The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-03
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
 GATHERED IN MONTGOMERY
Members of Catholic Church Order Heard Eloquent Sermon by Father Kerrgan and
 Initiated Many Candidates.

A class of forty~three candidates was yesterday initiated into the mysteries of the Knights of Columbus.
 The meetings of the Knights lasted
 practically throughout the entire day and fifty visitors from Mobile. Bir- lmingham, Selma and Huntsville 1oined with the Montgomerians in initiating the large class. The day was spent in solemn service at St. Peter's Catholic Church at 10 o'clock yesterday morning at which Rev. Father Kerrigan of Birmingham preached, in the initiation at the rooms of the Commercial and Industrial As- sociation, and in a smoker held last night at o'clock in the same rooms. The services atLSt. Peters Church were peculiarly impressive. The church
 was crowded beyond its seating capac- | ity, chairs being placed in the centre aisle to accommodate the large congre- gation.
 High Mass was celebrated by Father Eaton during which special musical program was rendered. At the con- clusion of the mass. the men of the lcongregation sang the hymn. Holy | God, We Praise Thy Name"
 The sermon of the mass was deliver ed by Father Kerrigan and was indeed fine exposition of the qualities of lKnighthood. Father Kerrigan Is well and pleasantly remembered in Mont gomery as he was assistant priest or | this parish several years ago. His sermon was eloquent and easily and
 forcibly delivered. He said in part: My Dear Brethren-As we glance in
 retrospect, down the long vista of his- toryI fiecked with its myriad lights
 and shadows, no period of it attracts
 and holds our attention with such irre-
 sistible charms as the age of chival-
 ry;' the days of the lance and the
 shield; when knighthood was in flower.
 That period appeals to the deep-seated
 love in man. covered from sight often
 by the debris of the world. for the good, the true and the beautiful. We delight to revel in all that it presents
 of lofty ideal, of magnanimous virility of intrepid courage, of gentle courtesy, Iof reverence for woman and love for IGod We enshrine, within our hearts,
 as our eidolon, some bright. particular
 hero of that period. some Sir Lancelot
 through all the tract of years. wearing | the white flower of a blameless life;
 some valiant Godfrey or Tancred; some
 Bayard, sans peur ct sans raproche.'
 and offer him the tribute of our sim
 cere admiration, of longings to be,
 even in the least measure. his counter part. Aye, we would fain be back in that mystical day, suffused as it was,
 with the subdued light of early civili-
 zation. We would fain, In shining ar-
 nor, with holding plume and blazoned
 shield and lance in rest, SCOUT the country round in search of noble deeds l to do, wrongs to be lighted, oppres-
 sions to be overcome.
 Men, finding this desire impossible
 of fulfillment, and wishing for objects
 on which to exercise these noble puls- ings of the heart, have cast about this
 hard, cold, prosaic modern world for
 such. And, In faith. they have found them in abundance. Found them among
 their fellowmen; found that still mans
 inhumanity to man makes countless
 Opportunities for their deeds. divest-
 ed. indeed. of the romance of that el-
 der day, but none the less worthy of their consideration, for
 Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood They have found good to be done; re- ligion to be upheld. charity to be culti- vated. vice to be routed, wrongs to be
 remedied and friendships to be ce- mented.
 "IIence. from time to time they have
 handed together under the name of
 Knights and under the aegis of some noble character in history, to exem- plify the higher qualities of manhood ito inspire in their comrades and to
 encourage. by mutual example. their performance. the obligations due from
 man to his brother and to his God.
 The latest of these brotherhoods. one | whose organization seems almost to | have been inspired. whose character | istics. judging from It's phenomenal
 success. are peculiarly adapted to Cath
 ollie men of this age and country, Is
 the Knights of Columbus.
 "As number are present at this
 Holy Mass. preparing for affliation
 with this organization. I feel 1t is es- pecially fitting this morning, in order
 to awaken in them a worthy sense of
 the importance of their contemplated
 step. to strengthen in them a desire
 for. and a sincere determination to
 practice the principles inculcated by