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Pastoral Reflections on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Archdiocese of NY ^ | unknown | John Cardinal O'Connor

Posted on 05/26/2003 6:19:34 AM PDT by NYer

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John Cardinal O'Connor was called home in May of 2000. He was an extraordinary man! Fr. Benedict Groeschel has taken up his cause for sainthood.

Requiéscat in pacem.

1 posted on 05/26/2003 6:19:34 AM PDT by NYer
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To: american colleen; sinkspur; Lady In Blue; Salvation; Polycarp; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; ...

Cardinal John O'Connor gets last word at his own funeral

05/19/2000
By John Mallon*

Columns by John Mallon

BERNARD Law did his old friend proud.

For those who missed it, the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston preached at the funeral of his close friend John O'Connor, the Cardinal Archbishop of New York.  O'Connor was a bold and fierce preacher on the subject closest to his heart: the sanctity of human life.  

The funeral, broadcast live nationwide, was attended by the president and vice president, their wives and numerous dignitaries including the mayor of New York City.  

At one point in the sermon, O'Connor's hand picked homilist said, "What a great legacy he has left us in his constant reminder that the Church must always be unambiguously pro- life."

There was a beat and then applause broke out.  It grew louder, increasing as the cameras fixed on the Clinton-Gore party showing them on screens throughout the cathedral.  Cardinal Law attempted to quiet the crowd with his hand, when suddenly the congregation began to stand up, applauding in a wave that moved from the back of the church to the front.  If it hadn't been a funeral they would have cheered.  It was a defiant, pivotal moment.  

Then the bishops and cardinals in the sanctuary stood up.  The elder George Bush stood up applauding, as did his son somewhere off camera.  The camera panned back to the Clinton- Gore party who looked bemused and bewildered.  

Having no water glasses to reach for as they did in 1994 when Mother Teresa received a thunderous ovation for telling the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington that there could be no peace as long as a mother could kill the child in her womb, Clinton leaned back and started whispering in Hillary's ear.  Gore's face was as blank, flat and white as a sheet of paper.  Behind them another abortion "rights" supporter, Rudy Giuliani, began to applaud, albeit weakly, and stood.  And lest they be the only ones left seated, the Clintons and Gores lamely stood up but refrained from applauding.  

It was not Cardinal Law's intent to embarrass anyone.  He was merely doing his job and honoring his friend.  The vehement applause came from the people.  

When the applause subsided, Law quipped, "I see he hasn't left the pulpit." Even a news commentator said it was as if O'Connor himself had spoken "from beyond the grave." Even through the TV screen you could feel the presence of that humble but larger than life churchman fill St. Patrick's Cathedral one last time, driving home the message he lived.

The leaders of the free world are currently the hierarchy of the culture of death and it is difficult to know what those poll-conscious politicians took away from that anointed moment, but I have some suggestions.

Perhaps they can no longer smugly snicker up their sleeves, take the Catholic vote for granted and play us for suckers.  They can no longer ridicule other Christians and pro-lifers while claiming to be "compassionate" and "for the children" as they condone scissors being driven into infants' skulls, their brains sucked out and the unborn chopped into pieces and sucked out of their mothers with industrial strength vacuum machines.  They are on the wrong side of history.  In no small part thanks to John O'Connor, the future belongs to life.

Well done, Cardinal O'Connor.  Requiéscat in pacem.

2 posted on 05/26/2003 6:22:38 AM PDT by NYer (Laudate Dominum)
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To: NYer; GatorGirl; maryz; *Catholic_list; afraidfortherepublic; Antoninus; Aquinasfan; Askel5; ...
A Militant Ping.
3 posted on 05/26/2003 7:01:17 AM PDT by narses (Christe Eleison)
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To: NYer
Post #2 was right before Cardinal Law distributed Holy Communion to Bill & Hillary.
4 posted on 05/26/2003 7:15:14 AM PDT by Dajjal
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To: NYer; .45MAN; AKA Elena; al_c; american colleen; Angelus Errare; Antoninus; aposiopetic; ...
The leaders of the free world are currently the hierarchy of the culture of death and it is difficult to know what those poll-conscious politicians took away from that anointed moment, but I have some suggestions.

Perhaps they can no longer smugly snicker up their sleeves, take the Catholic vote for granted and play us for suckers. They can no longer ridicule other Christians and pro-lifers while claiming to be "compassionate" and "for the children" as they condone scissors being driven into infants' skulls, their brains sucked out and the unborn chopped into pieces and sucked out of their mothers with industrial strength vacuum machines. They are on the wrong side of history. In no small part thanks to John O'Connor, the future belongs to life.

AWESOME!

5 posted on 05/26/2003 7:17:48 AM PDT by Polycarp
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To: NYer
** It is imperative, in my judgment, that we recognize the uniqueness of the ordained priest and the reality of the Mass as sacrifice.**

Agree with Cardinal O'Connor completely here!
6 posted on 05/26/2003 7:35:24 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: NYer
**The ordained priest, on the other hand, while participating in Christ's priesthood, is lifted up into a unique state by the Sacrament of Holy Orders. The letter to the Hebrews calls the priest "a man taken from among men for the things that pertain to God." [5.1] The priest is given transcendent power to forgive sins, to administer the sacraments, but most of all to offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in which he becomes an "alter Christus," another Christ.**

Beautiful. We need to lift up our bishops, priests and ordained deacons.
7 posted on 05/26/2003 7:39:37 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: NYer
**Pray, my brothers and sisters, that your sacrifice and mine may be acceptable to God, the Father Almighty."**

Regardless of the language in which the Sacrifice of the Mass is said!

8 posted on 05/26/2003 7:41:19 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Polycarp; NYer; pseudo-justin
Perhaps they can no longer smugly snicker up their sleeves, take the Catholic vote for granted and play us for suckers. They can no longer ridicule other Christians and pro-lifers while claiming to be "compassionate" and "for the children" ...

Nice thought but it isn't likely to happen. Cardinal O'Connor and Mother Teresa displayed tremendous leadership qualities -- they clearly defined their positions and used all opportunities to advance them. Furthermore, they both had national media exposure. Here's the quote that sums it up:

"What a great legacy he has left us in his constant reminder that the Church must always be unambiguously pro- life."

Sorely lacking in the U.S. today are nationally recognized Catholic Bishops who clearly advocate Catholic moral theology at every public opportunity. Witness, as an example, the failures of Cardinal Maida to publicly and personally advance any pro-life message or even to counter the public pro-choice opinions of some of his own pastors during the recent Grandholm campaign for governor. Cardinal Maida isn't alone here. I can't think of a single bold, pro-Catholic statement made by a Cardinal in many years.

Catholics react strongly and favorably to leadership whenever it is demonstrated. We are looking for a shepard -- not a head sheep.

9 posted on 05/26/2003 7:50:44 AM PDT by cebadams (much better than ezra)
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To: NYer
It is a dangerous thing to elevate priests over the common laity, and give them a postion that Christ never intended that they have. Jesus said that those who would be greatest among us should be our servants. How does a priest maintain this state of humility if people want to elevate him to be acting as Christ himself? This was the problem in Israel when the priesthood of the Jews abandoned their place as shepherds of God's flock, and lifted themselves above the common man. This is what caused the Cheif Shepherd to come down from heaven and give his life for the sheep. It says in the prophets that God was against those shepherds which disregarded the flock of God for their own gain. Priests should be respected as elders of the church, but they ought not to assume any position over the flock that induces pride.
10 posted on 05/26/2003 8:17:57 AM PDT by man of Yosemite ("When a man decides to do something everyday, that's about when he stops doing it.")
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To: man of Yosemite
It is a dangerous thing to elevate priests over the common laity, and give them a postion that Christ never intended that they have. Jesus said that those who would be greatest among us should be our servants.

The word priest (Germ. Priester; Fr. prêtre; Ital. prete) is derived from the Greek presbyteros (the elder, as distinguished from neoteros, the younger), and is, in the hieratical sense, equivalent to the Latin sacerdos, the Greek iereus, and the Hebrew kahane. By the term is meant a (male) person called to the immediate service of the Deity and authorized to hold public worship, especially to offer sacrifice. In many instances the priest is the religious mediator between God (gods) and man and the appointed teacher of religious truths, especially when these include esoteric doctrines. To apply the word priest to the magicians, prophets, and medicine-men of the religions of primitive peoples is a misuse of the term. The essential correlative of priesthood is sacrifice, consequently, mere leaders in the public prayers or guardians of shrines have no claim to the title priest.

Passing entirely over the supernatural blessings derived by mankind from the prayers of the priesthood, the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, and the administration of the sacraments, secular civilization, which, through the Catholic priesthood, has spread to all nations and brought into full bloom religion, morality, science, art, and industry. If religion in general is the mother of all culture, Christianity must be acknowledged as the source, measure, and nursery of all true civilization. The Church, the oldest and most successful teacher of mankind, has in each century done pioneer service in all departments of culture. Through her organs, the priests and especially the members of the religious orders, she carried the light of Faith to all lands, banished the darkness of paganism, and with the Gospel brought the blessings of Christian morality and education. What would have become of the countries about the Mediterranean during the epoch of the migration of the nations (from 375) if the popes, bishops, and clergy had not tamed the German hordes, converted them from Arianism to Catholicism, and out of barbarism evolved order? What Ireland owes to St. Patrick, England owes to St. Augustine, who, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, brought not only the Gospel, but also a higher morality and culture. While the light of Christianity thus burned brightly in Ireland and Britain, part of Germany was still shrouded in the darkness of paganism. Bands of missionaries from the Island of Saints now brought to the continent the message of salvation and established new centres of culture. Charlemagne's great work of uniting all the German tribes into an empire was only the glorious fruit of the seed sown by St. Boniface of Certon (d. 755) on German soil and watered with the blood of martyrs. The Church of the Middle Ages, having now attained to power, continued through her priests to propagate the Gospel in pagan lands. It was missionaries who first brought to Europe news of the existence of China. In 1246 three Franciscans, commissioned by the pope, appeared in audience before the emperor of the Mongols; in 1306 the first Christian church was built in Peking. From the Volga to the Desert of Gobi, the Franciscans and Dominicans covered the land with their missionary stations. In the sixteenth century the zeal of the older orders was rivalled by the Jesuits, among whom St. Francis Xavier must be accorded a place of honour; their achievements in the Reductions of Paraguay are as incontestable as their great services in the United States. As for the French colonies in America, the American historian Bancroft declares that no notable city was founded, no river explored, no cape circumnavigated, without a Jesuit showing the way. Even if Buckle's one-sided statement were true, viz. that culture is not the result of religion, but vice versa, we could point to the work of Catholic missionaries, who are striving to lift the savages in pagan lands to a higher state of morality and civilization, and thence to transform them into decent Christians.

11 posted on 05/26/2003 8:47:06 AM PDT by NYer (Laudate Dominum)
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To: cebadams
**Sorely lacking in the U.S. today are nationally recognized Catholic Bishops who clearly advocate Catholic moral theology at every public opportunity.**

This is true. However, there were a couple last week who did the right thing.

One speaking at a Catholic University.

Another cancelling his appointment to speak.

Seems like there was one more, but I am having a lapse of recall right now. LOL!
12 posted on 05/26/2003 8:52:08 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: Salvation
Many speak out occassionally. Most do so only under influence and/or pressure from others. Most would rather stay silent.

We applauded Cardinal Arinze for making these remarks last week:

In many parts of the world, the family is under siege," Arinze said, according to a transcript of his remarks provided by the university. "It is opposed by an anti-life mentality as is seen in contraception, abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. It is scorned and banalized by pornography, desecrated by fornication and adultery, mocked by homosexuality, sabotaged by irregular unions and cut in two by divorce."

Is this message so difficult to advocate? Sometimes a shepard needs to use the hook end of the staff.

13 posted on 05/26/2003 9:23:20 AM PDT by cebadams (much better than ezra)
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To: cebadams
I think it was Arch/bishop? Reilly that refused to speak somewhere -- had to do with abortion support, I believe.
14 posted on 05/26/2003 11:57:01 AM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: NYer
No! Cardinal John O'Connor did not get the last word at his own funeral!

In fact, Cardinal O'Connor quite clearly asked that President Clinton not be allowed to attend his funeral. But, quite disrespectfully to Cardinal O'Connor, President Clinton was there. Cardinal O'Connor's own requests for his funeral were obviously irreoloevant.

15 posted on 05/26/2003 1:08:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
But, quite disrespectfully to Cardinal O'Connor, President Clinton was there. Cardinal O'Connor's own requests for his funeral were obviously irreoloevant.

BUMP
16 posted on 05/26/2003 1:26:16 PM PDT by Desdemona
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To: NYer
Great read.

God bless!
17 posted on 05/26/2003 1:43:58 PM PDT by Gophack
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To: NYer
It is true that priests have done many selfless acts to promote the faith of the Lord Jesus. I am questioning whether this type of priesthood is not very similar to the priesthood of Judaism, which priesthood was no longer necessary when Christ was made a high priest forever after the order of Melchisadek. The scriptures mention elders and bishops as overseers to the church, but I'm not sure they had any intention of creating the type of priesthood now practiced in Catholicism. Even Peter himself had a wife which now is not allowed to priests. This rule of celibacy has created great problems among the Catholic priesthood. If the man who founded the church in Rome, which is said to be Peter among Catholics, was allowed to be married, then how do we now have a priesthood forbidden to marry?
18 posted on 05/26/2003 3:55:56 PM PDT by man of Yosemite ("When a man decides to do something everyday, that's about when he stops doing it.")
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To: man of Yosemite
I am questioning whether this type of priesthood is not very similar to the priesthood of Judaism, which priesthood was no longer necessary when Christ was made a high priest forever after the order of Melchisadek. The scriptures mention elders and bishops as overseers to the church, but I'm not sure they had any intention of creating the type of priesthood now practiced in Catholicism.

In 2 Chronicles 19:11 and Malachi 2:7 there is evidence of the living continuing authority of the Mosaic priesthood. Isaiah in Chapter 22:20-25 makes a very interesting prophecy. His oracle states there will be an abolition of the Old Testament high priests and the establishment of a new priesthood of the House of David. This priesthood is very specific however.

On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim (means loyal to God), son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on his shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open.......etc.

Very interesting. It sounds like a passage in the New Testament.

Matthew 16:18-19 I for my part declare to you, you are 'Rock', and on this rock I will build my church, and the jaws of death shall not prevail against it. I will entrust to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you declare bound on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you declare loosed on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

But, none of this went into effect before Christ's death. In fact, when Jesus admonishes the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy he still acknowledges their priestly authority (Matthew 23:1-3). The Old Testament sacrifice, ritual and law was in effect until it was replaced by the NT Sacrifice on the Cross. With the New Covenant came a new priesthood. The Commission of the Apostles in Matthew 28 and Pentecost began their priesthood (also Mark 16, Luke 24:44-49,John 20:22-23, Acts 2).

In Acts Chapter 1 there is direct mention of the special apostolic office and ministry which has been established: May another take his office and again in verses 24-25, Make known to us which of these two you choose for this apostolic ministry, replacing Judas, who deserted the cause and went the way he was destined to go. This directly says the Apostles knew their position was an office and set apart from other believers.

In Acts 6 they recognize the need for assistants due to the growth of the Christian community. This is the first example (of many) I can find of the Apostolic transmission of Holy Orders to earthly men: They presented these men to the apostles, who first prayed over them and then imposed hands on them. The word of God continued to spread, while at the same time the number of the disciples in Jerusalem enormously increased. There were many priests among those who embraced the faith.

Acts also makes it clear that Peter and the apostles no longer submit to the authority of the Jewish Sanhedrin.

19 posted on 05/26/2003 5:33:38 PM PDT by Canticle_of_Deborah
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To: Canticle_of_Deborah
Thanks for the info. The apostles always said that they had apostolic authority. I don't see them using the title of priest, and those who were mentioned as priests were believers which came out of the Levitical priesthood and were still jealous of the Law. These people stirred up much anger towards Paul and wanted the gentile converts to be circumcised.
20 posted on 05/26/2003 11:29:33 PM PDT by man of Yosemite ("When a man decides to do something everyday, that's about when he stops doing it.")
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