Recently in Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ Category

Yesterday, about 50 friends of Avery Cardinal Dulles met at Fordham University Church to remember him before God on the occasion of his first anniversary of death.

Sister Anne-Marie Kirmse, O.P., the Cardinal's friend and administrative assistant, gathered us for Mass celebrated by Jesuit Father Joseph McShane with the homily delivered by Jesuit Father Joseph Leinhard. There were 17 concelebrants; three of whom were secular priests (friends of Dulles') and the balance were old Jesuits. Five of the Cardinal's Fairfield County Communio group (myself included) were present as the faithful remnant. As was recognized, we all miss the Cardinal's wisdom, affection and much understated humor.

In his homily Father Leinhard focused our attention on the moment by recalling Saint Augustine's 9^th book of the Confessions where Augustine tells us of his mother's passing unto eternal life. In between her various states of consciousness and unconsciousness Monica came to a see life anew. She called her sons together telling them when she died to bury her body anywhere but to remember her before the Lord, wherever they may be. As for Monica, so for Avery.

Why remember? Our thinking of Cardinal Dulles is, as Fr. Leinhard said, wholly different than what went before. Remembering Avery before God is not quite the same as reminding God who Avery was, just in case God may have forgotten. What is important about Avery is not his prestigious family, his education, his conversion to Catholicism, his entrance into the Society of Jesus nor his ordination to the priesthood, not even his ministry as a theologian nor his acceptance of the dignity of the Cardinalate. What is important about Avery is encapsulated in the motto he assumed with the coat of arms when given the cardinal's hat by Pope John Paul II, Scio Cui Credidi, I know whom I have believed.

The reading from 2 Timothy 1 can be taken as Saint Paul's last will and testament as it is his answer to a question of belief: Christ has resurrected from the dead and I have preached his gospel. For both Saint Paul and Cardinal Dulles their lives deeply changed in making an act of faith in Christ for Christ became the key to all understanding.  In Dulles' Craft of Theology, the last sentence of chapter 1 speaks to his belief in Christ where he recounts a vision of Christ in which we look past the "now" and look to Christ as the center of all things.

At the altar of the Lord we pray for the dead following the ancient Christian practice. In the Roman Canon of the Mass we pray that the Lord will remember "those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith" granting them the blessedness (happiness) of light and peace. Our liturgical prayer places hope in our hearts that those who sleep in the Lord will have the victory over sin and death. Our confidence relies on the sign of faith received in baptism, that which marks each person not with a pious sign but with indelible mark.

Our remembrance of Avery and of every one of our beloved dead therefore, is brought home in the consideration that not to remember is to consign our family and friends to oblivion is awful. The Christian proposal is lux perpetua: light for the blind, peace for the will.

Eternal rest grant unto Avery Cardinal Dulles, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed rest in rest. Amen.

A sentimental remembrance of Cardinal Dulles was the hanging of a cardinal's red hat and tassels. No longer given by the Pope to cardinals, the red hat is occasionally made for a cardinal and hung in his church by his family and friends. In New York's Saint Patrick's Cathedral there are 4 cardinal hats hanging (but none since Cardinal Spellmen are hanging there). The Archdiocese of Chicago did the same for Cardinal Joseph Bernardin back in 1997. 

Our friend is finally resting in peace.

Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., was buried on June 1 at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, NY. He died on December 12^th. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated December 18^th at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick by Cardinal Edward Egan.

Cardinal Dulles was the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University since 1988. He was the first American to become a cardinal without first becoming a bishop.

The Sacrifice of Mass celebrated by Bishop Howard Hubbard for the soul of Cardinal Dulles at the Coliseum Church on the grounds of the shine. The Cardinal received an escort by a pair of Naval officers, in recognition of Cardinal Dulles' military service during Second World War.

The Shrine of the North American Martyrs is the only one of its kind in the USA. There rests the Jesuit martyrs Saints Rene Goupil (1642), Isaac Jogues (1646), John Laland (1646) and others. New York Province Jesuits are buried in the cemetery at the Shrine.

Nearly 2 months after Cardinal Dulles' death, the formal announcement of the endowed chair that honors the Cardinal is made at Fordham University. University President Father Joseph McShane made the "unofficial" announcement at the first Mass at which we prayed for the peaceful repose of the Cardinal.

It is hoped that a professor will be identified soon to hold the Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Chair in Catholic Theology.

Catholics and other members of the Christian community gathered at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick to pray the Mass of Christian Burial for Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. with Edward Michael Cardinal Egan as principal celebrant and homilist. Cardinal Dulles was buried in the Jesuit cemetery in Auriesville, NY. Cardinal Dulles died at 90 years old on Friday, 12 December 2008.

Those in attendance at the Mass included the children of his eldest brother, John W. F. Dulles, and sister-in-law, Eleanor Dulles: John Foster Dulles II, Edith Dulles Lawlis, Ellen Coelho and Robert Avery Dulles. Likewise, longtime friends John Murphy and his longtime assistant, Sister Anne-Marie Kirmse, O.P., both of whom read the Scriptures.

Cardinals Maida, Keeler, George, McCarrick and O'Malley along with the Nuncios to the USA and the UN and scores of bishops and priests concelebrated the Mass; Benedictine Abbot and longtime friend Gabriel Gibbs also concelebrated the Mass. The Jesuits littered the crowd.

In his homily, Cardinal Egan recalled a crucifix he prayed in front of 50 years ago in a small rural church outside of Orvieto, Italy, while on retreat with seminarians studying in Rome. Egan connected a suffering and triumphant vision of Christ's face. For him, and thus for us, the crucified Christ is a potent reality of our Christian life's journey. The motif of the cross was apropos when considering the life of Avery Dulles who suffered at various times in his life (in health, in his early relationships with family & friends over his conversion to Catholicism) but he also experienced a sense of Christian hope in his relationships, academic endeavors and service and in his life as a priest. In terms of worldly success, tt was noted that Dulles published 24 books, soon to be 25 and nearly 800 published papers and talks; this after physicians told him that he would never write again. Cardinal Dulles "proved them monumentally wrong." In Egan's judgment: "You have the example of a triumphant life story, never matched, to my knowledge, by any other American Catholic."

Avery Cardinal Dulles was 62 years a Jesuit, nearly 53 years a priest and nearly 8 years a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. He was the first American priest to become a cardinal but was not ordained a bishop. (In recent years new cardinals of advanced age have asked to be dispensed from the obligation to be ordained a bishop, at least this is true for Jesuits.) Dulles held The Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham since 1988.

Even in his infirmity Cardinal Dulles published his McGinley lectures in a volume edited with Fr. Robert Imbelli called Church and Society. Stay tuned, his last manuscript was sent Paulist Press and will be published under the title of Evangelization for the Third Millennium (Spring 2009).

On Wednesday, the president of Fordham University, Jesuit Father Joesph McShane, announced the creation of the new chair of theology honoring Cardinal Dulles.

See the NYTimes article.

May the angels lead you into paradise; May the martyrs welcome you upon your arrival, and lead you into the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels welcome you, and with poor Lazarus of old, may you have eternal rest.

TO MY VENERABLE BROTHER

CARDINAL EDWARD EGAN

ARCHBISHOP OF NEW YORK

HAVING LEARNED WITH SADNESS OF THE DEATH OF CARDINAL AVERY DULLES, I OFFER YOU MY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES, WHICH I ASK YOU KINDLY TO CONVEY TO HIS FAMILY, HIS CONFRERES IN THE SOCIETY OF JESUS AND THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY OF FORDHAM UNIVERSITY. I JOIN YOU IN COMMENDING THE LATE CARDINAL'S NOBLE SOUL TO GOD, THE FATHER OF MERCIES, WITH IMMENSE GRATITUDE FOR THE DEEP LEARNING, SERENE JUDGMENT AND UNFAILING LOVE OF THE LORD AND HIS CHURCH WHICH MARKED HIS ENTIRE PRIESTLY MINISTRY AND HIS LONG YEARS OF TEACHING AND THEOLOGICAL RESEARCH. AT THE SAME TIME I PRAY THAT HIS CONVINCING PERSONAL TESTIMONY TO THE HARMONY OF FAITH AND REASON WILL CONTINUE TO BEAR FRUIT FOR THE CONVERSION OF MINDS AND HEARTS AND THE PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. TO ALL WHO MOURN HIM IN THE HOPE OF THE RESURRECTION I CORDIALLY IMPART MY APOSTOLIC BLESSING AS A PLEDGE OF CONSOLATION AND PEACE IN OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Avery Robert Cardinal Dulles, S.J.

(1918-2008)

Requiescat in pace

Cardinal Deacon of the Church of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary on via Lata

In his own words, a small portion of Cardinal Dulles' legacy is found here.

An extensive archive of Dulles' thinking can be read at First Things, his journal of choice.

An appreciative essay by George Weigel.

The Fordham University tribute.

Fr. James Martin of America magazine has an essay about his friendship with the Cardinal.

The NY Times obit.

The Wiki article on the Cardinal.

Funeral plans:

In accordance with the traditions of the Church, the Cardinal's death will be marked by the celebration of three Masses:

Tuesday evening 16 December at 7:30 p.m. in the University Church
Wednesday evening 17 December at 7:30 p.m. in the University Church
Thursday afternoon 18 December at 2 p.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral

The members of the University family are invited to join the Jesuit Community at each of these Masses.

In addition, the Cardinal's family will receive visitors in the University Church on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m.

Today is the 90th birthday of His Eminence, Avery Cardinal Dulles. At Fordham University's Chapel about 175 people gathered to thank God for his many blessings and to offer Thanksgiving for the life and work of this great man of the Church: The Sacrifice of the Mass was offered by the Cardinal's fellow Jesuits and some non-Jesuit priests. Family and friends, the high and the lowly and everyone in between came to celebrate with Cardinal Dulles. His longtime friend and Assistant, Sister Anne-Marie Kirmse, O.P. made today a wonderful event for many friends. No one could want nor hope for a better friend than Sister Anne-Marie!

THE most heart-filled gesture was seeing Edward Cardinal Egan, the Archbishop of New York, pushed Cardinal Dulles in and out of the Chapel. What a perfect example of humanity!!!  Later, Cardinal Egan joked at a reception that he doesn't regularly push Jesuits around much less Jesuit Cardinals, but he said it was his honor to push Dulles because of their longtime friendship and esteem; they are classmates in the College of Cardinals.

The Church gave us this prayer for the 21st Sunday Through the Year to praise God; it also speaks to the person and work of Cardinal Dulles.

O God, You who make the minds of the faithful to be of one will,
grant unto Your people to love that thing which You command,
to desire that which You promise,
so that, amidst the vicissitudes of this world,
our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are.

(trans. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf)

I first met then Father Dulles in September 1997 at a Communio Circle in Easton, CT, hosted by the remarkable Maria Shrady. Never did I imagine what has happened to all of us since then: some that group became better theologians, some pastors of souls, some have met the Lord face-to-face, some have moved to new work and some have reached 90 years of life as a cardinal of the Holy Roman Church. Another terrific thing happened today: the opportunity to renew friendships with many whom I esteem as people and as theologians. While our Communio group has disbanded for now, we decided in 2009 to reconstitute ourselves to work on theological matters of importance under the inspiration of Dulles and under the inspiration of another venerable cardinal, Hans Urs von Balthasar (a former Jesuit I might add who died 28 June 1988).

Cardinal Dulles himself in this way:

"Although I cannot rival the generous dedication of St. Paul and Ignatius of Loyola, I am, like them, content to be employed in the service of Christ and the Gospel, whether in sickness or health, in good repute or ill. I am immesurably grateful for the years in which the Lord has permitted me to serve him in a society that bears as its motto: Ad maiorum Dei gloriam. I trust that his grace will not fail me, and that I will not fail his grace, in the years to come" (A Testimonial of Grace, 50th anniv. edition). 

The silent but very present witness of Avery Dulles is powerful and a strikingly stark approach than what we see in many parts of our society where the infirmed are moved to the margins of life. On the contrary, these are the people that most make present the beautiful of Jesus Christ. Personal purification and suffering continues to witness, at least to me, to the value of life and powerful presence of the Infinite. Dulles said of himself in the 39th McGinley Lecture, 21 April 2008:

The good life does not have to be an easy one, as our blessed Lord and the saints have taught us. Pope John Paul II in his later years used to say, "The Pope must suffer." Suffering and diminishment are not the greatest of evils, but are normal ingredients in life, especially in old age. They are to be accepted as elements of a full human existence. Well into my 90th year I have been able to work productively. As I become increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak, I can identify with the many paralytics and mute persons in the Gospels, grateful for the loving and skillful care I receive and for the hope of everlasting life in Christ. If the Lord now calls me to a period of weakness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in infirmity. "Blessed be the name of the Lord!"