The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-07-18
SACRED vESTMENTS
FATHER EATON DELIVERS IN.
STRCCT1vE SERMON.


struct'ons of the Holy Mass, was
preached at St. Peters Church yester-
day morning by Father J. Eaton.
The sermon was one Of a series de-
liyered by Father Eaton on this sub
ject His sermon yesterday dealt es-
pecially with the sacred vestments
used in the mass.
Psalms, How Lovely are thy taber-
nacles, o Lord of Hosts"
Father Eaton said:
"A few weeks ago, my dear brethren,
we dwelt upon the nature and signifi-
canoe of some Of the vestments worn
by the priest during the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass. We saw that, they are
the relics Of hoary antiquity; that
the church has consecrated by her
usage some of the customs of even
pa ganism. for the religious systems OF
the pagans had certain reflections of
truth preserving. as they did, parts,
however distorted, of the primitive
revelation made by God to man, just
as strains of heavenly music will still
linger in the ear long after the har-
mony, of which they formed part has
been forsaken. We saw, too. that the
garments adopted were common to the
laity of Greece and Rome, two thous-
and years ago, being their ordinary at
tire; that they have changed somewhat
in course of time as a natural result of
convenience, and are In their typical
:, sense but the outward expression of
the inward recognition of the purity
demanded in the service of the Lord.
The amisc. alb, and cincture thus fell
under our consideration. We shall con-
sequently treat OF other vestments
employed in the immediate preparation
for the sublime mysteries of the altar.
After the priest has placed the alb In
position by folding 1t around his per-
son and binding 1t effectively with the
cincture, or girdle, he takes what AZ
called the maniple, kisses 1t, and pins
1t to his left arm. The maniple was
originally "a piece of linen cloth, fast-
ened to the left arm for purposes en-
gendered by the length of the cere-
monies and the intense heat of the
churches. It supplied the place of
handkerchief; hence It's name. mani
pulus," which means, literally. as does
the English word manipulate, derived
from the same source, to drive away
| by the hand" from the fact
that the priest drove or wiped
away the moisture and perspiration
occasioned by the heat. This fact fur
nishes us in all probability with the
reason why the priest generally lays
aside the maniple while preaching.
! The priest prays while putting 1t on
| that the Lord make him worthy to
| bear the maniple of weeping and sor-
| row that he may receive the reward
| of his labors." And this in reference
| to its mystical Specification. Life a
preparation for eternity, and as such
| must be marked by constant weeping
| and sorrow-weeping and sorrow for
offences committed. weeping and sor-
row for sin. This is a duty-a solemn
| duty incumbent upon us IL We wish
| to gain an eternity of bliss. Apart
from this, however. life is, as our ex-
| perience testifies, actually a period of
| weeping and sorrow. The horizon of
our happiness is ofttimes clouded, and
the rain of tribulation falls. We are
sad. Notwithstanding all our brave
| pretensions, for
| The smile that sorrow fam would
| wear
But mocks the woe that turks beneath
Like roses DER a sepulchre.
| Yet sorrow is not a proof of God s
displeasures 1t is the reverse Whom
the Lord loves, He chastens," we are
| assured. Sorrow is the crucible of
| virtue, whether 1t be duty or a fact,
and the first use of the maniple direct
ed to the soothing of the heated brows
of the priest. proclaims to us the fact
that at the last dread day a merciful
Lord will wipe away with the maniple
| of eternal peace the tears of our sor-
row IL they be dutifully and patiently
endured. The stole, the next
garment assumed procclaims a SINH
lar fact. Derived from the Greek
word stola. English 'stole'D 1t
meant formerly a garment of any kind,
but was specifically employed by the
Greek and Latin peoples of both sexes
as a proecttion for the breast. 1t was
| oil II nd of ha nd rCh n
purposes similar with those of the
maniple which we have just consider
ed. The priest when putting 1t on
pronounces a prayer referring to those
uses of the stole. Give me, o Lord.
he says, the garment of immortality.
which lost by the sin of my first par
emit" 1t is kissed. placed on the Shout
ders and then crossed in front of the
person of the priest. The pope always
wears 1t; bishops and priests wear 1T
at mass. whenever they handle the
Blessed Sacrament and in the adminis7
tration of the sacraments. This is be-
| cause the stole is the symbol of au-
| thority The source of all authority Is
the Crucified Redeemer, and just as
the Redeemer bore upon his shoulders
the burden of the cross, SO does the
| priest demonstrate to the world .hat
he Is the representative of his Master
| ny wearing upon III thc
form of a cross. the stole, which must
accordingly remind the faithful of his
/ dignity. What. however should en-
nance his dignity to the greatest of all
extents in the eyes Of this people. Is
the last garment he assumes. namely
the Chasuble, which represents the
Divinity that hedges around the priest.
| Like the other vestments, the chasu-
BILE, too, was relic of the bygOne glo-
ries of ancient Greece and Rome.
1t was worn by the people of
those days when travelling prin-
cipally, and EMBODIED the entire
body without any opening at the
sides. This form was common in the
| early ages of the church and is today
in some Eastern countries. Where the
Latin rite is followed the chasublc,
with little variation. Is as you witness
it. In order to be possessed of greater
freedom in Offering up the Holy Sacri-
flee, II was found necessary to have the
arms perfectly unencumbered and ac-
cordingly to abandon the cumbrous
folds of the earlier form. Marked with
the cross, the chasuble is par-excellence
the emblem of authority. The cross is
| the raison d'etre of the existence of the
| priest; what the priest is, he is by the
| vicarious oblation of the Redeemer, and
as the chasuble adorned with the cross
enfolds the person of the priest when
he assists at the altar. SO does the Dr.
vinity of Him who died upon the
l1Nf