eye, In sweetness droopingly ;— The tresh, autumnal bloom of the cheek, pure and transparent fi-om the paradise of heavenly thoughts in which she lived ; the smile, so recollected, yet so genial, that at once won heart and confidence ; and the bearing and conversation, in which an ei^y dignity and wonderful fiuiility of expression combined to make her conversation something which her auditor had' not known before, and has not since en- oonntered. INTRODUCTION'. eher nights so 8 onl;» trinmpb jd, for she was Teresa, "she so •e for the glory its increase, as I the admirable ions and heroic J Foundress, by tia, informs the , dating nearly originator of a it is when first ) the wide reign ) the eyes is the ;ure nothing too mce before, per- the work looks and oUier minds Tort may rale in iiral binds one to •, It was just at and jast at snch ' to Nora Scotia, itten. Her face, y, after so many in the obituary not dazriing— ransparent firom id ; the smile, so confidence; and ty and wonderful jation something IS not sinoe en- "But, Reverend Mother, how oonid yon think of leaving yonr great Institute, and burying yourself in a poor province ?" " We have plenty of Sisters more than able to supply my place," she replied, " and I may be tit for the rough work to be encountered in a new region. Try me. When I was young I often heard, 'Go to Nova Scotia,' said to some one who was importunate, or incredulous, or something ebe. Perhaps I may be fortunate enough to 'go to Nova Scotia.' " " Time mast be taken, Reverend Mother. The soil must be pre- pared, or no growth can be expected. Were you to go now, yourself and the Sisters who might accompany you, would, in all likelihood, be the first and last Nuns in Halifax. Vocations must come from an ad- vanced state of religion and education." It would be difiioult to picture her smile of incredulity and her gentle movement of the head as she replied : "Ah, Father, yon mistake. Tou have often seen a recruiting part} come into a town or city. No^ne appeared anxious to become a soldier. The men who enlisted were not seen; or if seen, no one, not even themselves, dreamed of their patting on the red coat. But the drum, and fife, and cockade, aroused new thoughts, new hopes, and new projects, and the recruiting party is soon followed by a new sup- ply for the ranks. Make the experiment 1" How the writer had the courage to refuse, it is very hard indeed to explain. Of course, it would be necessary to obtain the consent of the Archbishop ; but at any rate, the writer had the weakness to fear the experiment, and he lost such a light and guide of life as is twice offered to very fo^T clergymen. The whole scene and circumstance would be of little importance unless in the life of a holy personage, whom we may hope at some time to see placed upon our altars. In tuis regard, a word or even a look, may well be deemed a treasure i and the conversation above set down is therefore repeated almost word for word, as far as memory permits it — and memory in this case fs sot likely to fail. Withont paying any compliment which the relations of this volume with the Order would render importune, it may >~e sud that the his- tory of the Sisters of Mercy has been like a continuation of the life of the Foundress, multiplied. We see her everywhere and in every thing — the image of her work in all the image and feeling of the Sisterhood. It is not too much to say that the following life will do much to deepen the lines of resemblance between (he various Convents of the Order, by impr^sin^ the rising generation of yonug I^igious 2* ) -i i ■.. .a^.^'/T^rrw^^^**' '• M UTTRODUCTION. with the exact views and special virtues of their Fonndress. In fact, the book will, and ought to be, read as a hand-book of th novitiate. There is no such power of perpetuity in a religions body ns tliat de- rived from identity of object and operation ; firstly, because that gives to each convent a force, strength, and stability equal to the moral in- fluence of all ; but, secondly, and more particularly, because deviationi, from the tievot of the foundert ofreligiout ordtrny are ordinarily de- tiiitiont from the will of God, by which the founder has been inspired. " Reforms" and " Restoration*," thereafter, are the symbols of weak- ness, and they are also proofs that the Holy Church pronounces sen- tence on the first change. The life of Catherine McAuley will have another claim upon the Order and the public — that it is a history of the Sisters of Mercy. The gradual development — the foundation first intended only for the poor of Dublin — the establishment in Kingstown, Garlow, and TuUamore— the taking possession of the ancient Convent in Limerick city— the opening of Bermondsey and Birmingham and all the rest, will snpply to the Order, to the public, and to the families of the devoted Re- ligious, a reference in times to come, by which the germs shall be traced of a work educational, philanthropic, and religious, that already fills the mind of the world. Without this history, too, Reverend Mother could no more be seen than an unknown historical character alone in a picture. We contemplate her in the multitude of her oc- cupations, never changing temper or temperament; always in her place, in chapel, choir, and cell, and always fnlly occupied by matters that would take her away from such duties : ever and ever consulted, interrupted, importuned, now by the scruples of a novice, again by the complaints of a tradesman, but always the same ; needing money, and not knowing where to look for it ; advice, and having no one to give it ; needing rest and quiet, — ever impossible ; but all the time the light of a happy heart in her smile, and of unshaken confidence in her calm, mild eye^. The history of the Order is as necessary, to know and appreciate Reverend Mother, as the events of his career are, to become acquainted with a warr'ar or statesman. Mere description is nearly useless for such a purpose. And the same may be said of another fcatnre in this book — the interior life of a convent. The portnrbation of poor Sister Mary Teresa, tlte "cell regulator," when all the cells had been filled, and " two new Sisters" wee announced to have arrived ; the running to Beverend Mother to know where they are to sleep ; and the answer, ao full of sweet contert and quiet Joy, and so contagious, too, are all of ' •^iArMei^tmSaik^'tiik INTRODUCTION. 85 resg. In fact, th- novitiate, xly as Uiat de- EU1S6 that gives ) the moral in- ,ase detiationt, ordinarily de- \ been inspired, nbols of weak- ironounoes sen- ;laim upon the of Mercy. The aly for the poor nd Tullamore— lerick city— tho rest, will snpply be devoted Re- germs shall be )us, that already , too, Reverend toriool character titude of her oo- always in her ipied by matters 1 ever consulted, novice, again by needing money, having no one to t all the time the confidence in her aessary, to know lis career are, to ere description is a this book— the joor Sister Mary d been filled, and i ; tho running to and the answer, ous,too, are all of them tin tings which bring out the great features of t^^e character we want to study. And so of the countless journeys hither and thither, and tlte teaming consolations which made "the sun shine almost too brightly," because the soul was so full of light. The begging of prayers for such a house and such an object; the conversations at the death-bed of a Sister dear to her, and (he call to the parlor to receive a cup of bitterness from pride — which repaid itself for helping her by ofibnding her — and .the imperturbable calmness with which she bore it ; the supplying of the little ribbons and bits of silk to the sweet Sister whose last days were soothed by the hope of supplying " a poor hawker's basket" coming on the festival of our Patron Saint; the charming lessons on " reserve," humility, and hope ; in a word, the life of Ohrist in her, and her wonderful communication to the nuns of the singleness of purpose, self-sacrifice, and prayerfnlnes-i, which made all the actions of her children the operations of the indwelling spirit of Jesus — are simply and affectionately brought out in these pages, and they give us a view, of the Foundress of the Order of Meroy, which the Catholic Oharob, and many a one in the Protestant communions, w^ill value. A list of the Convents of Mercy throughout tho world is added at the end of the work, and an obituary of the nuns. The convents will be fonnd to number over two hundred, and the " Gliildren of Bene- diction," who gained their lives by losing them, over three hundred. During thirty years, between endowments and tiie surplus dowries* of tlieir children, the fathers of the Irish race have expended Mten hun- dred thouiand pounds for the poor and ignorant, through thie Order alone, and given their children's litet besides. For it will be recollected that in Ireland, ?tc., the interest of her inheritance must support every lady who becomes a Sister of Mercy. What Catherine McAaley was can never be entirely known unless to God, and her character and praise are in her mission and its fruits. She was established by Glod " to go forth and bear fruit ; and that her fruit should remain,"t the Gabriel of a new message, and the Raphael of new blessings to the world and the poor. ^Vhat God may intend to reveal cannot be foreseen, and what Ha has revealed in her regard is not entirely known ; but it cannot surprise* any one, if the title of this little book at some future period shall be changed by the command of Heaven, and the aureola of sanctity surround its pages. Further the writer, at this present time, dares not go— not because facts are want- • Excew of dowry above £500. t John, xvi. 16. 86 INTBODUCTION. ing, bat beoanse prudence is supposed to forbid. He begs leave to oonolude this too lengthy introduction'*' bj lines which, for the sake of the subject, ought not to be allovred to smk into oblivion : LINES ON THE DEATH OF REV. MOTHER CATHERINE MoAULE"?. Sbb has passed away forever, bnt the sanligbt of her hrow Still brightens o'er the lonely home that weeps in sorrow now : Though the lips we loved are silent, still the pleading voice we hear And the soft, low tones of melody full sweetly on O'lr ear. She bos faded I but the fragrance of her gentle virtues yet Wafts memories of the sanctified we never can forget ; And the gleaming of her glorious robe— the radiance of her crown, From her throne of bliss in heaven are still beaming brightly down. Tes, sainted Mother Catherine, in the fulness of thy love, Thou art with us, though thy spirit dwells beatified above ; Thou ort near us in thy children, who work for us day by day. When they dry the tear of angaish from the orphan's cheek away ; And they whisper words of comfort to the heart bowed down with grief, And to nakedness and hunger bring the tidings of relief; And they lift fVom off the mourner's heart awhile its load of care, And, with words of fuith and hope, they chase the demon of despair. r,^ And when sitting by the lonely hearth, they speak of Him who diod, And they place the child of wretchedness by gentle Miiry's side 1 When they see the tear-drop glisten on the cheek of aged crime. Bringing back once more the blessings of a sinless, happy time ; When they watch the wearied spirit wing its parting flight away, And they soothe the mourner's weeping o'er the cold and senseless ciny ; When they teach the young to follow in the footsteps He has trod, And then kneel down to offer all these works of love to Qod ;— Oh I 'tis in that hour that gratitude no tongue can ever tell. And the peace no words can ever speak, draw round us like a spoil ; And (hen humbly gating heavenward, with eyes of faith, we sea How our blessed Lord is helping all who serve Him faithfully. And those so faithful, who are they t— they are with you everywhora— In the hospital, the prison, in the homos of sin and cnre ; And briitht angels hovtr near to guard them whore tliey stay. For the llghi of Mkbot gaidos them. Sister-angola, on their way 1 1 * The above Inti -eduction was written by the Venerable Arohdeaeon O'Brien, D. D., etc., who, as n-iend, )>eMcnictor, or spiritual director, has been oonneotv ' with the Order of Moroy for about thirty years. fThe above tines were written in 1841, by Mlts Elisabeth R , of Carlow, -Hk young lady who was for some time In the novitiate under Mother MoAuley, bat was obllgsd to leave on account of llliboaltb. begs leave to for the sake of S'2 MoAULET. low: e we hear er crown, tly down. LIFE OF CATHERINE MCAULEY. day, ek away ; own with grief, I of core, I of despair. T» wlio diod, f's Bide 1 , crime, r time ; It away, 1 aenselesB day ; lias trod, lod;— ell, ike a spoil ; weiee fully. everywhor* — » stay, leir way 1 1 arable Arohdeaoon director, ha» been R , of Carlow, r Mother MoAuley, CHAPTER I. Womati Hi the Church.— " The devout sex."— General oharooterUtios of Catbjrine MoAuley. WOMAN ministered to Jesus when Pharisees scoffed at Him ; she followed Jesns when Apostles fled : as sinless and as penitent, she stood by Him in the hour of his ignominy: last at the cross, sBo was first at the sepulchre ; and, at the very dawn of Christianity, if excluded from the higher functions of the Apostle* ship, she is ever ready to perform the works of mercy in the infant Church, and to " wash the feet of the Saints." In every subse queut age, the sex which the Church styles " the devout" hat proved, in numerous instances, that physical weakness does not necessarily imply spiritual inferiority; and of this the subject oi these pages will give additional and illustrious proof. But in the whole range of Christian biography it ^ould not be easy to find a life so replete with beautifiil and interesting incidents of the most opposite nature. We shall see Catherine McAuloy, now as almost a beggar, again as heiress of immense wealth. Reared among Protestants whom she loved wiih deep aff' jlion, yet openly professing the persecuted creed they so scornf .iiy ignored. Prejudiced to an almost insuperable extent against conventual life, yet gathering around her In rigid monastic discipline a galaxy of the noble, the gifted, and the beautiful. Casting away wealth an if it wfiv an encnmbn^nce, yet ref^ing to loan the trifling sum of w 88 ,:--'^,|lllilJ|lllni|lll|l.lllllllllliPP.» LIFE OP CATHERINE MCAULET. flye pounds to a titled lady. Now clothed in purple and fine linen ; again weeping and praying for hoars before her Calvary. To-day she refuses a high matrhnonial alliance ; ere midnight she is handed from sentinel to sentinel on the military road. To-day she is w aited on by the most illustrious ecclesiastics in the three kingdonis ; to-morrow she describes herself as biding from the sheriff. Now she almost sinks beneath the weight of her heavy crosses ; and again she complains that "the sun shone too brightly," because her soul was flooded with supernatural light Capable of explaining, with superhuman eloquence, the deep things of asceticism, yet ever seeking to instruct the most ignorant in the rudiments of Chris- tianity. Overwhelmed with the most distracting business, yet ever placid and recollected. Rigorous to self to a degree which God alone can know, yet tenderly compassionate to all others. Astute as a diplomatist, yet simple as a little child. Conferring fovors as if the recipient obliged her b ; accepting them, yet never receiving the smallest without gratitude. We shall see her as a dependent on the bounty of her friends, as the fondled idol of a luxurious home, as the kind nurse of her adopted parents, as the youthful mother of all the poor in her vicinity, as the friend of several of the great personages of her time, as the Foundress of a new religious Insti- tute, and the exemplar and support of its members. Now she kneels to implore protection for a poor girl in danger, and again she enters the abode of sin, to snatch from a fate immeasurably worse than death, one whose beauty is about to become her corse. She courageously upbraids a great lawyer who would sully the fair fame of her prot6g6e ; and years after, he acknowledgcE that her very look reclaimed him, and that the remembrance of it was his safeguard through life. Catherine was sensitive as a m?t) .->>«► yot brave as a royal oak ; gifted with a high degree of the m'l i< K' humor pecoiiar to her country-people, yet incapable of wo4; ■■.-.< the most sensitive, or displeasing the most fastidious ; prudebt in the loftiest sense of the word, yot ever ready to listen with respect to the opinions of others ; habitually gay, yet never losing that retenue so strongly recommended by ( he old spiritualists, and which we can hardly ex- press in English Familiar with the hidden weaknesses of her 'iM^-'-nffisii- LIFB OF OATHEBIKE HOAULXT. indfi DO linen; ^. To-day she 9 handed from ! waited on by 3 ; to-morrow )w she almost md again she rase her sool iplaining, with ism, yet ever ents of Chris- iness, yet erer Be which God hers. Astnte ng favors as if : receiving the dependent on xurious home, uthfnl mother il of the great religious Insti- Brs. Now she ;er, and again immeasurably }me her curse. 1 sally the fair owledgcc that ince of it was s a royal oak ; lecoiiar to her t sensitive, or ftiest sense of :he opinions of te so strongly can hardly cx- inesses of her BjNritual children, yet conscious only of their nobler qualities. Losing by death, or otherwise, every one she held dear,. yet in old age continuing to build up her Institute with all the ardor of youth. Magnificent in her conceptions, yet scmpuloos in their least details. Gifted with an intellect of the highest order, yet ca- pable of inspiring mediocre, or even low capacities, to do great things for God. Able to wield the pen with the grace of a Se- vignd and the wisdom of a Mauitenon, yet not above directing seamstresses or presiding in a laundry. Polite as a Chesterfield, yet without a particle of human respect ; bland as a courtier, yet choosing to wear out her life among beggars : vigorous of consti- tution, yet able to sympathize with the weakly. Gracious, benign, beloved, and revered, she was capable of impressing the most spir- itual men of her time with exalted ideas of her sanctity. Like Queen Esther, she could make the most of her beauty when occa- sion required ; like Nano Nagle, she glories in being the slave of the poor-; like St. Vincent, she is indefatigable in action ; like St. Teresa, she is assiduous in contemplation ; like St. Francis of Sales, she is the essence of meekness. A poet by nature, yet tho most practical woman of her age ; a Superior, but ever seeking to obey ; possessing almost absolute authority, but using it only to lessen the labors of others and increase her own. Genial, tender, and compassionate, none could regard her with indifference, none could approach her and not carry away some impress of her good- ness. And all her rare and magnificent endowments she turned to one object — the glory, the sole glory, the greater glory of God I Her community is reduced to one professed, and her novices grieve almost as they do who have no hope ; but the day of be- reavement she emphatically styles " the day the Lord haih made.'* " If all Christians," says she, " are bound to receive afflictions with resignation, we should surely receive them with gratitude and joy." Like Rachel, she mourns for her children ; but she does not refuse to be comforted, for she delights in forming a "community in heaven." From childhood, not even an enemy could charge her with a fault ; and when she was censuredy it was for virtue too sublime for even the good to appreciate. The sanctity of every servant of God is unlike th«t of all others. 'i 'I 1 w 40 LIFE OF CATHERINE MCAULEY. In many things they all agree, in some they all differ. Charity alone makes the Saint ; there is no other road to high or iov sanc- tity. Bnt each practises this virtue in a peculiar fashion : and hence with perfect propriety the Church may sing of every one of her confessors : " There was none found like this one for observing the law." But charity was the grand characteristic of Catherine ; it clothed her like a garment ; she appeared to practise it without effort. In this virtue, at least, she possessed that " facility" which Benedict XIV. ascribes to heroic sanctity. Urged by love, she gave herself and all she possessed, without any reserve, to God ; and she deemed the honor of serving Him in His poor, more than a sufficient reward for her immense and unceasing labor. She had given " the whole substance of her house for love, and she despised it all as nothing." Such is the grand whole which presents itself in luxuriant beauty to the biographer ; su h are the great outlines of the character whose history these pages will record. At first sight it strikes us as a vision of things too good for earth ; and doubt might well mingle with our admiration, did not " her works remain to praise her in the gate." Beautiful as an Arabian tale, few lives can sarpass this in ro- mantic incident. No painter would mingle lights and shades so daringly on his canvas ; no musician would scatter his lentoa and aUegroa in such reckless profusion ; no novelist would outrage probability by exhibiting his heroine under aspects so varied ; no poet would admit ingredients so diverse into his epic ; and here, as in so many other instances, the feeble, Qickering flame of the most highly wrought fiction, pales before the calm, steady light oi tmtb. MM Ifer. Charity h or low sane- fashion : and f every one of ! for observing of Catherine ; tise it without facility" which J by love, she erve, to God ; >or, more than bor. She had id she despised xuriant beauty the character :ht it strikes ns ibt might well main to praise tass this in ro- and shades so his lento8 and would outrage BO varied ; no pic ; and here, ; flame of the steady light oi CHAPTER II. Dublin.— Baggtot-btreet Ilouse, 182"/.— Era of the Emancipation.— Openingr of tlie year 1787.— ApOHtaay of Lord Dunboyne.— Birtli of Catherine.— Differ- ence of states'.ie.its aa to the year of her birth.— An Eastern tradition.— Keli- ([ioua state c/ !rol«nd in the 18th century.— '« /*#, MUta iii<."— Extract from . Gorrea.- A tngedy.— The Earl of Cheaterflold, viceroy.— He permite tlie reopening of »onie old Cntholio churches. — Attempt)) to open sohooU.— - Nano Nagle. — Princess Louise. DUBLIN, the far-fomed and beautiful metropolis of the Emer^ aid Isle, lies pictured in our mind's eyes, with its magnificent Churches, its noble institutions for the relief of every species of human misery, its colleges, its schools, its spacious streets, its flowery suburbs ; and the picture is one whose beauty Time, the great de- stroyer, will rather enhance than diminish. Well may the scattered children of Erin be proud of the lovely capital of their native land I Well may the poor emigrants, who cro. il the decks of vessels destined to bear them JfVom their poor but happy homes, weep to leave a country, which, viewed from the sea at any point, seems a fairyland of beauty I Should they catch their last glimpse of Erin from Dublin Bay, how enchanting the scene I Whether the gray mists of morning steep the sleeping city ; or the full blaze of noon- tide gild its numerous domes, villas, and palatial residences ; or the mellow light of evening bathes, as in a flood of tenderness, beauties soon to become invisible to their tearful eyes, and far from their loving hearts ; — the view of Dublin is exquisitely lovely. But there is a deeper cause for tears. They leave behind, psrhape, parents who reared them, brothers and sisters that love them, the friends of their youth, the companions of their riper years. Will they ever meet such friends, such companions, again ? Can any country become more sacred to them than that which contains be- neath its green sward the crumbling bones of theur sainted fore- fathers ? i^L. IP 43 LIFE OF cathebhtb mcaulet. Nov, if the rc-adcr sliould have a small portion of that innate facility for gitemng, so highly developed in the thrifty denisena of New England, it will be superflaoos to say that we are about to take him to Dublin. Busy Imagination will gladly lend her wingn for the excursion. But onr destination is not to its miniature pal- aces, nor yet to admire the " frozen music" of its architectural grandeurs ; neither do we purpose to w&nder among its eloquent ruins, and trace in its shattered marbles the glories of happier days. There is one spot dearer to us than all these. Yon will find it towards the end of Lower Baggot^treet, on the southern side of the city. Here, a large house, quite detached from the neighboring buildings, will at once attract your attention. That is the cradle of the Order of Mercy. Go back in thought to the year 1 827. The noble pile has been just erected. Enter. Behold the saintly Foundress surrounded by a small but devoted band, who, guided by her example rather than her words, astonish all by the heroism of their virtues. When our readers shall have become familiar with the history of Catherine and her associates, tb3 zeal with which they sought out and relieved mental and bodily suffering, the virtues of their iuterior lives, and the wonderful things ther effected for God's glory, they may well exclaim : " There were giants on the earth in those days." There was certainly one giant, if we may judge of her prowess by the magnitude of the work which the Divine aid enabled her to accomplish in the Church. A more auspicious era than 1821 could scarcely be selected for the establishment of a Catholic Institute. It was just before Emancipation was wrung from the fears of the British Govern- ment, notwithstanding the rash, unchristian oath of the Bishop of Osnaburg.* The Catholics of Ireland were united as one man, and obstinately determined to conquer or die in the strife for re- ligious liberty. The Catholic Association was in the zenith of its fame ; its honored walls echoed the soul-stirring eloquence of O'Connell, and the gifted Shiel was gathering in a noble cause his most glorious laurels. The enthusiasm of this period has seldom been surpassed in any country. It was indeed a fitting epoch to * Frederick, Duke of York, heir presumptive to the orowa. I f that innate ty denisena of are aboat to end her wingti miniature pal- architectural f its eloquent es of happier se. Yoa will the Boathem hed from the entioD. That bought to the nter. Behold ievoted band, istonish all by II bare become iffiodates, tbs »1 and bodily >uderful things aim: "There I certainly one ^nitude of the in the Church. i)e selected for IS just before ritlsh Qovern- the Bishop of 1 as one man, le strife for re- e zenith of its : eloquence of loble cause his od has seldom tting epoch to I orowu. LIFE or CATHXBHrX MOAULET. 41 inaugurate in the capital the Institute of Mercy, which, like the leafy branches of a magnificent tree, has since spread itself OTer the world, affording food and shelter to thousands. But we must go back forty years farther. The year 1781 opened gloomily on the Irish Church. Dr. Butler, Bishop of Cork, exchanged his mitre for an earldom, and his apostasy was esteemed a greater calamity than the enactment of ten new penal laws ; a calamity for which his repentance some years later seemed but a poor reparation. Pafore the end of that year, however, a child was born, who was destined to win back hundreds to the One Fold, to remove the prejudices of thousands, and even to establish in the fine Catholic city, whose shepherd had just proved himself a hireling, a convent whose members might bring more glory to the Church than this sad defection had robbed her of. Catherine EuzA^EIH McAclet was bom on the Feast of St. Michael, September 29, 1781, at Stormanstown House, County Dublin.* Her parents, James and Eleanor McAuley, were both of ancient and respectable Catholic families, nor were her ancestom all undistinguished in ttie annals of her country. Yet poor is the glory to be gathered on the field, or at the council board, com- pared with that which has cast its aureola around Catherine ; and if her race were destined to terminate with her, the star of her family had set with more than meridian splendor. She was the first of three children that blessed the happy union of her parents. " C«tlierlD«'i gfodohild, atill IWng, gives the date of her birth 1704, while her friend, Very Kev. Dean Goffrey, whdin M. Mnry V. Hartnett has copied, give* it 1778. Her brother, Dr. James McAuley, tolu the Sisters at the time of her death, that she had Just attained her fifly-fourth year; contiequently she was liorn in 1787. It is ourious that M. V . Hartnett should describe lier as yonnff and beautiful when she became an liviress, wlien, according to her olironology, slie was then forty-four. Now beauty is seldom retained to so advanced an ago, and youth never. Dr. O'Brien h«d an interview with her in 1838, of which liis memory is so tenacious that he sayi, " tiie loolt, bearing, and oonvcreution, are Ktill us tVcKh in his mind as the day tlio interview took pliioe." Yot, "the full, Btoody, blue eye, so full of light, and tlie freiih bloom of the pure, trunspa- reiit cheek," which iha venerable Ar«hdoacon so happily dencribos, could scarcely belong to a woman of sixty. It will be seen that 1778 and 1787 are composed of the same figures, and oua .might be easily written or printed in mistake for the other. I 4A LIFK OF CATHSBIKE MCAULET. An Eastern tradition relates that when the holy infant Mary appeared to bless the declining years of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the former, little anticipating the glorious destiny to be fulfilled in bis fair child, the peerless and Immacalate Virgin, regretted that he had not become the father of a son ; but St. Anne comforted him by relating a vision she had had, indicative of her child's future great- ness. We know not whether the pious father of our little Cathe' rine entertained similar thoughts with reference to his new-bom babe, but we do know, that had he been able to penetrate the veil of futurity, had be been vouchsafed a glimpse of the work she was destined to accomplish, bad he beheld the virgins that would follow in her train, had he seen her spiritual children, numer- ous as the stars of heaven, rise up and call her blessed, he would have pressed his fragile infant to his manly bosom with feelings akin to reverence, and, in the fulness of his heart, thanked God iur having made him the happy father of such a child I As every age leaves its impress, more or less, on those it ushers Into being, we shall here pause to consider the religious state of Ireland during the eighteenth century. This century opened with the barbarous penal code in full force. The condition of the people in general was more deplorable than any thing we can imagine at this distant period. Degradation re- sulted from continual persecution, ignorance of religion (torn dearth of pastors, and literary destitution from want of schools ; for Ireland, which in bygone days had provided founders and pro- fessors for the greatest universities in Europe, did not now possess one Catholic school. The people knew only Jesus Christ and Him crucified. They regarded their Faith as the one thing necessary, and they kept it through evil report and good, though its bright light was, in many instances, obscured by ignorance and supersti- tion, natural consequences of the cruel rigime to which they were unhappily subjected. Many of the best fantUles preferred the inconveniences of exile to the dangers and penalties of living at home, but the poor, who had no other resource, clung to their wretched country, buoyed up, perhaps, with the hope of better times. What a sad contrast to the picture Gdrres has left ub of Ireland LIFE OF CATHERIKE HCAULET. 45 ly infant Mary I and St. Anne, be falflUed in jetted that be nforted him by 's fatare great* >nr little Cathe> his new-bora ) penetrate the je of the work lie virgins that ihildren, numer- essed, he woald n with feelings hanked God for I those it nshera eligious state of de in full force, deplorable than Degradation re- religion f^om Eint of schools ; inders and pro- Dot now possess Christ and Him thing necessary, oagh its bright :e and supersti- irhich they were 3 preferred the ties of living at , clung to their hope of better eft us of Ireland In the Ages of Faith : " Monasteries and schools flourished on all sides : and as the former were distinguished for their austere disci- pline and ascetic piety, so the latter were conspicuous for their cultivation of science. While the flames of war were blazing around her, the Green Isle enjoyed the sweets of repose. When we look into the ecclesiastical life of this people, we are tempted to believe that some pptent spirits had transported over the sea the cells of the valley of the Nile, with all their hermits, its monaste- ries with all their inmates, and had settled them down in the West- era Isle ; — an isle which, in the lapse of three centuries, gave eight hundred and fifty saints to the Church ; won over to Christianity the north of Britain, and soon after, a large portion of the yet pagan Germany ; and, while it devoted the utmost attention to the sciences, cultivated with especial care the mystical contempla- tion in her religious communities, as well as in the saints whom they produced." But in the eighteenth century. Catholicity seemed crushed beyond all hope of resuscitation. Yet as often as the Church has been "doomed to death," so often has she proved that she is "fated not to die." The profane wits of the Revolution had shouted "Ite, Missa Est," after their fugitive monarch, but they were mis- taken. Even while they uttered their ribald jests, the unspotted Victim, the clean oblation, the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world, was offered to the' Father, in the upper chamber of many a house, in many a well-guarded "Mass-field," where the blue heavens formed the canopy, and the tangled branches of trees were as the vaulted roof of the Cathedral. The fragrant incense no longer wafted its wreaths heavenward, but the sighs of contrite hearts ascended thither ; the glorious ritual of Rome was no longer triumphantly chanted, but it was still whispered in secret by a faithful generation ; the pomp and pageantry of the ancient faith were no longer witnessed in those sublime edifices which that faith alone could raise, but a Church that had grown and waxed strong in dungeons and catacombs, could be at no loss for places in which to celebrate her tremendous mysteries. Many a heathen tyrant had desired to glorify his reign, by exter- minating the rery name of Christianity in the world-wide domain LIFE OF CATHERINE MCAULET. 1 of ancient Rome. Maximin eren boasted that he had seen this Tictory achieved. Yet some who had heard his vain boast, lived to see Christianity commence, on the seven hills of imperial Home, her eternal reign destined to extend to realms the most ambitions of the Caesars never dreamt of. And though the '' Qentiles raged, and the people devised vain things, and the kings of the earth stood np against the Lord and against His Christ," and the best blood in many lands has been nhed and is still being shed, no hnman power can prevail against the indestmctible Church, and Miasa Est will never be true otherwise than as that Church under- stands it. Thus Catherine's father could remember the time when a chief- justice declared that " the laws did not presume a papist to exist in the kingdom of Ireland ;" but let the persecution cease for a while, remove the pressure of the penal laws, and the Church will be seen to rise phoenix-like from her ashes, immortal in her youth, but venerable in her antiquity ; transcendent in her bcaaty, though she wears the stigmata of persecution ; without spot or wrinkle, though the world and hell have done their worst npon her ; the beauteous Bride of the Lamb, ever adorned and ever adorning her- self to meet her Spouse in heaven I The first gleam of hope that burst npon the persecuted race, was the result of a tragic event which occurred in 1745, and which Catherine's father well remembered. *0n St. Patrick's day, a cour- ageous priest having rentured to celebrate Mass in a large store in Cook-street, Dublin, the people assembled in immense crowds to assist at the Holy Sacrifice. Mothers held up their little ones to gaze on the mde altar ; every one must see the priest, every one must hear his voice. It is St. Patrick's day, and all are eager to confess the faith which St. Patrick preached to thehr ancestors. But no house could contain such multitudes ; the building gave way ; many were maimed and bruised, and the ofQciating priest, with nine of his flock, became martyrs on the spot ! Shocked at this tragedy, the Earl of Chesterfield, then viceroy, moved by pity rather than by a sense of justice, connived at the reopening of a few old Catholic chapels. There remained unnoticed for years, their respective congregations quietly but steadily increasing. Fo* LIFB OF CATHERINE MCAULET. 47 had seen this lin boast, lived imperial Home, noist ambitions Qentiles raged, s of the earth ," and the best being shed, no lie Church, and ; Church under- 3 when a chief- papist to exist ion cease for a the Church will al in her youth, beauty, though ipot or wrinkle, upon her ; the er adorning her- persecnted race, 1145, and which ck's day, a cour- in a lai^e store uense crowds to iir little ones to priest, every one all are eager to their ancestors, "le building gare )fficiating priest, )t ! Shocked at ', moved by pity ) reopening of a oticed for years, increasing. Fo- Iltical reasons, not the least of which was the success of the Amer ican Revolution, moved the Government to make a few " conces aions to His Majesty's Catholic subjects," and gave rise to hopes not folly realized till 1829, when the barbarous code that would have disgraced even a Nero, was almost entirely wiped from the statute-book. While, however, the penal laws were still in full force, a school was opened in Corlt by the devoted Nano Nagle, the reviver of education and monasticism in Ireland. And here it may not be out of place to give the reader a glance at the history of that illus- trious woman. Bom in 1728, of an ancient family which had re mained true to the faith through all the horrors of persecution, she was, while still a child, sent to France to acquire an education suitable to her rank. Noble Irish families then moved in the high- est French society, and Miss Nagle, gifted as she was with beauty and talent, bad no tooner completed her studies than she plunged into the vortex of fashionable life with all the ardor of her impetu- ous nature. The star wherever she appeared, she shone with pecu- liar lustre at the brilliant Court of Louis XV. Indeed, her pious mother sometimes wept over the frivolity of her beautiful daugh- ter; but her father was not the only one who protested that " after all there was something good in poor Honorie." The world never completely dried up her heart, and amid all her levity she still retained one good quality, which is never the only good one in the soul that possesses it — compassion for the poor. Ere she had completed her twentieth year, an occurrence seemingly acci- dental changed the whole tenor of her life ; and to her fidelity lo grace on that occasion is due the salvation of innumerable souls. Returning one morning from a ball, she observed a group of poor people at the gate of a church, waiting for admission, that they might consecrate to the Author of their being the actions of the day, and beg His blessing through the merits of the Divine Victim then about to be offered up. A mingled feeling of shame and sor- row stole upon her as she contrasted their humble, fervent piety, with the illusions of the scene firom which she had recently passed, and grace touched her heart with such jwrerful effect, that from a fine, fashionable lady, she became a i A and humble follower of . f. 48 LIFE OF CATUKKINIE JS^AXTLVT. the Cross. Hence we find her no more in the salons of Paris ; her fntare home is the dingy schoolroom, where half by stealth she contrives to assemble poor children, or the dismal garrets and half- entombed cellars, where the sick and the destitute wasted away nncared for and nnknown. Her director, Ber. Father Doran, an Irish Jesuit, approved of her design of devoting her life and her wealth to tLe education of the poor in her native land. To advance this object, she tried to prevail on some French Ur- Bulines to accompany her to Ireland ; but their superiors being an- willing to allow them to risk their lives in the cause, she was obliged to wait until some Irish ladies whom she bad induced to make their novitiate at Dieppe, were ready to undertake the peril- ous enterprise of restoring monastic discipline in that land of perse- cution. Meanwhile she built in Cork a convent for their recep- tion — the first erected in Ireland since the Reformation. Little did the French Ursulines who refused to aid Miss Nagle imagine, that a few years later, when all the convents of their own country wonld be abandoned and their inmates exiled or guillo- tined, their Irish Sisters would be firmly established in the land they deemed ' secure ; and the penal laws repealed or fallen mto desuetude, tl ild be able to open their hearts and homes to many unfortunate emigries* especially those of their own Order. On their homeward journey, the Irish Ursulines enjoyed the hos- pitality of the Royal Abbey of St. Denis, in which the Princess Looise Marie, daughter of Louis XY. and Marie of Poland, was then a novice. This high-born lady, who had cheerfully exchanged the gorgeous robes of a daughter of France for the coarse serge of a poor Carmelite, treated the Irish Religious with peculiar ^ ind- ness, assured them of frequent remembrance in her prayers, and when she learned the object of their dangerous mission, enthusias- tically exclaimed : " Oh that I could accompany yon t Your des- * Mmdimes d« St. Jeim White, Ste. H^Idne de Kavanagh, Keatinge, Bastia, Cinqnemara, d^c. The number of Irish names found among the French aris- tocracy, may be partly accounted for by the fact that many of the Irish who •xiied themselves with the Stuarts, 1689, never returned to their native land. Their descendants continued to share the Chateau St. Germain with the Scotch •nd Kngliah exiles, long after the death of Maria Beatrix, iu loat royal inm«(«. LIFE OF CATHKSINE IIOAULBY. 4» I of Paris ; ber by stealth she arrets and half- e wasted away kther Doran, an ier life and her md. ome French Ur- jetiors being nn- 3 cause, she waa had indnced to lertake the peril- lat land of perse" it for their recep- lation. > aid Miss Nagle rents of their own exiled or guillo- ished in the land Baled or fallen into rts and homes to their own Order. 8 enjoyed the hos- hich the Princess ie of Poland, was eerfully exchanged ;he coarse serge of ith peculiar ' ind- her prayers, and mission, enthusias- you 1 Your des- ^h, Keatinge, Basti*, jiong the French arU- tany of the Iriah who A to their native land. Irmain with the Scotch 1 iu lost royal inmaU. tiny is glorioas indeed. Happy shall I be, if I obtain a place at your feet in heaven 1" This amiable princess was of a singularly bright and happy dis- }>osition. She bore the rigors of her penitential life with serenity, or rather with joy. " Cheerfulness," she would often say, " is the best gilding for the ronjjh pill of mortification." In the almost in- superable difficulties of their new home, the Irish religions were animated by the remembrance of the virtues of the royal Carmelite who had shown herself so courteous to them, and so friendly to their country. In nil, Nano Kagle foanded the Presentation Order for the education of poor children only ; but, though venerated as Found- ress by the Ursuline and Presentation Nuns of Ireland, she never assumed the habit of either Institute. She loved too well the de»- olate homes of the poor and sick, and the example of Him whose feet were wearied in seeking the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to allow herself the comparative ease of a cloistered home. Or rather, such was not her vocation. Concluding a notice of this great woman, whom they justly style " the precnr