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Feb.24, 2000
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Sunday Homily
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Cardinal remembers the 'wonderful words' of his
friend Mother Teresa
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Feb.17, 2000
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Cardinal's Homily
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With the pope and the sick in Rome, with married
couples at home
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Feb.10, 2000
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Saint of New York
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Cardinal comments on Elizabeth Ann Seton's
remarkable devotion to Eucharist
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Feb.3, 2000
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Day of Peace
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To the words of Pope John Paul, cardinal adds
his thanks and challenge to U.N.
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Jan. 27, 2000
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'How Can This Be?'
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Cardinal traces abortion horrors to society's
loss of sense of the sacred
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Jan. 20, 2000
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Vocation Story
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'There could be no Hiroshima if the life of
prayer were strong enough...'
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Jan. 6, 2000
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Homily for Jan. 2
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Christ's message to each of us today: 'Do not be
afraid...'
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Dec. 30, 1999
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Holy Family Feast
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Cardinal cites teaching on 'mercy, kindness,
humility, meekness, patience'
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Dec. 23,
1999
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Cardinal's Homily
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Mary's visit from the angel speaks of need to
trust God completely
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Dec. 2,
1999
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Advent Begins
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Cardinal identifies message for Jubilee Year:
Open yourselves to others
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Nov. 25,
1999
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Christ the King
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Cardinal preaches on the suffering Jesus and the
kingdom he promises
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Nov. 18,
1999
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Sunday in the Cathedral
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Cardinal calls fear the most destructive force,
God's love the answer
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Nov. 11,
1999
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The Foolish Virgins
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'We can not be indifferent to one another and,
above all...to our Divine Lord'
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Nov. 4,
1999
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Passionists Praised
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Cardinal stresses power of the cross, value of
offering one's suffering
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Oct. 28,
1999
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'A Responsibility'
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Cardinal salutes missionaries, urges all to
vocation of love for God, people
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Oct. 14,
1999
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'My Absence Saddens Me...'
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This is Cardinal O'Connor's letter to the
Sunday Mass congregation in St. Patrick's Cathedral
Oct. 10, which was read by Msgr. Jeremiah P.
Monahan, chancellor of the archdiocese.
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Oct. 7,
1999
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Attacks on Human Person
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Cardinal pledges to uphold sacredness of each
life until his last breath
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Sept. 30,
1999
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Addiction
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Cardinal talks not of censure of alcoholics and
others, but 'how we can help'
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Sept. 23,
1999
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The 'Puzzling Gospel'
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God is saying, 'I'll be the judge of your work,
your intentions' for eternity
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Sept. 16,
1999
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Back in Cathedral
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Cardinal links hospital stay and labor struggle
in homily on respect, trust
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July 1,
1999
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Cardinal's Pledge
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Catholic health care will continue, despite
efforts to get rid of it
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June 24,
1999
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Salute to Hero Cop
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Father's Day homily moves from today's role
models to God's love
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June 17,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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Each is called to reach out to the troubled, as
Jesus did
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June 10,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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Thoughts on the Eucharist: faith, trust,
conversion, unity and love
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June 3,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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Memory of those who fought for right; reminder
of 'our nature to live in harmony'
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May 27,
1999
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Pentecost Homily
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Special confirmation brings alive the message of
'different gifts, different ministries'
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May 20,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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Cardinal questions conduct of war, speaks of
aging as 'unfolding of truth'
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May 13,
1999
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Mother's Day
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Cardinal reflects on sacrificial and supportive
love in Sunday homily
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May 6,
1999
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Toussaint Suffered
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A plea for racial justice at Mass honoring
Haitian former slave
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April 29,
1999
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The Good Shepherd
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Cardinal says priests go wherever people are in
pain
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April 22,
1999
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Welcome the Stranger
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Cardinal states reasons to open hearts, minds to
immigrants
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April 15,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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'We all hope, whatever the turbulence of our
lives, we will finally have peace'
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April 8,
1999
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Easter Homily
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Resurrection for those who found truth, prayers
for those enduring 'crucifixion'
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April 1,
1999
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'Build a
Society'
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With our country at war, our city in conflict,
all of us must join hands
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March 25,
1999
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'A Stone in Our
City'
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'Let us reflect honestly on some of the things
that have happened...'
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March 18,
1999
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Sunday Homily
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'I can give light to those who live in darkness,
if they will permit me to do so'
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March 11,
1999
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Are You
Scrupulous?
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Cardinal urges trust in God's love to overcome a
painful spiritual disorder
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March 4,
1999
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Lenten Homily
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A message about forgiving--ourselves as well as
others--in a tense society
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February 25,
1999
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As Lent Begins
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Cardinal reflects on sin, forgiveness and the
Father of Lies
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February 18,
1999
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Tribute to
Couples
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"Rather than choosing the death of your
marriage, you have chosen life"
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February 11,
1999
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Come Home
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Poor example is one of the most difficult
obstacles for people returning to the Church
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February 4,
1999
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'You Give Your
Lives'
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Cardinal links firefighters, religious, U.N.
delegates in tribute to sacrifice for others
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January 21,
1999
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Horrors in Our
Land
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Pray to prevent abortion, euthanasia, assisted
suicide and experimentation
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January 14,
1999
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The Baptism of
Jesus
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A meditation on Scripture reveals that God loves
each person, no matter what
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January 7,
1999
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Day of Open
Doors
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Epiphany feast keynotes spiritual preparation
for jubilee year of third millennium
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December 31,
1998
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Holy Family
Feast
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Trust in each other, trust in God fulfills the
promise of happy marriage
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December 24,
1998
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Turn to Faith
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Cardinal offers condition for ending war and
scandals, restoring national integrity
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December 17,
1998
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'To Know
Christ'
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The plea from self-sacrificing parents of
children with special needs
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December 10,
1998
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'Christ Is
Truth'
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"God is not only the God of love, but he sent
Christ, his Divine Son, as the great Liberator, not
to impose rules on us, but to help us be fully
human, to follow the built-in laws of our human
nature...Each of the sacraments that Christ has
given us through the Church is a sacrament of
liberation in one way or another."
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December 3,
1998
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'Horrifying
Situation'
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"Advent, of course, is to remind us of the
coming of Christ at Christmas. But as this Gospel
notes, we are to be reminded, as well, of the end
of the world. For some 7,000 people in Honduras and
at least 6,000 in other parts of Central America it
seemed that the end of the world came very
abruptly."
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November 26,
1998
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A Slippery
Slope
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"The feast of Christ the King is a wonderful
reminder, most desperately needed in this culture
of death, that it is indeed still God's world.
Christ is the King. Perhaps this reminder is needed
particularly when we read in the newspapers that
this evening on "60 Minutes," if we understand the
reports correctly, Dr. Kevorkian will be pictured
actually putting someone to death."
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November 19,
1998
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From Sunday's
Gospel...
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Pleas for Central Americans, national debt
forgiveness, work for peace
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November 12,
1998
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Faith and
Reason:
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'Two wings on which the human spirit rises to
the contemplation of truth'
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November 5,
1998
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Sunday Homily
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"...the more I thought about my being accused of
being the man behind the person who killed the
abortion doctor, the more I wondered if this
accusation was really aimed at me or those public
officeholders and those campaigning for public
office who are pro-life."
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October 29,
1998
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Faith Without
Fear
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"What a wonderful example of courage! St. Paul
was lonely. He was imprisoned in Rome in a very
cold, stone cell. He was well aware of being
lonely. He felt abandoned. But he knew his task was
to encourage Timothy, to encourage the infant
Church."
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October 22,
1998
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Papal
Anniversary
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Cardinal sees John Paul as a tireless missionary
teaching truth, love
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October 15,
1998
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Memento Mori
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"I have a card here from a woman whose daughter
was killed in the crash, and who meant so much to
this woman, her mother. She says, "Please note the
correct spelling of my daughter's name." She is
terribly distressed that the name was misspelled in
the newspapers. That is love. That is deep, deep
feeling."
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October 8,
1998
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They Call It
'Choice'
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"We are permitted to read these almost lurid
descriptions of child abuse, of burnings with
cigarettes and so on. But we are immediately
criticized when we mention abortion. I shall almost
inevitably be criticized for reading what I am
about to read..."
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October 1,
1998
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'Catholics,
Unite'
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"It is not enough for us to give money to try to
take care of Lazarus. It is not enough for us to
wring our hands. It is imperative that all of us
recognize our responsibilities to the poor of the
entire world..."
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September 24,
1998
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At Lawyers
Mass
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"Neither the President of the United States nor
others who support partial-birth abortion have the
moral right to legislate contrary to the will of
Almighty God, and introduce infanticide to our
land."
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September 17,
1998
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Sunday Homily
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What self-respecting member of the clergy or any
other decent-minded human being could be anything
but repelled by the behavior attributed to the
President of the United States? ...But where has
the public outrage been when some of those same
legislators and public figures who have denounced
such behavior on moral grounds, not political
grounds, and have given eloquent addresses on the
immorality of such behavior, yet have voted to
support so-called partial-birth abortion, that is,
killing an infant as it is actually leaving its
mother's birth canal to see the light of day?
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September 10,
1998
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Mother Teresa's
Secret
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"...she looked at me, she looked at the person
on the street that she had to pass before she came
in to see me, she looked at the beggar in Calcutta,
she looked at the poorest leper in exactly the same
fashion: as a person made in the image and likeness
of God, sacred to God."
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July 2,
1998
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'Christ Never
Condemns'
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"There are those who think that simply because
the Church teaches what the Church believes in line
with the teaching of Christ is good for people or
is bad for people then the Church is condemning.
The Church does not do that. The Church says this
is right, this is wrong, this is what we believe;
this is not a condemnation."
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June 25,
1998
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'I'm a Catholic,
But...'
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"How empty it is, how fraudulent it is, if any
of us say, if I should say as a bishop, 'Yes, of
course, we must have a certain respect for the
Church and the Church is very old, but surely we
are not to take the Church seriously when the
Church talks about this or this or this. This is
hardly what Christ would have said.' "
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June 18,
1998
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His Body and
Blood
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"Once again we are reminded what Pope Leo I and
St. Augustine and many others have pointed out,
that all of us, rich, poor, black, white, whatever
our ethnic background, whatever language we speak,
are united in Christ because we are caught up into
his Body and Blood when we receive him in Holy
Communion and he receives us."
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June 11,
1998
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Trinity Sunday
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"Today we celebrate Trinity Sunday, perhaps the
most easily ignored Sunday in the Church year. The
Trinity is the heart and soul of our faith."
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June 4,
1998
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Pentecost
Sunday
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"Literally nothing gives me greater pleasure
than to be here in this cathedral each year for
this confirmation ceremony for those who have
intellectual, emotional or physical limitations
that many of us do not experience. It is such a joy
to be with them, such an inspiration to be with
their families, with other caregivers, with
teachers, with all who make this particular day
possible that they will receive the Sacrament of
Confirmation."
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May 28,
1998
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'Marriage
Matters'
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"The Church believes unconditionally in the
uniqueness of the state of marriage defined as the
conjugal relationship between a man and a woman,
usually recognized in some formal way by the state.
The Church believes that such marriage is divinely
ordained, so that no human authority can make any
other state of life equivalent to marriage."
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May 21,
1998
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'Where Are
We?'
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"Responsibility is not what is required of us
but how we respond to it. I believe that as we
become older, as we have suffered more, as we have
been lonely, so we are able to respond to others in
ways that we could not before age began to catch up
with us, before problems, sufferings, death in our
family and among our loved ones began to catch up
with us."
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May 14,
1998
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Sunday Homily
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"We can call ourselves Catholics, but if we say,
'Well, what right has the Church to teach this or
this or this?' then we have to ask, 'What right has
the Church to exist?' It is either the Church of
Christ, teaching what Christ taught, or it is
nothing."
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May 7,
1998
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Sunday Homily
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"Pierre Toussaint has been, in my judgment,
unjustly called an 'Uncle Tom.' He was not an
'Uncle Tom.' It was not out of fear that he refused
to maltreat whites as some had maltreated him. It
was out of love, out of the love of Christ."
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April 30,
1998
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'Take Care of
All'
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"...as I go down the aisle in procession I know
from experience there will be people sleeping in
empty pews. Some of them will be very dirty. They
come in out of the cold and rain, in the winter out
of the snow and in the summer out of the fierce
heat. They do not bother anybody. ...I look at them
and say, 'That's Christ sleeping there.' "
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April 23,
1998
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'What Is
Faith?'
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"Why do we believe? We have been chosen by God.
The poorest of us, the richest of us, whatever our
color, whatever our background, whatever our
nationality, whatever our language, whatever our
education. I was not 'educated' into recognizing
that Christ is the Son of God. It comes to me by
way of the Eucharist."
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April 16,
1998
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'An Easter
Parable'
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"I felt saddened by my own initial reaction,
reminded, once again, that however I preach about
it, I too can forget what so many of us
forget--that every human person, everyone, is made
in the image and likeness of Almighty God. Everyone
is Christ on the street."
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April 9, 1998
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Palm Sunday
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"According to such authority and in my own
unconditional conviction, the action taken by the
priest in South Africa, however well intentioned,
was legally and doctrinally wrong in the eyes of
Church law and Church doctrine."
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April 2, 1998
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Praise of
Police
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" 'Guess what: Cops are people. They're subject
to the same weaknesses, temptations and dark
impulses as anyone else. But what's remarkable is
not that, on rare occasions, they succumb to them
but how rare those occasions are.' "
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March 26, 1998
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God's Love
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"What joy in the heart of a priest when someone
comes into the confessional and says, 'I have been
away from Mass and confession for 10 years. I have
done this and that. I want to come home.' "
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March 19, 1998
|
Sunday Homily
|
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"I meet this kind of holiness day after day
among you and hundreds of thousands like you, you
honest people, you people who work for a living,
you people who try to carry out your
responsibilities, you people who marry and try to
be faithful to each other and to support each other
and try to take care of your children."
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March 12, 1998
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'A Dazzling
Thought'
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"Finally, while there are surely many other
meanings for me, one of the great lessons of the
Transfiguration is that as powerful as it was,
Christ was merely assuming, as it were, another
appearance, another figure, a glorified
figure."
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March 5, 1998
|
Pope to New
Yorkers:
|
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The time is right to witness to Christ's truth
about the human condition
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February 19, 1998
|
World Day of
Peace
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|
"The words of today's Gospel could not have been
spoken by one who was only human. They are too
contradictory to human wisdom. They are the
opposite of everything the world teaches about
power and glory, about getting ahead..."
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February 12, 1998
|
Sunday Homily
|
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|
"It is most unfortunate, however, that we see so
few books written about the wonders of marriage,
even the so-called ''ordinary marriage,'' of people
who go on day after day, week after week, month
after month, year after year..."
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February 5, 1998
|
Consecrated
Life
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|
"We give ourselves, you as religious, I as
priest, others up there as priests. We say we lay
down our lives. What do we expect in return? What
did Christ get in return? Crucifixion."
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January 22, 1998
|
'The Issue'
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|
|
Cardinal cites opposition to partial-birth
abortion, as Roe vs. Wade debate goes on
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January 15, 1998
|
Sunday Homily
|
|
|
"...baptism achieves a solidarity with all of
the baptized all over the world. The baby I will
baptize this afternoon will become one with
Christians throughout the entire world."
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January 1, 1998
|
Holy Family
Sunday
|
|
|
"...if Thomas More was the 'man for all
seasons,' I would suggest that Elizabeth Ann Bayley
Seton was the "woman for all families," even though
a number of you here may have never heard of
her."
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