The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-24
RETURN OF EASTER IS CELEBRATED
 BY THE CHURCHES OF MONTGOMERY
EASTER AT ST. PETERS
REV. FATHER BENEDICT SPOKE ON RESURRECTION.
Eloquent Sermon by Priest From Cuil- man.-Ffpe Music and Great Con- gregation at Catholic
 Church.

man.-Ftpe Music and Great Con- gregation at Catholic Church. l The feast of the Resurrection was ft- | tingly celebrated at St. Peters Catholic l Church yesterday.
 The altars were lavishly decoratel ! for the occasion and the attendance at | both masses was unusually large. l Confessions were heard by four priests until midnight on Saturday, nearly five hundred men and women availing themselves of this means or l sacramental grace, and receiving at the early mass yesterday the Body and Blood of Him whose resurrection l proved that His claims of divinity were not in vain. Rev. Father Savage cele- brated this mass and preached on the | meaning of the resurrection. | The music was under the auspices of the Sodality choir, Miss Mary Gardiner | presiding at the organ. The following | was the program.
 "Easter Tide"-Marzo; Miss octavia Kohn.
 l Chorus-Choir.
 "The Everlasting Light"-Taggart and Witt; MT. John OConnell; Chorus, Choir.
 Regina Coeli"-Battman; Miss Nell lie Brown. Chorus. Choir. | Communion Hymn-Anon; Miss Alice O'Connell.
 Face to Face"-Anon; Miss Nellie | Brown and Mir. O'Connell. l The Chorus was comprised of the fol- lowing:
 Mrs. Jackson, Misses A. Kohn, O.. Kohn, A. O'Connell, N. Brown, E. Horne, M. Brown, K. O'Connor. B. Morrison, E. Sands: Messrs. A. Kohn, J. West, J. oConnell. P. o'Dwyer, l.. Burns J. Linehan, c. OConnelI.
 The High Mass was sung by Father Eaton. Father Benedict. O. 8. B., of CuIlman College, Cullman, delivered the sermon.
 | The music was under the capable di- rection of Prof. Eugene L. Merriam, or ganist and choirmaster. Mir F. E. Will liams the we'll known orchestra leader, accompanied on the violin in his usual ly highly artistic manner.
 The musical program was exception ally brilliant, being in part as follows:
 "Vidi Aquam"-Weigand.
 "Kyrie"-Lajeal.
 "Gloria"-Lajeal.
 "Credo"-Lajeal.
 "Onertoire," Regina Coeli-Giorza-
 "Sanctus"-Lajeal. | "Benedictus"-Ganss.
 "Agnus Dei"-Lajeal.
 70 Salutaris," with violin obligato- Ganss
 "Tantum Ergo"-Rossi.
 Iaudate"-Gregorian.
 Mrs. w, B. Jackson, Mrs G. Dawson, Mrs. L. Robinson, Misses A. F. Merriam. N. Courtney, A. Courtney. A. O'Connell, ]. Hinderer P. Sands, E. Horne, were in attendance in the choir.
 The Mass was followed by Benedic- ton of the Most Holy Sacrament. Dur ing the Benediction the 70 Salutaris' was sung by Mrs. L. Robinson, accom- panied by Messrs. Merriam and Will Hams. and seldom has anything equal l to 1t in beauty or expression been heard | at St. Peters
 Rev. Father Benedict of Cullman then preached the Easter sermon from the text Christ Is risen again from the dead, the first fruit of them that sleep; for by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead, and as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" Corinthians, | 20-22. Easter Is and will always remain the most beautiful day of the year" | said Father Benedict, "the greatest of all festivals, for 1t Is the day of life. Life again has conquered death. ln- deed. death with its evils is not en- tirely banished from earth; death even embraced the God-Man with its icy I knock at our heart to demand the tolls which we owe 1t through sin; but not | forever shall we remain captives of death, as little as the Holiest of Ho- Hes could become subject to the corrup- tion of the grave.
 Death has been swallowed up in victory jubilantly exclaims St. Paul Q Cor, XIV, 54.) Resurrection, this IS the glorious word which has broken the sting of death; resurrection. this Is always our thought, whenever the im- age of death presents itself to the eye of our spirit; resurrection, with the sound of this word in our ears, we defy death with all its horrors, because we know. There will also be an Easter time, when again we shall rise from the darkness and corruption of the grave, to die no more, to live forever. Therefore with St. Ambrose we may ex- claim, Death can be no evil for the Christian, because for him 1t is the end of grief and sorrow; for him death Is tho hope of another, happier life beyond the grave!
 when our Redeemer expired on the cross death began to lose its horrors
 for the Christian. Pardon me. dear
 friends, for reminding you on this day
 of joy and gladness, of the sorrowful fate, which is our lot since Adams
 fall; but only for a moment represent
 to yourself the thought that some day
 you will die, that some time in the flu ture, sooner or later. your body will
 become a prey for the worms of the
 grave. Your friends, your relatives
 will mourn, they will accompany youl
 earthly remains to ths grave, and ther
 after a few weeks, the highest few
 months, they will almost completely forget you. Sic transit gloria mundi,
 like a cloud of smoke the glory of thu
 world will hover over your grave fol
 q while and then pass away forever
 Shall this oe the end of all your dream!
 of happiness2
 "'You entered this world naked, nakat , you will leave it, (Job.) You will 2 leave all, who have ever been dear tt 7 you. all your possessions, all you , achievements. Picture to yourself tha ' decisive moment when body and sou
 begin to lose that furious battle whicl , they are fighting with the angel O . death; when with a merciless hand tn, 2 thread is cut that binds them togeth r CT; when all the beauty of the bod! a shall wither in a few hours; when i ' returns again to the dust from whicl it is taken How? do you not feel Il a the terrors of death at the mer v thought of 1t. Indeed we must confess 2 that as often as we think of this In Q fallible fate of mankind. we would conn f near despair if not that beautiful hop would console us that death Is not eter
 nal, that 1t Is only the brook Cedron