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                              ST. PATRICK




                             ST. PATRICK,
                     THE FATHER OF A SACRED NATION


                               A LECTURE
                                  BY
                       Rev. J. F. LOUGHLIN, D.D.


                     PUBLISHED FOR THE BENEFIT OF
                 THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
                             PHILADELPHIA




            _Copyright, 1889, by Rev. J. F. Loughlin, D.D._




[Illustration]




 ST. PATRICK,
 The Father of a Sacred Nation.


    “And the Lord said to Abram: ‘Go forth out of thy country, and
    from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house; and come into
    the land which I shall show thee. And I will make thee a great
    nation, and I will bless thee and magnify thy name, and thou
    shalt be blessed. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse
    them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the kindred of the
    earth be blessed.’”――GENESIS XII.


Addressing myself this evening to the task, so dear to every priest
whose veins are warm with Celtic blood, of paying this annual tribute
of praise to St. Patrick and the consecrated land of our fathers, I
must, first of all, cast aside the vain hope of being able to say
anything new upon a subject which for many generations has engaged
the talents of one of the most eloquent races of the modern world.
Fortunately, you do not expect or wish to hear anything new on this
subject; the perennial charm of the theme, like that of the old,
familiar melodies of our fatherland