Cardinal time-travels in homily

"My name is O'Connor," Cardinal John O'Connor began simply, bringing the congregation to laughter and thunderous applause.

The well-known Cardinal explained that even after 13 years as archbishop of New York City, he is still often mistaken for his predecessor, Cardinal Terence Cooke.

Who is that?

Several years ago, he told the appreciative gathering, an elderly couple watched him walk down an aisle after receiving the President's Medal from a university. The husband commented, "There goes Cardinal Cooke."

"That's not Cardinal Cooke; that's Cardinal O'Connor," his wife informed him.

"All I know is that one of them died a couple of years ago," the husband retorted.

Cardinal O'Connor told the Sesquicentennial attendees that "as far as I know, I am not the one who died."

'Glorious privilege'

After teasing the crowd that he intended to spend a minute speaking on each year of the Diocese's 150-year history, Cardinal O'Connor called the opportunity to give the homily "a glorious privilege granted to me," since Bishop Howard J. Hubbard could have delivered it himself.

"It's so gracious of him to recognize that I am still alive," the Cardinal joked.

On a more serious note, Cardinal O'Connor quoted Bishop Hubbard's homily from the opening Sesquicentennial event last Dec. 8, in which he explained the year-long theme of "Honoring Tradition, Discovering Tomorrow" and stated that throughout the year, "we will be looking for ways to honor our faith heritage."

"How fitting it is that we are here, since the Bishop so fittingly recalled the shedding of the blood of the martyrs," the Cardinal stated.

Cross and resurrection

Cardinal O'Connor, noting that the Sept. 14 event fell on the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, spoke of Christ's agony during the Crucifixion.

"He had a hole in each hand, a hole in each foot and before the end, His side would be ripped with a spear -- and we speak of this as a triumph!" he said. "We know without this crucifixion and death, there could not be His resurrection -- or ours."

The Cardinal then told the story of St. Isaac Jogues, martyred at Auriesville along with his companions, Rene Goupil and John Lalande. Father Jogues suffered as Christ did, the Cardinal explained: "This is what we celebrate: the crucifixion, the death and, of course, the resurrection of the Lord."

History of Diocese

Continuing through history, Cardinal O'Connor spoke of Bishop John McCloskey, the first bishop of the Albany Diocese. When Bishop McCloskey came here, the Cardinal said, anti-Catholic sentiment was still rampant.

Yet, "here we are, 150 years after your first bishop, sitting here with Bishop Hubbard...being given this marvelous gift of faith we celebrate today," the Cardinal stated.

Cardinal O'Connor read several passages from "Canals and Crossroads," the recently published history of the Albany Diocese, and called the book "beautiful work, a story of lights and shadows, sufferings and triumphs."

After reading from Bishop McCloskey's inaugural homily, the Cardinal commented, "He died without knowing what the future would be, but guessing that thousands would be here. This is what makes a Diocese great. This is what makes this a great Diocese."

Children's book

He also touted the children's book on the Diocese's history, "How We Tell God's Story."

"I hope some of you have gotten a chance to read it," the Cardinal said, calling it "an exquisite little book" that "tells the story of the Diocese as it can best be told -- by little children."

Cardinal O'Connor concluded his 25-minute homily by reading a lengthy passage from the children's book and the Sesquicentennial prayer.

"These remarks have subordinated oratory to brevity....Thank you; I love you; God bless you," he told the crowd, who broke into applause once more.