HAMILTON

New Zealand Tablet, 27 November 1913, Page 29

HAMILTON

(By telegraph, from our own correspondent.) November 25. mv P i • P J i * iii • j-ub nrsu anniversary or one opening ana messing of the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary was observed on Sunday, when his Grace Archbishop Redwood, S.M., his Lordship Bishop Cleary, and a number of visiting clergy were present. At 10.30 o'clock a procession left the deanery for the church, consisting of his Grace Archbishop Redwood, his Lordship Bishop Cleary, missionaries, and altar boys. This entered the church, preceded by the Children of Mary, and the parish sodalities, who had formed in processional order at the convent. Solemn High Mass was celebrated at 11 o’clock by the Very Rev. Dean Darby, Y.F., Rev. Father Taylor, S.M., being deacon, and Rev. Father Herring, S.M., subdeacon. The occasional discourse was preached by his Grace the Archbishop, who said that as that church was the first in the Dominion to be dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, it would be quite fitting that he should take as the subject of his sermon, ‘ Devotion to the Holy Rosary.’ There was, said his Grace, no devotion in the Catholic Church more highly recommended than the Holy Rosary. First of all, it contained the ‘ Apostles Creed,’ than which there was no more venerable prayer or expression of simple faith, coming down, as it did, from the Apostles themselves, and therefore bearing their name and inspired by Christ Himself. There was then ‘Our Father,’ or the ‘Lord’s Prayer.’ This as a devotion was of the greatest possible value, as it was not made by man but by Jesus Christ Himself. One day the Apostles approached our Lord and said: ‘Master, teach us to pray,’ and Jesus recited to them the ‘ Lord’s Prayer,’ therefore there was no prayer more Evangelical, since it was recited in the Rosary word for word with the Gospel. The prayer was wonderful for the depth of the doctrine contained in it, and the broad extent in the invocation it contained. The ‘Hail Mary was a prayer most fortunate in its surroundings and in its composition. The first part was not composed by any human being but by an Archangel, who was sent direct from God to announce to Mary that she was to become the Mother of Jesus. When the Archangel saw her great sanctity, he approached her with the greatest respect, and spoke the words which formed the first part of the prayer, ‘ Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women.’ These words would also be found in the Scriptures. When St. Elizabeth, the Virgin’s cousin, had walked many miles over the hills to see her, she greeted the newly-made Mother of Jesus with the words, ‘ Blessed is the fruit of thy womb,’ which formed the second portion of the prayer, the great fundamental truth of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made Man, which was the very essence of Christianity. The ‘ Glory be to the Father ’ was a prayer most sublime. Glory, according to St. Thomas, was the clear knowledge of some excellence accompanied with the praise of such excellence. There were two kinds of gloryintrinsic or inner glory which was given by God Himself, and extrinsic, or outer glory, by which the angels and men praised Him. While they were saying these beautiful prayers, Catholics were also taught to meditate upon what were called mysteries. These mysteries were great truths. Some of these were called joyful mysteries, because they dealt with the joyful incidents in the life of Christ ; others were sorrowful, which referred to the sorrowful happenings in our Saviour’s life; and others glorious mysteries, because they proclaimed a glory to the Mother of God and her Divine Son Jesus Christ.

The music of the Mass was Farmer’s Mass in B Flat. In the afternoon a conversazione was held- in the church grounds in honor of the visiting prelates, when the 16th Waikato Regimental Band was in attendance. The evening devotions commenced at 7 o’clock with the Rosary, the preacher being the Rev. Father Herring, S.M., who took as his text, ‘ For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ’ (St. Matt., xvi. 26). A procession and Benediction of the Blessed 1 Sacrament

followed. Special Benediction music had been composed by , the ■. choirmaster. (Mr. Simpson) f for the | occasion. ' ' '

A mission conducted by Marist Fathers opened yesterday, and will continue until December 7.