The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-08-03
Father Kerrigan Begins a .Se-
 ries of Short DiscourSes
SACRAMENTS EXPLAINED
Beautiful Music at St. PauPs Church, Including a Solo by Miss Alice FaIIon - Church of Our
 Lady of Sorrows.

three congregations heard mass. At 7:so 0 clock the Rev. Father o'Reilly was the celebrant and at o'clock and 1O:sO. O clock the Rev Father Kerrlgan was the cele brant At the last service the attendance was very large. the pews being filled all the way from the sanctuary back to the doors. Only low masses are said during the summer but at 10:30 the choir sings the Kyrie. the sanctus and the Agnus Dei. Considering the season, the chorus was quite strong. Miss Alice Fallon was solo soprano and 1t was generally remarked that her voice was finer than ever It was powerful enough to have filled a vast cathedral. During the offertory Miss Fall Ion sang an Ave Maria by Apt, which was at once beautiful, dramatic and de- votional.
 Father Kerrigan, after reading the epistle and the gospel in English, spoke as follows:
 The sacraments.
 My Dear Brethren:
 As the heated term is now upon us with it's attendant discomforts, forcing us to curtail. In measure. the usual solemnities of the mass, feel that better results will follow if the same custom be observed in the pulpit. Hence. instead of a regular sermon, I will endeavor to give, during this period, a series of plain, concise ex- plantations of the sacraments with which you were once, no doubt quite familiar, but your knowledge of which now. per haps. owing to other demands Is rather vague. The wisdom of a review of this kind will be manifest to you when you perceive in the course of my remarks, the vital relation between the sacraments and our eternal salvation; the tremendous issue depending upon our worthy appre- ciation of them.
 Before taking up each sacrament sep arately, there Is considerable to be said of the sacraments in general; so much, in fact, that to keep to the rule proposed by myself, I will give two or more in structions on this subject alone
 To facilitate matters we will use, as far as possible, the catechism definitions with which you are more familiar
 What Is a sacrament? Before giving the definition we would state that the word itself sacrament" means a sacred or holy thing. Now the definition: "A sacra- ment Is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace" This Is a very l brief definition, but every term In 1t is most cogent. If we dissect 1t we find three things necessary-the outward sign, in- stitution by Christ and the giving of grace. This last requisite being the most inn nf x.yf1f constitutes the very end of the sacrament. Grace Is that supernatural assistance which God imparts to us through the merits of Jesus Christ for our salvation. 1 Without the divine grace we can neither conceive nor accomplish anything for the sanctiflcation of our souls.
 Plan of Salvation. By the sin of our first parents heaven was closed to man and his ultimate des- tiny eternal hell To satisfy the insult offered the Godhead and reopen heaven commensurate sacrifice was necessary. Jesus Christ, the second person of the blessed Trinity, who was also God made Himself that sacrifice ana reopened heaven. But man could not enter heaven l unless free from sin. Christs death did not take away original sin, mans free will. his unruly passions, his evil ten dencies. Man must be cieansed from original sin and overcome his evil nature ! to enter heaven. This of his own pow CTS was impossible. Of what use to him then the birthright regained? He was as badly off as before. But Christ had done more than reopen heaven. One drop of his blood were sufficient for that, for He was God and that one drop of infinite merit But what of that terrible pas sion and ignominious death? Did all that was over and above the requirement go l for naught? An, no, dear brethren, that l still endures an inexhaustible reservoir l of merit. of grace. Now our Lord knew I that the weakness of man still remained, i knew that of himself he could not take advantage of the re-opened heaven, could l do nothing without grace hence in his love and pity He instituted a means by which man might acquire the help to overcome his evil inclinations and thus I save his soul. He instituted the scra- ments the channels or canals, as 1t were l by which man, under certain easy condi-