Chapter XX: Foreshadowings And Death

Father Ignatius, for some months before his death, had a kind of sensation that his dissolution was near. He paid many _last_ visits to his old friends, and, in arranging by letter for the greater number of flying visits, he used generally to say, "I suppose I shall not be able to pay many more." Writing to Mrs. Hutchinson in Edinburgh from St. Anne's Retreat, Button, in March, 1864, he says: "When I wrote to you some months ago in answer to your kind letter, I think I expressed a hope that I might again have the pleasure of conversation with you before the closing of our earthly pilgrimage. It was a distant and uncertain prospect then. Now it is become a near and likely one, and I write to express my satisfaction at it." He was heard to say by many that the volume of his journal he was writing would last him till the end of his life, and it is a curious circumstance that the last page of it is just half-written, and comes up to September 18, less than a fortnight before his death.

Our Father-General came from Rome to make the visitation of this province in May, 1864, and Father Ignatius acted as interpreter throughout the greater part of the visit. He was as young as ever in his plans for the conversion of England, sanctification of Ireland, and advancing all to perfection; and the approbation of the General to the main drift of his projects inflamed him with fresh ardour. A characteristic incident occurred during this visit. The Father-General was inspecting the books Father Ignatius was obliged to keep, as Rector of Sutton, and he found them rather irregular. The entries were neither clear nor orderly, and it was next to an impossibility to obtain any {496} exact notion of the income and expenditure of the house. The General called the Rector to his room, in order to rebuke him for his carelessness. He began to lecture, and when he had said something rather warm looked at Father Ignatius, to see what effect it might produce, when, to his surprise, he found that he had nodded off asleep. He awoke up in an instant, and complimented the Father-General on his patience. Such was the indifference he had reached to by the many and cutting rebukes he had borne through life.

In August, 1864, Father Ignatius wrote a long letter to Father Ignatius Paoli, our Provincial, about his doings, and he seemed as fresh in them as if he had but just commenced his crusade. We shall give one extract from this letter:

"I could hardly have the spirit to keep up this work (the
sanctification of Ireland) if it was not for aiming at a result so
greatly for the glory of God, and working with a resolution to
conquer. How exceedingly would it add to my spirit if I knew that
our body was penetrated with the same thought, and we thus were
supporting each other!"

So late as September 8 he had prepared a paper embodying his intentions, which he intended to submit to Roman authority. Ever himself to the last.

Before leaving the retreat for his "_raid_" as he called it, in Scotland, he called all the members of the community, one by one, to conference; he did the same with a convent of nuns, of which he had spiritual charge. He gave them all special advices, which are not forgotten, and his last sermon to his brethren, a day or two before he left, on the conversion of England through their own sanctification, was singularly impressive. It moved many to tears; and, those who heard him, say it was the most thrilling ever heard from him on the subject. In talking over some matter of future importance with his Vicar, before he left for Scotland, he suddenly stopped short, saying, "Others will see after this," or some such words. All those who spoke with him confidentially recall some dubious half-meaning expressions that seemed to come from an inward consciousness of his approaching end.

He was remarked to be very sombre and reflective in his {497} last missions, but now and then his usual pleasant mood would show itself. The Rev. M. Conden, the priest at Cartsdyke, Greenock, in whose church he gave a little mission from September 14th to the 18th, writes as follows about his stay with him:--

"He preached morning and evening, heard confessions daily, pledged
200 young teetotallers, and received about £14 in voluntary
offerings, for which he seemed most grateful. This mission, he said,
was his 242nd of the kind; and the number of his teetotallers, since
he himself took the pledge from Father Mathew in 1842, was 60,000.

"Every moment of his time here (refection hours alone excepted),
from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., was employed either in the mission
exercises, or at his office, or in prayer, or in writing letters to
arrange his future movements. He never rested. He seemed to have
vowed all his time to some duty or other.

"Wood Cottage (late the Free Church Manse, but now the priest's
house in Cartsdyke) rests on an eminence overlooking the town,
harbour, and bay of Greenock, and is at a distance of from five to
ten minutes' walk from St. Laurence's chapel. I noticed that the
zigzag uphill walk fatigued him, and I offered to provide a
conveyance; but he would not permit me, 'as he could not read his
office so well in the carriage as when walking.'

"As he passed twice or thrice daily to and from my house and the
chapel, his massive form and mild mien, his habit half concealed by
his cloak, his broad-brimmed hat, and his breviary in hand,
attracted the attention of the old and the curiosity of the young.
One day, some of the latter followed him and eyed him closely,
through the lattice-work in front of the cottage, until he had
finished his office in the garden. He then turned towards the
youngsters, and riveted his looks on them with intense interest and
thoughtfulness. You might have imagined that they never had seen his
like before, and that he had seen children for the first time in his
long life. At length one of the lads broke the spell by observing
{498} to the others in a subdued and doubting tone, 'A big
Hie-lander!' 'A Highlander,' said Father Ignatius, turning to me;
'they take my habit for an elongated kilt.'

"At dinner he was always very happy and communicative, that day in
particular.

"'My religious habit,' said he, 'subjected me to many humorous
remarks before the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and to annoyances
after it. One time a boy would cry out at me, "There's the Great
Mogul;" another, "There goes Robinson Crusoe." "That's Napoleon," a
third would shout; whilst a fourth, in a strange, clear, wild,
musical tone, would sing out: "No, that's the devil himself." But,
he continued, 'nothing half so sharp was ever said of me as of a
very tall, lath-like Oratorian, who stood leaning, one day, against
a wall, musing on something or nothing. Some London wags watched him
attentively for some time, and, being divided in their opinions
about him, one of them at length ended the dispute by observing, in
a dry and droll way, "Why, that fellow must have grown by
contract!"'

"Even after his frugal refection, Father Ignatius would never rest.
Then, too, he must either read his breviary, or say his rosary, or
write letters. On the day he finished his mission (Sunday, September
18), I besought him, as he had allowed himself little or no sleep
since he began it, before proceeding to Port-Glasgow, to commence a
new mission there that same evening, to recline on the sofa, even
for half an hour. 'Oh no!' said he; 'I shall try to have my nap in
the carriage, on my way.' The distance from Cartsdyke to Port
Glasgow being no more than two or three miles, and there being a
toll-bar about midway, he could have very little of his nap.

"During his mission here, he remarked repeatedly, both publicly and
in private, that his health was never better, and his mind never
clearer. He promised himself yet twenty years to work for the
conversion of England, the sanctification of Ireland, and the unity
of all in the faith. Might he not live to see this realized? Twenty
years might {499} do it, and were not his physical and mental powers
fresh enough?

"But, with all this hope of heart and soul, I could, now and then,
notice a shade of apprehension passing over his countenance, and
hear, not without tears, his humble, but earnest self-reproaches at
his inability to 'brighten up.' The manner in which he did this
showed me plainly that he had a strong presentiment of his
approaching end.

"My cottage being at some distance from my chapel, the bishop had
allowed me to fit up in my house a little oratory, where I might
keep the Blessed Sacrament, and say mass occasionally. By the time
that Father Ignatius had concluded his mission, I had completed my
oratory, and asked him to bless it. 'Under what title?' he asked.
'Under that of "Our Lady of the Seven Dolors," this (Sunday,
September 18) being that festival of hers,' I replied. Father
Ignatius became silent and absorbed for a considerable time and then
said:--

"'Beautiful title! and appropriate! Here are the stations of the
Cross! And this is the Feast of the Seven Dolors! Beautiful title!'

"'This,' he continued, 'reminds me of what I once read of St. Thomas
of Canterbury. When passing for the _last_ time through France to
England, he was asked, by a gentleman who entertained him, to bless
a little oratory which might be a memorial of his visit. "Under what
title?" asked the Archbishop. "I shall leave the selection to your
grace," said the host. "Well then," rejoined the Archbishop, "let it
be to the _first English martyr_." He was _himself_ the first
martyr.

"'Our Lady of Dolors!' Beautiful Title! I am a Passionist. Here are
the stations of the Cross; and this is the Feast of the Seven
Dolors,' repeated Father Ignatius; and again he became absorbed and
silent, so long that I thought he wanted never to bless my little
oratory. He blessed it, however; and now is it by mere accident that
on this, the eve of St. John of the Cross, Father Ignatius's
disciple and friend, Father Alban, comes to bless the oratory cross,
{500} and set up the little memorial tablet which I have prepared
with the following inscription?--

ORATE PRO ANIMA

REV SSMI. PATRIS IGNATII (SPENCER)
QUI DIE OCTODECIMO SEPTEMBRIS, A.D. 1864.

HOC ORATORIUM

SUB TITULO 'B. V. MARIAE DE SEPTEM DOLORIBUS,'

BENEDIXIT.

R.I.P."

In a letter to Father Joseph about this time, Father Ignatius says:--

"I proceed to say that I have two more moves fixed: for Sunday the
18th, to Port Glasgow; Thursday the 22nd, to Catholic Church, East
Shaw Street, Greenock. _During the week following I shall suspend
missionary work, and make my visit to Mr. Monteith, and re-commence
on Sunday morning, October 2nd. I have got two places to go to in
Scotland, Leith and Portobello, and I wish to get one more to go to
first._"

This sentence we put in italics, as it seems to signify a clear foreknowledge of his death. This one other place he did get, and it was Coatbridge, his last mission. His letters, after this, are more confused about his future; it would seem his clear vision failed him. At all events, this much may be gathered from his words, that he _knew_ for certain his dissolution was near, and _very probably_ knew even the day. There is nothing whatever in his plans for the future to militate against this conclusion. The most definite is the following, which we quote from his last letter to Father Provincial, dated from Coatbridge, Sept. 28: "I _am going_ on Saturday to Leith; on Thursday, Oct. 6, to Portobello; on Monday, Oct. 10, to Carstairs (Mr. Monteith's), for a visit and _repose_." Did he know that repose was to be eternal? He kept to his first arrangement about the visit; but we must hear something about his last little mission.

We subjoin two accounts of this mission. The first was sent us by a gentleman, Mr. M'Auley of Airdrie, who {501} attended the mission, and the next by the Rev. Mr. O'Keefe, the priest.

Mr. M'Auley writes:

"I was witness to his missionary labours for the last five days of
his life in this world. On Sunday, the 25th September, Rev. Michael
O'Keefe, St. Patrick's Catholic Chapel, Coatbridge (a large village
two miles from Airdrie, and eight from Glasgow), announced to his
flock that Father Ignatius would open a mission there on the
following Tuesday evening at eight o'clock, and close it on Saturday
morning, 1st October. Accordingly, the beautiful little church was
crowded on Tuesday at eight, when the saintly father made his
appearance and addressed the people for upwards of an hour. He gave
them a brief outline of his conversion, his different visits to
Ireland and the Continent, the grand objects he had in view--namely,
the conversion of his country to the Catholic faith, the faith of
their fathers; as also, the conversion of Scotland and the
sanctification of Ireland. He then showed the power of prayer, and
said that the conversion of Great Britain could only be attained by
prayer. He said the sanctification of Ireland should begin by
rooting out the vices and disorders which prevail. These, he
remarked, were drunkenness, cursing, and company-keeping, and that
they would form the subjects of his discourses for the three
following evenings.

"He then showed the utility of missions, and mentioned that this was
his 245th; and closed, as he did on the subsequent evenings, by
saying three _Hail Marys_ for the conversion of England, one for the
conversion of Scotland, and one for the sanctification of Ireland.
Each of the first three was followed by, _Help of Christians, pray
for us;_ that for Scotland by, _St. Margaret, pray for us;_ and that
for Ireland by, _St. Patrick, pray for us_. He also mentioned that
he had received from his Holiness, Pope Pius IX., an indulgence of
300 days for each Hail Mary said for the conversion of England. On
the following four days he said mass every morning at seven o'clock,
and, on the three first, heard confessions from six o'clock in the
morning until eleven at night, with the exception of the time
required for {502} his devotions and meals. On Saturday morning he
heard two confessions before mass. I was the last he heard, and I
trust the fatherly advice he then gave me shall never be eradicated
from my memory."

Father O'Keefe writes:--

"I am just in receipt of your letter, and beg to inform you that I
have not words to express the sorrow I feel for the sudden death of
the good and holy Father Ignatius. _Deo gratias_, there is one more
added to the Church triumphant. He reached my house about five
o'clock on the 27th ult., and left this on Saturday morning at a
quarter-past nine o'clock, during which time he enjoyed excellent
health. He told me that he was going direct to Leith, to open his
little mission there on Saturday night; and thence to Portobello for
the same purpose, after he had done at Leith. He also told me that,
after finishing his mission at Portobello, he would return home to
St. Anne's Retreat. He intended to pay a visit to Mr. Monteith this
week. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights he had supper at
half-past ten o'clock, and then returned to the confessional until
about a quarter-past eleven. On Friday night he told me to defer
supper till eleven; yet, late though it was, he returned after
supper to the confessional, and remained there until a quarter-past
twelve. When he came in, I said: 'I am afraid, Father Ignatius, you
are over-exerting yourself, and that you must feel tired and
fatigued.' He said, with a smile: 'No, no; I am not fatigued. There
is no use in saying I am tired, for, you know, I must be at the same
work to-night in Leith.' He retired to his room at half-past twelve
o'clock, and was in the confessional again at six o'clock in the
morning. He said mass at seven; breakfasted at half-past eight; and,
as I have already said, left this at a quarter-past nine for the
train. On seeing him, after breakfast, in his secular dress, I
remarked that he looked much better and younger than in his
religious habit. The remark caused him to laugh very heartily. It
was the only time I saw him laugh. He said: 'I wish to tell you what
Father Thomas Doyle said when he saw me in my secular dress: "Father
Ignatius, you look like a {503 } broken-down old gentleman." And he
enjoyed the remark very much.'"

The remainder of his life is easily told. He arrived at Carstairs Junction at 10.35 a.m.; came out of the train, and gave his luggage in charge of the station master. He then went towards Carstairs House, the residence of Mr. Monteith. There is a long avenue through the demesne for about half a mile from the station, crossed then at right angles by another, which leads to the grand entrance; this avenue Father Ignatius went by. He had just passed the "rectangle," and was coming straight to the grand entrance, when he turned off on a bye path. He perceived that he had lost his way, and asked a child which was the right one. He never spoke to mortal again.

On a little corner in the avenue, just within sight of the house, and about a hundred paces from the door, he fell suddenly and yielded up his spirit into the hands of his Creator. May we all die doing God's work, and as well prepared as Father Ignatius of St. Paul!

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