Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien - Thoughts on Our Church

The following columns were written by Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien and appeared in the Catholic Review.

Through the prayers of Pope St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Kowalska, coupled with the prayers of our beloved founder, Blessed Michael McGivney – formed in this very chapel for the Holy Priesthood – may we, as leaders of the Knights of Columbus believe in, receive, and bear witness to God’s mercy, saying by our very lives, “Jesus, I trust in Thee!”

We gather this evening in solidarity with Pope Leo XIV to pray for peace. Whenever armed conflict erupts, as we see now in the Middle East, a cacophony of voices rises – some in support, others in protest.

Sometimes we feel close to God. We experience consolation and joy in his presence. It might be a moment of quiet prayer. Or a particularly devout reception of Holy Communion. Or the joy of being forgiven in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In such moments, we are like the Apostles who were overjoyed to see the Risen Lord.

In this moment of profound worldwide concern, I join my brother bishops in affirming the call issued by Archbishop Coakley, who has echoed with clarity and urgency the call of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, for peace in this moment of grave global tension.

Even amid the world’s confusion and mischance, the Risen Lord and the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead are at work in minds and hearts, across the world and in this Archdiocese. There is an extraordinary increase of those who entered the Church this year.

This night is unlike any other night in the Church’s liturgical year. For tonight we celebrate the entire arc of salvation history, from the creation of the world, to the deliverance of the Chosen People from slavery to freedom, to the prophets who foretold the coming of the Christ.

An African American spiritual asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” What if we had been there – at Golgotha? What would we have seen? Surely, Jesus crucified summing up in his body our tormented existence.

On Palm Sunday, following the lead of Pope Benedict XVI, I reflected on the extravagance of God’s love in creating and redeeming us. The God who is love expended himself in calling us into being and in saving us from our sins.

Dear brothers, we too have been anointed by the Spirit and sent to continue the healing and liberating mission of Jesus. The headwinds can be strong and the obstacles many but when we allow the Lord to liberate us
from sin, from fear, from egotism, from attachments – then we are credible witnesses, for we have internalized the Gospel of freedom we preach.

Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien – Thoughts on Our Church