Morning journal and courier., 1886-05-17
THE DOMINICANS.

St. Mary,s Church Taken In Hand by
 The Dominican Fathers-The First
 Sermon Preached by Father Lilly fin
 The Morning.
 Yesterday the Dominican fathers began their work at St. Mary's church, celebrating mass at 7:3O o'clock, 9:s0 o'clock and 10:3O o'clock in the morning, and the vespers at 3:30 o'clock in the afternoon. At 10:30 6 solemn high mass was celebrated and the church was crowded, every seat being occu- pied and the aisles completely packed with people, both Catholics and Protestants. The mass was celebrated by the Rev. Father liar tigan, assisted by two other priests as deacon and sub-deacon, two acolytes and about twenty altar boys. After the gospel Rev. Father Lilly, of St. Vincent Ferrer's church of New York, who had arrived early in the morning, preached the sermon, before which be said; As was announced to you last Sun day the bishop of your diocese has placed this church and parish in the hands of the Domlrcan fathers, and we have entered to- day upo9 our duties. It must not be sup
 posed thss this act of your Bishop casts any
 reflection upon your former pastors or
 upon their management of your paro-
 chial affairs, tor you were all witnesses
 OA bAS Acol ni4o AuGllGy WlIH WuICu IuOy olS-
 charged their duties and of the genel osity
 with which two of them sacrificed their lives
 in your service. Nor is this act expressive
 of any want of confidence in your assistant
 pastor, who since the death Of the late Fath-
 CT Lawlor has performed the functions of the
 pastor of this parish so much to the satisfac-
 ton of you all But your bishop with that far-sightedness which characterizes him, and
 inspired by the Encyclical Letters emanating from the Sovereign Pontiff, had determined to bring into this diocese a religious order to assist him and his clergy in caring for the souls of the faithful under his charge. His choice fell upon the Domi- nican fathers, an order which for six hun dred years has been famous for it's devotion to missionary work, and to the spreading of the true doctrine so much that it has gained the peculiar name of the "Order of Preach ers of the Truth" In obedience to his call we are here and have entered on our work and we propose to devote ourselves with all our energies, and if necessary with spiritual welfare. In assuming this burden, burden great as already to have deprived two of our predecessors of health and life, even in the fullness of their man hood, we confidently rely upon you, our peo- pie, for the same encouragement and assist ance which you gave to them. The reports which came to us concerning this congrega- tion, of it's piety and it's iberality, authorize us to expect that in providing for the future development of the church in this city we can depend upon you as earnest and jealous fellow workers with us. If you will en- deavor to do your part faithfully we will endeavor to do ours, the wishes of our bishop will be fulfilled and the future of St. Mary's church in this city will be as prosperous we can desire.
 After giving out the customary notices the preacher took his text from Luke 1, 26, 27 and 2S verses, the subject of his sermon being the veneration due from all Christians to the ''Virgin Mary" He began with an account of the establishment at Rome of what are known as the May devotions to Mary" and thence proceeded to discuss the and the necessity of the nom sge paid to her by the Catholic church. He described the great dignity to which she was raised by Almighty God in choosing her to become the mother of the incarnate ''Word," dignity which elevated her above that attainable by any other crea- ture. He spoke of the immaculate purity which was necessary to her in order that she might become fitting habitation for the in dwelling of the fESecond Person of the Trin- ity," and showed how it was bestowed upon her by preserving her from actual sin; and by cleansing her from original sin at the first moment of her creation. He then applied to her the pro- phecies of the Old Testament and the words of Gabriel in his text as vindioating the great honor paid to her both in heaven and on earth, and discussed her virtues of pa tience, humility and fidelity to God as enti- ting her even upon human grounds to the universal honor which she has in all ages ot the church received.
 The preacher is a pulpit orator of great eloquence and of a vigor and originality of thought and expression rarely equalled even in this intellectual city of New Haven. The sermon was listened to with great attention by those present, and at it's close the new pastor, assisted by Father Daley, took up the regular monthly collection.