The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-03


 unworthy. though I be of the | theme. the significance of knighthood | and especially under such grand and | noble auspices as those of Christopher Columbus. Therefore I would ask you | to review with me briefly, some of the l important features--features which our | order refiects-that made ancient
 knighthood such a grand institution:
 the preparation necessary to join 1t and the qualities displayed by the knights that have made them the ad- | miration of the ages. And especially Is 1t apropos that you should hear 1 these facts from the pulpit and dur ing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for it was religion that sublimed the chiv- airy of old. that was Its very life-
 blood, that inspired all that was in 1t | of noble and grand just as it is today | the very keystone of the arch, sup ! porting the other virtues in our worthy organization.
 These eloquent words led up to a | fine exposition of knighthood in the
 middle ag<s. Continuing Father Ker- rfgan said:
 And now, my dear brethren, both candidates and brother-knights, trust from these references to that glorious
 institution that has left its lasting im- | press on the centuries, you have a clearer. more exalted idea of what is l required of you to observe the name of
 knight. You should practice. in your lives, according to your best ability, | the virtues shown by the knights of | old; virtues which are more or less re- l hected in the teachings of our order. There are opportunities and require | ments for these on all sides. Be strict | and conscientious, above all things, in your religious duties. Show your love | for God in the first place and the other virtues will follow as a natural con- sequence You cannot, with any profit, practice those other virtues pertain | ing to love of your neighbor, unless you practice the unseparable correla- | tive-Iove of God The man who ig- | nores his religious duties and yet prates of his charity and his justice is but sounding brass and the tinkling cymbal.'
 Courage should be another quality | of the true knight. Courage in what? courage In doing right; courage in following out the teachings of the or der in spite of false ideas of human
 respect. Courage. in the first place, to perform his religious duties oftener
 than once year; courage to attend | mass every Sunday in spite of a slight fiuctuation of the thermometer; cour- age to mortify himself to the slight | extent of abstaining from meat on
 Friday in honor of his Savior's death; | courage to have a prayer-book of his
 own and to bring 1t in church with him on Sunday that he may read if
 and hear mass with the proper devo-
 tion; courage to carry a rosary in his
 pocket and to say 1t occasionally; courage finally, to acknowledge a fault courage to forgive a fault. Oh, what
 bitterness is injected into life be- | cause of lack of courage to do these latter things.
 "Liberality should be another bright l jewel in the diadem of knightly vir-
 tues. Not that liberality-that elastic broadminedness. as it is cal1ed-that | means the craven sacrificing of ones
 dearest religious principles because of | lack of stamina to defend them or be- cause of mean motives of self-inter-
 est; no. but that liberality tthat puts one in accord with every movement of Holy Church to fulfill her Christ-given
 mission; that prompts one to jealous
 ly further. by every power at his com
 mand, physical, mental and financial
 every institution of hers, making for
 the greater glory of God and the good of mankind-an attitude directly op- posed to that narrow, unsympathetic condition of mind, which, viewing her
 work through the distorted medium of
 It's own selfishness. cannot see the dis interested nature of her deeds.
 And next I would call attention to
 proper regard for womankind. As re- gards Catholic gentlemen, indeed, and
 especially Southern Catholic gentlemen, this may seem an entirely superfluous animadvei sion, for the church made
 woman what she is today and the es- pecial pride of the Southerner is his
 gallantry towards the gentle six; but
 woman Is being dragged down from her
 exalted station to be the toy of mans
 baser nature-this because of an evil
 which threatens through the whole sale destruction of families, the units
 that make up the national family. the utter disruption of society, viz, divorce The church. throughout the age, in trenched on the rock of Peter, and strong with the authority of Peter. has
 stood immoveable between her daugh-
 ters and the insensate, pitiless, raven ing lusts of man. She Is destined to be the refuge of woman, the conserver of | the home. the salvation of society. AL though so often proph1sied as tottering to her fall because of unprogressive | imbecility, hear the latest words of d | non Cathode bishop anent her position | towards divorce. She Is the very bull
 wark of society and in the vanguard of
 progress and civilization The Knight of Columbus should stand close to the
 church in this matter; should never so
 act as to show contempt for her au-
 thority. to lessen her power and should
 admonish those showing a tendency to
 do so.
 Finally, let all these be softened and
 refined by humanity. If pride rules the heart and be the incentive of action,
 no good results will follow, but there
 will be bitter contentious. misery of spirit and remorse Whatsoever you
 do of good do it in the name of Christ Jesus; keep yourself in the back
 ground; let not the doer be seen in the
 deed And, too, let not the viper of | jealousy, caused by another's prefer
 ment gnaw at your vitals and maNe life miserable for yourself and others. These are the qualities, then, that
 should distinguish the true Knight of Columbus; that would bring back, as | fan as the present state would allow,
 the conditions of knightly days; that
 would make their impress on present
 society and would cause the name
 Knight of Columbus-to be honored
 and emulated.
 But why a Knight of Columbus? It i Is natural for man to select some great
 character in the worlds career for his
 hero We are an, more or less, hero-
 worshippers. We have. right down in
 our very heart of hearts, some great
 being who has an influence on our
 lives. His qualities we admire, his
 methods we would follow. And do
 state 1t too strongly when l say that | he ha