Show I 1 MARY AT THE TOMB I I Rev A V Keenans Sermon at St riarys Cathedral VIVID WORD PAINTING OF THE HISTORIC EASTER MORN I A Cardinal Mass Sung With Orchestral Or-chestral Accompaniment Bishop a Scanlan Celebrates Pontifical 4 Mass Assisted by Deacon and SubdeaconA Wealth of Cali I fornia lilies in Decoration The lily the Ideal flower of the Resurrection Res-urrection the lily most typical creation crea-tion ot nature to contrast with Solo I mons glory was In evidence every I where around the sanctuary of St Marys cathedral yesterday Blended with the arrangement of carnations potted plants and palms ivy and smilax smi-lax the lily eloquently recalled the scene about the sepulchre when the t stone was rolled away two thousand I years ago I A usual on such festivals of the Catholic church St Marys proved itself inadequate to seat the number of people who are attracted by the solemnity of the ceremonies and the artistic music which belong to the celebration cele-bration of a pontifical mass The aisles were filled with people standing from the altar railing back to the entrance doors and many remained outside to hear the choir music poured through the open windows The choir under the direction of Miss Nora Gleason was in excellent voice and training and an orchestra effect was added by the presence of violin and harp I was Dachauers First Cardinal Mass with selections from Lambilotte and Meyerbeer Following is the programme rendered Offertory Haec DiesLambillotte Soloist Mr T C Crawford Veni Creator La Hache Miss Burke Coronation MarchMeyerbeer Violinist Master Roy Williams Harp Miss Trumbo The sopranos were Mrs Hal Moore p Misses Sinclair Harley and KeeCe altos al-tos Mrs E Turner Misses Burke Goss and Johnson tenors Messrs B McBride L P McCalla and W C Clements bassos Messrs T C Crawford Craw-ford J Leyland A T Waltz H V Meloy and J Korty Bishop Scanlan arrayed in pontifical j robes and mitre was the celebrant of the mass Rev Dennis Kiely deacon and Rev A V Keenan subdeacon After the gospel was sung Rev Father I Keenan entered the pulpit and delivered deliv-ered the sermon of the day And when the Sabbath was passed I I Mary Magdalen and Mary the mother of Jesus and Salome brought sweet I spices that coming they might anoint I Jesus Mark xvi 1 The gospel on Good Friday informs us that universal nature a thrown I into the utmost state of confusion and I consternation on that ever memorable day on which Christ the ManGod I I yielded up his life on the hill of Cal I vary for the redemption of mankind I t so in like manner all nature was permeated I per-meated to its very center with the most ver inexpressible joy and consolation on I the auspicious day < of his glorious resurrection The sun which on Good j 1 Friday enveloped itself in darkness and oerclouded its light diffusing rays let it should be compelled to see the I author of nature the creator of its own fulgenoe beauty and splendor expiring expir-ing between two malefaotorson the infamous in-famous tree of the cross arose betimes be-times on that Easter Sunday morning to usher in the day of his resurrection with unwonted brilliancy and grandeur Heaven with all Its majesty deputed a celestial herald whose robes outrivaled out-rivaled the glittering whiteness of the i driven snow to BO forth and proclaim I Ito I-to all creation the signal victory and I triumph of Jesus Christ over his enemies ene-mies the world the flesh and the devil The universe was struck with I I I awl and admiration the sepulchres few open the dead arose and appeared I I to many The holy patriarchs and prophets were In raptures of delight to I find that the chains of their lone and anxious captivity were at last snapped I asunder No tongue can tell no pen can describe no language is sufficiently i adequate in scope to give expression to the joy with which this glorious event I I filled the heart of Mary the immaculate immacu-late mother of Jesus who but two I t days before that wa a most heart lirolren and griefstricken spectator of I i the bloody tragedy enacted on the heights of Calvary The scripture tells j I j us that the Patriarch Jacob exulted I I with joy when he learned that his favorite fa-vorite son Joseph whom he considered I dead was still alive in the land of I Pharoah What joy wlat ecstacies of j delight must not the affectionate heart I of Mary have experienced when she I J heard that her dearly beloved son Jesus was risen from the tomb clothed I with an 1 immortal impassible I and glorified glor-ified body The apostles too who during dur-ing the last few days were overwhelmed I over-whelmed with grief and dejection of heart were now filled with Joy untold by the glad tidings announced to them I by the Dious women who had seen their risen Lord I I Christs resurrection diffused universal uni-versal joy through all nature and caused heaven and earth to resound with hymns and canticles of adoration praise and thanksgiving His enemies alone were confused and covered with shame Satan was thrown into a paroxysm of rage and despair on seeing I all his hellish cunning deceit and I treachery set at naught his empire I disrupted hell disarmed sin destroyed and the world subdued not with the sword as St Augustine says but with the wood of the cross The day of the resurrection was a day full of joy and glory to the eternal Father this day the psalmist sang as the church reneatedly reminds us today when he sang in dulcet strains This is the day which the Lord hath made let us be glad and rejoice therein i there-in For if the Eternal Father in his I justice demanded the painful sacrifice offered up on the cross on Gcod Friday L we can well understand with what joy he rewarded that act of obedience and humiliation by the glory of that Easter Surdav wr4i nigh 2000 years ago As he designed the mystery of the incarnation i incarna-tion and passed the decree of its fulfil I iiint he watched over < > ark of its details i i de-tails making each contribute its share I to th > glory for which this mystery I was cffecte1 I is he then who today j welcomes his son back again to life who congratulates him on the end of j r ml his sacrifice and rewards him I with the glory of his resurrection As at the beginnIng j be-ginnIng he had said Thou an my son this day I have begotten thee so now I does he say Thou art my son this day i T have crowned and rewarded thy j obedience and fidelity And the Holy nf engdP nn j Ghost the bond of union between the TVtthxr aitt Pn < > t wet n rut I ihf I state of grace and God the author of I grace rejoices In the work of again I I uniting the body and soul over whose formation he had S originally presided whn he orllnaly the virgin mother in the accomplishment of this mystery in which The word was made I I flesh But my brethren what I joy must have filled the souls I of those pious women who witnessed i wit-nessed his death chen the I angel said to them He Is ripen he Is I not here None of them understood the words which Jesus had spoken to them before his crucifixion concerning his death and hence they were In despair But now they clearly see the meaning of all and lire amazed at their own dullness and disbelief His death ill to them when they understood him not seemed to convict his life of falsehood I seemed a proof that he rL L was a false prophet but noW that he is the son of God Is clearly proved by his resurrection Mary Magdalene was the first to whom our Lord appeared after his resurrection she then told Peter and John whom she met but tbey still entertained doubts and went to the sepulchre and found It empty The soldiers we are told who kept guard over the sepulchre were terrified and fled with their very lives seeing that the Jewish prophet as they called him who had been crucified three days before was arisen Early on that morning as one of the soldiers who was pacing to and fro in front of the tomb whilst his comrades were tak I I ing a rest there suddenly shone roundabout round-about them a light like a descending meteor accompanied by a rushing as of a legion of winged spirits The I I sleeping soldiers started to their feet 1 j in amazement On looking about them j they saw a dazzling form in mid heavens I I heav-ens with broad wings of gold and clad i in raiments white and gleaming as the summer lightning But when they saw this mighty being descend straight 1 i towards the tomb and beheld the resplendent splendent majesty of his heavenly countenance which blinded them their hearts died away within them An angel of the Lord for such he was alighted amid a blaze of radiance at the door of the sepulchre and a hIs feet touched the earth it trembled a if there had been an earthquake He touched the great stone door it rolled back and he sat upon it But it was I early In the morning when I was yet dark that Mary Magdalene and I the other Mary came to the garden and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre Mary Magdalene went in haste and told Peter and the other disciples whom Jesus loved saying say-ing They have taken away the Lore and we know not where they laid him Peter and John ran to the garden but John outran Peter and arrived first at the sepulchre and stooping down looked in and found it empty They then returned to their home but Mary Magdalene lingered near She had no home but the tomb of Jesus I was empty but she could not go away She stood without weeping and as she wept she looked in again and lo she saw two angels In white the one sitting sit-ting at the head the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had been laid Jesus stood behind her and said Woman why weepest thou She turned around and saw him but thinking think-ing i was the gardener said Thc have taken away my Lord out of the sepulchre and we know not where they have laid him Sir if thou hat taken him hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away And Jesus said to her Mary and she replied Master She knew the I sound of that familiar voice then She I had remained near the tomb out of love and compunction for she knew that she had pierced the sacred heart of her divine master by her many sins and for her love and compunction she was rewarded She was rewarded with a vision of angels she was rewarded re-warded with the vision of Jesus himself him-self Our divine Lord according to the facts related in the gospel appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom he had cast seven devils from whose soul he had washed away in his precious blood sins sevenfold red as scarlet beyond all numbers because she had loved much and because out of her great love she had sorrowed much and next to the mother of God her sorrow was the greatest Jesus came and stood behind her while she was weeping at the sepulchre and when he saw that she did not recognize him he called her by name Mary and the caled Iar accent ac-cent of the wellknown voice revealed I to her who he was and next after her he manifested himself to Peter the unstable and faithless friend who had denied him three times and after Peter to his disciples faithful fear less souls true to him though their hearts could not endure the cruel sight of his crucifixion On the same day the Lords appearance I appear-ance was accompanied with circumstances circum-stances of deepest interest Two of his disciples were on their way to a vii lage called Emmaus about eight miles distant from Jerusalem and Were discoursing I dis-coursing with sad and anxious hearts on the awful incidents of the last few days when a stranger Joined them and asked them the cause of their clouded looks and anxious words They stopped and looked at this unknown traveler with an unfriendly glance and one of them said to him Dost thou Jive alone a stranger in Jerusalem and dost thou not know what things happened there In these last days They then told him how the great prophet was crucified and had been seen Our Lord then reproached them with the dullness of their intelligence and showed them from the old and new law that the sufferings no less than the glory of Christ were foretold As they drew night to the village they pressed him to stay and r par take of their hospitality I He consented to their pressing invitation and as they sat down to their simple meal he blessed and broke the bread and suddenly their eyes were opened and they recognized that he was the Lord But at that moment he van Khed from their sight and they exclaimed ex-claimed aloud The Lord is truly risen Once more on that Easter day I he manifested himself to his disciples Ten of them were sitting together with doors closed for fear of the Jews and I as they were speaking about what they had seen he stood In their midst and said to them Peace be with you His presence threw them into a state of confusion and he said to them Why are you troubled and why do anxious doubts rise in your hearts hearse hears-e my hands and feet saith I he for I sn I a spirit hath no flesh and bones as you see I have Then he said to them I again Peace be to you and immpdi i ately disappeared One only of the I apostles viz Thomas was absent on I that occasion He was doubtful In vain did the other apostles assure him that Jesus was truly risen saying to him We have seen the Lord A I week passed and Thomas was still incredulous in-credulous In the eighth day after this as the eleven were seated together with closed doors Jesus I Je-sus appeared again to them and after his usual and solemn blessing he called Thomas and bade j him stretch forth his hand and put his j lingers into the wound in his side and also to see the print of the nails in I I his hands and feet and to be not faith I less but believing Thomas exclaimed My Lord and my God Jesus said to Thomas Because thou hast seen I I me Thomas thou belicvest Blessed are they who have not seen and yet be lee i I I But we should follow the footsteps of i the penitent Magdalen that model of ali i i penitents and rise with a new life of grace as she did at the resurrection of I Christ The apostles who came to j search for their Lord and master not finding his body returned from whence they came Not so with Mary Magda i I len St Augustine says I was I enough for theni to see lIe was not I there but i was not enough for the soul i of Mary languishing with divine love i She remains there alone and becomes obstinate in searching for her Jesus She has already looked several times into the sepulchre but she still tries to I make herself believe that her eyes deceive de-ceive her Stooping1 down cite lools again and again into the vacant tomb i Nothing can escape her vicrllant ore 1 I The angels said to her Why dost thou wee and she replied Because I Be-cause they have taken away my master I mas-ter Without him I my joy my life my treasure is gone from me I is just after this manner that a sincere penitent speaks when truly touphed with a desire of finding God whom he I I ha lost by sin We are all sinners j We have need to rise while there is yet time I was this view into a future life that consoled the Christian le Chrstan church when exposed to the fury of the most cruel and savage persecutions The I hope of a glorious resurrection consoled the hermits In the desert engaged tender ten-der virgins to turn their attention from the cultivation of the superficial graces of their persons to the solid decorations of purity innocence and charity I brightest ornaments of the soul The Te victory of Jesus over death smoothed for the martyr his bed of tortures and I made his heart leap with joy In the I midst of the most excruciating angulsh The resurrection should j excite and inspire you too with a like j t zeal and ardor When the slender thread of your existence is snapped In j twain tcn the golden lnk which 1 unites soul and body is sundered by I the inexorable decree of God there no I I longer remains for you time to do any i thing conducive to your eternal salvation salva-tion Now is the acceptable time now I Is the day of salvation says Paul I Now is the time to be up and doing I I Now is the precious hour to arise with I Christ and put on his armor He is risen This day Is a day of joy and I glory for the universal church which I rejoices for the sake of him who rose I triumphantly from the grave and for j her own sake You know full well what was the bitterness of her sorrow I but two days ago She then niourned him at whose death she was assisting I assist-ing She invited you all to come and I join with her in chanting her sad and mournful dirges a Is her wont on each recurring anniversary of the passion pas-sion and death of her divine spouse She asked you in plaintive accents to attend and see If ever there was a sorrow sor-row like unto hers Yet on this day she casts aside the mouthing robes of her widowhood and rejoices because his h-is glorified and she takes upon herself the office of the angel and everywhere announces the glad tidings that His H-is risen rsen Vel may you rejoice and join in unison uni-son with the church in celebrating 01 this day the glorious resurrection of your redeemeryou who have had the happiness of rising from the death oC sin to a life of grace by the worth reception of his body and blood in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist But what o you you who still remain sitting in darkness and the shadows of death Oh let me exhort you to imitate the example of the penitent Magdalen in seeking your savior Christ Jesus And If this day you hear the voice of the Lord harden not your hearts DQ not put off till tomorrow i to-morrow what you can do today for there is no tomorrow for a Christian Cast off the windingsheet of sin and commence at once like all true penitents peni-tents t labor without ceasing by day and by night until you have found grace with God and become reconciled with your offended creator And when you have happily regained the grace of God guard it well for Its a priceless I treasure which will secure for you eternal bliss with the angels and saints in the kingdom of heaventhat kingdom king-dom which God has prepared from the foundation of the world for those that love him |