Cardinal’s home, happy
In his own words



Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I am writing this the afternoon of August 15, shortly after returning home from Loyola University Medical Center. One of the last things I did before leaving my residence July 26 was to turn off my personal computer. Then I paid a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, went to the car, spoke with the press and drove to the hospital. I have a deep sense of gratitude to God that I can again turn on my computer and write to you, the priests and faithful of the Archdiocese.

My reason for writing is to thank you for the many prayers that were offered for my recovery in the past three weeks. I’ve read many of the cards but not all of the letters. Most of all, I’ve felt the presence of God, the God whom together we’ve invoked in prayer. I am grateful.

I left this house on the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I return on the feast of Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven. These feasts tell us how connected our bodies are to our faith in God. The great mystery of Christianity and, for many, its greatest scandal is our belief that the Eternal Son of God became incarnate, assumed our human nature in its completeness through the power of the Holy Spirit and the free cooperation of the Virgin Mary. This fact is the condition for our belief in Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead after his crucifixion. He rose, body and soul; and a body like ours now sits forever at the right hand of the Father.

But Christians have also always believed that Jesus is the first born from the dead. What he has done, will happen to each of us. We will die and our bodies will decompose, no longer supported and united by a life-giving soul. When Jesus returns at the end of time, however, we will rise bodily to be with him, body and soul, for all eternity.

Isn’t this all rather complicated? What happens to my now incinerated cancer-filled bladder? How does God sort it all out? That’s obviously not something we can figure out, at least I can’t. But we know in faith that our risen bodies are not subject to the limitations and death that rule our bodies now. And we know as well that a God who can create the universe and its wonders out of nothing can do anything else as well.

Finally, a word about Mary’s being assumed bodily into heaven. If her present situation is the future for each of us, why should some Christians be upset because Mary got there before us? Jesus knew his mother’s body from within her womb before his birth, from her nursing him and soothing him, caressing him and kissing him, in life and in death. Bringing his mother to him bodily after her death is what one would expect Jesus to do. The mysteries of our faith are both cosmic and domestic. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary brings it all home and fits our sense of faith. Deeply grateful as I am for a successful operation and for your prayers for my recovery, most of all I am grateful to be called with you, in faith, to the company of Jesus and Mary, now and forever. God bless you and, again, thank you.

Sincerely yours in Christ