PhotoCardinal O'Connor's Homily




Sunday Homily

Cardinal remembers the 'wonderful words' of his friend Mother Teresa

This is the text of Cardinal O'Connor's homily at Sunday Mass in St. Patrick's Cathedral Feb. 20.

Each night, my priest secretary gives me a special blessing. That blessing is very meaningful to me for two reasons. One, it is a blessing which calls upon the intercession of Mother Teresa of Calcutta; the other, it is a reminder of a blessing that I have received as a child each evening from my father. It was a wonderful custom which prevailed for many years, and it has remained with me.

I do not know how many of you had the great privilege of coming to know Mother Teresa individually and personally; it was my personal privilege to know her for many years. The closer I came to knowing her, the more deeply I came to appreciate the depth of her holiness. There are some, of course, who already believe that she is prepared for canonization, but that is for the Church to determine. Regardless, it is clear that many have themselves been encouraged by her holiness.

Mother Teresa said many wonderful things, inspiring all of us to work toward holiness. She said, for example:

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature--trees, flowers, grass--grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. Is not our mission to give God to the poor in the slums? Not a dead God, but a living, loving God. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within; words that do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness." ["A Gift for God: Prayers and Meditations," Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Harper & Row: New York, 1975, pp. 68-69.]

Those who came to know Mother Teresa in the poor would find her repeating this over and over. She had special love for the poor and gave herself completely to the poor. It was not fraudulent in any way. She just gave and gave.

Mother Teresa used to come to visit us here in New York. Sometimes I felt embarrassed because obviously we lived so much better than did she. But the embarrassment came from me, never from her. She saw us as we were, poor creatures who tried to do our very best. She always spoke the truth as she understood the truth, always simply, always offering us whatever it was that she felt that we needed.

Mother Teresa reminded us in very beautiful and special words, "Words that do not give the light of God increase the darkness." How beautiful are those words! What she is saying to us, it seems to me, is that so much nonsense is spoken. "Words that do not give the light of God increase the darkness." We are given the opportunity, each one of us, to give the light of God. We have the magnificent opportunity of living in the light of God.

I ask that you reflect on the wonder of this woman, Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would come to know this woman, that we would truly become friends and that she would give me the opportunities that she gave me to share the love of Almighty God. Mother Teresa of Calcutta had such love for each one of us. She had really nothing else to give. Although she was not infrequently maligned by others she truly was a very simple person. She poured out her love for every single human being made in the image and likeness of Almighty God.

I learned a great deal through this woman. What Mother Teresa offered to me was among the most precious gifts that I have received. Only if we share the light of Almighty God do our lives become truly meaningful. We must never increase the darkness. We must help others, on the contrary, be filled to overflowing with the light of God himself. May that be the gift given to you, may that be the gift given to me, that each one share the light of Almighty God with every individual that we meet in this world. May God bless each one of us. May God be in and fill each one of us this day.

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