One of the things I loved about Archbishop Dolan's homily was his great sense of NY's history. He mentioned many Catholic New Yorkers and how proud he was of their contributions. Such as:
St. Isaac Joques, Venerable Felix Varela, Issac Hecker (YAY! The Paulist's founder!), Fighting Father Duffy, Fulton J. Sheen, Richard John Neuhaus, Avery Dulles, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Francis Xavier Cabrini, and Michael Judge.
Pierre Toussaint, Dorothy Day, and Governor Al Smith were also mentioned as outstanding lay Catholics.
He even went into the political realm when he mentioned "Mayor Ed Koch’s observation that the Catholic Church is the glue that keeps this city together."
Indeed. Not lost on me was the two bursts of applause--including a standing ovation--when the Archbishop mentioned the protection of the unborn in his homily. He compared the church to a "big momma bear" who will always protect her cubs. A nice image and a true one. The standing ovation that followed was interesting and had to be an uncomfortable moment for the politicians who simply sat on their hands throughout the thunderous ovation--which I thought was bad taste on their part. They could clap for the church's commitment to her principles, something to be respected even by those on the other side of the aisle.
Rocco has all the highlights of the day's events and he has excellent commentary on WNBC 4 TV yesterday along with my main man, Fr Joseph O'Hare, SJ - former President of Fordham.
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