Phelan, Michael / 2008-11-25 00:00:00
"Wait till you are in the pulpit and then begin to learn to
preach" is very like advising a man to wait till he is drowning
and then it will be time enough to learn how to swim. Would any
sane man give such an advice to an aspirant of the fine arts?
What would be thought of the man who would say--"If you wish to
become a good musician neglect to learn the scales till you come
to your twenty-fifth year; or if it is your ambition to be a
great painter, permit a quarter of a century to roll over your
head before you learn how to hold the palette or mix the paints."
The man that would tender such ridiculous advice would be laughed
at. Yet it is not one whit more absurd than the transparent
nonsense that has grown hoary from age, and passes unchallenged
as a first principle.
It is often asked how is it that the Irish Church has remained so
barren.
Eighty years have passed since the bells of the thatched chapels
rang in Emancipation. During that time over three thousand
talented priests are on the land; yet how small the number of
works produced.
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