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Show Christ, the IdeaJ Knight. I An address- delivered by the Rev. Aio.it i: -oiinrt. o. p., editor of the 1;,"-a:y ";izme at the Knights of r" u:;!,iw otu'iuet, Zanesville, O.. Sept. - The -j.o.-k-r's subject was, "Christ, Me;. - Knight": 'he id...., of knighthood contains the '''' r,f l.ampioning those that are in fi;s'''"-s. it contains the idea of cour-F-e ;,nd power, of unselfishness and of k"h ; u :,ose. But over and above all, shii.jr.g upon all as a consecrat-'"s consecrat-'"s i.h it contains the idea of per-f-'-r.a; parity. In making the analysis ' 'i s idea of knighthood, we are F'ru. k !,y the immense requirement ''f'ded for its perfect expression, and 1:mr,ed!;,t.;y there somes the question. S T nr'r'i ver a man who united in ''has';, all these qualifications, these j virtijep jn v:Urh a degree as to warrant 1 "s in holding him forth as the idal 1 kiieht? Looking back upon the great I proeession of the human family, we see tS '''fe ;.nd there might giants standing t i ' 'ike towers upon some far-reaching Tr,nrfSs. They are all splendid fig- i lJ.r,;. full of majesty, of power, and in 'neir day and ever since have shed a fiuiekening influence for all that is good nd riofde. Even at the mention of , ,he!r nanies tnf. eye kindles, the breast j v"Ds and there is born in every one j i Worthy ...f the name of man, a desire I and a resolve to live as they lived, to fight as. they fought, to suffer as they suffered and" die as they died. We see them armed to the teeth, with buckler and sword and plumed helmet; we see them shorn of every weapon, clad in gowns if coarse wool, their feet unshod, un-shod, their hands clasped in prayer, but whether they be armed or unarmed, they stand there in their giant strength, eloquent witnesses of the possibilities of human achlevenment. Human nature na-ture was wounded in the fall ah. yes, wofully so, but since we have had a St. Louis, a Godfrey de Bouillon, a Charles Martel: since we have Been blessed with a St. Benedict, a St. Bernard, Ber-nard, a St. Dominic, a St. Francis, a St. Ignatius, and in later times with ; La oidaire, Montalembert and Ozanani, and the Count de Mun, we know that man, wounded though he be, need not crawl in the dust; he is still" the paragon para-gon of animals, the image of his Maker. His opinions may be bedraggled, bedrag-gled, but there is ever the full stream of that all-cleansing grace flowing upon 1 them, and so they become strong and white and he can spread them to soar to the highest heigths. Now measureless measure-less seems the height to which they have attained who avoid themselves, wisely andfully of tat unspeakable I help. We are ravished with the beauty 1 - I : of their lives. We feel our souls burning burn-ing within us when we contemplate the vast range of their achievement. Born of their success there comes to us the resolution to do as they did, and presently pres-ently we find ourselves shaping our lives to conform to theirs.. Encouraged b ytheir shining example we begin to throw all our energies into the channel chan-nel that will lead us to the attainment of the end for which we are created the possession of that only perfect happiness hap-piness which comes with the contemplation contem-plation of the very essence of the uncreated un-created beauty. In each of them we find the elements that go to make up the knightly character. char-acter. There was in all of them the chivalric spirit that loves to do and dare for those that are in need for those that are weak and defenseless. They were possessed of courage, of dauntless courage and of that strength which is ever begotten by courage. They were unselfish, for personal gain was shut out of view, not was personal loss allowed to paralyze their efforts. Their purpose was high. "God wills it." was the cry of those who lived even before the days of the Crusades. Their lives were pure, for they knew full well how noxious to their master were the fumes of uncleanness and so they were knights in the truest sense. For knighthood does not confine itself to the riding in tournaments, to the dexterous dex-terous wielding of sword and spear, to the wearing upon the coat of mail the embroidered ' sleeve of some fair lady sighing in the watch tower and straining strain-ing her eyes to note the return of her hero with his brows bound with victorious victo-rious wreaths all this is very picturesque pict-uresque and beautiful indeed if the Intention In-tention be pure will serve to express one phase of knighthood. But there have been knightly hearts that never beat beneath a coat of mail; knightly hearts that never poured forth sighs and vows of loveto any daughters of Eve. There have been knightly hearts that were enlisted in the great warfare which the emissaries of Satan are waging against man; hearts that lived and throbbed and had their being in the one great desire to rid themselves of the inherited dross and to stand between God and the insults which are offered to him by a sin-ridden world. In their lives do we, indeed, find an approach, ,to the Jdeal knightly spirit. Yet it was but an approach, fur the full realization of this spirit was found only m one, one who came a veritable benediction to the sons of men; one whose every thought, whose 'every word, whose every deed was pure, perfect, devine; one whose beauty appeared to the prophetic vision of Isaias when he sang, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments gar-ments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength?" And the answer comes, "I that speak justice and am a defender de-fender to same." One who was all carity, all courage, all power, all unselfishness, un-selfishness, all purity, and that one was our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He, indeed, was the very epitome of all the elements of knighthood the measure meas-ure of perfection and the full stature of the greatness of the knightly spirit. All the others, bright and admirable though they were, were but the merest reflection of his splendor. They were like so many fragments of mirror glass reflecting the light of the sun. Whatever What-ever was good in them was but a suggestion sug-gestion of his goodness. The very- quintessence of chivalry is found in the idea of the incarnation. Fancy the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost assembled in the indescribable indes-cribable splendor of their heavenly home. Rolling in space, swiftly, unerringly un-erringly were the countless spheres ot the universe, the creation of the omnipotence omni-potence of the Godhead. On one of these, one of the smallest, there was a creature fashioned according to the image and likeness of the creator a creature with the divine spark, an immortal soul within him. The earth was given to him as his abode. The earth, teeming with vegetation and alive with beasts of every wind. With birds that flashed their brilliant plumage plum-age athwart the sky and made the air tremulous with their song; with fishes that swam in the cool depths of brook and stream and sea. Everything was made to minister unto him: everything was his servant. And all this without desert on his part. He was the pampered, pam-pered, petted child of an infinitely loving lov-ing father; a father who placed but one restriction upon him, who asked but one act of obedience as a show of gratitude. And this one act of obedience obedi-ence was refused. It was as if he smote that father in the face, for he heeded the suggestion of the arch-fiend. He disobeyed his God and the great sin was committed. Then were there born into the world, misery, want, sickness, death. Ills countless as the stars sprang into being. The passions of man ran riot " like wild, unchecked courses and he who was fashioned according ac-cording to the image and likeness of his creator; he who was the crowning glory of creation; stood before his God defiled, j ' ' l iiibujiiipiiiIIIIWIMWII 'Mil HlWlmj H'l m t ' 'V The bars of heaven flew out. The end fro which he had been created was rendered ren-dered impossible of accomplishment, and life, while it lasted, was to yield in all fullness a harvest of thornes and thistles. Oh miserable man! O wretched state! And now go back to the council of the Trinity. See them there t he Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Hear the words that fall from the merciful mer-ciful lips of the Son, "Let us not desert de-sert him. He is, indeed, the ungrateful creature, of our power, but we have fashioned him according to our image and likeness. I will take upon myself the form and nature of man; I will assume his guilt, I will become obedient obedi-ent unto death, ever unto the death of the cross." And you know how in the fullness of time "the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. You know the story of his birth in the cave, in the chalk hills of Judea; you know of his sweet and gracious life of three and thirty years; you know of his harrowing harrow-ing death on the cross. Here was the very flower of the spirit of chivalry. Here was the refinement of all that is knightly. Here was the relief of those groaning in misery; here were courage and strength; here were unselfishness-and unselfishness-and purity undefiled and all, all offered for the highest and noblest aim. No wonder that the world has been re- I created by his coming. No wonder that his example has beeh the stimulus to the highest endeavor. No wonder that the cross, once the badge of shame, has become on his escutcheon the symbol sym-bol of glory. And so, my dear gentlemen, you will know where to find the type of a perfect per-fect knight. I- take it that you are anxious to do- the higher and better things of life. Your membership of this organization is an earnest' of that desire. Indeed, the Knights of Columbus Colum-bus exist, today, because of the strength and prevalence of that desire. And therefore should you all say with great Apostle of the Gentiles, "Let us who are of the day, be sober, having on the breast plate of faith and charity, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." And thus panoplied, go forth in the name of God, following the bleeding feet of him, whom even the apostles Renan called "the purest, the holiest, the wisest, the grandest man that ever walked the earth." , Go forth in charity, .in courage, in strength, in unselfishness, in purity and you will, surely, scatter benedictions benedic-tions in vour way, and the world will . r ; . |