Cardinal DiNardo celebrates third day of Easter with Carmelites

By KATIE LEFEBVRE, Globe staff reporter
March 27, 2008

The sun came up as Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo celebrated Mass at the Carmelite Monastery March 25.

"Obviously, it is always an honor to celebrate liturgy at the Carmelite Monastery," said the cardinal. "It is great to be with you."

He remembered fondly the Mondays that he celebrated Mass at the monastery while he was bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City.

Concelebrants of the Mass were Father Jerome Cosgrove and Msgr. Roger Augustine. Jeremy Wind was the deacon of the Mass and three Heelan High School students were servers.

During his homily, the cardinal mentioned that in the Roman liturgy, from the Monday of the fourth week of Lent until Pentecost, the readings are only from one Gospel - John.

"John is really such a significant Gospel at the end of Lent," said Cardinal DiNardo. "Easter week we read a couple of others, but we'll go right back to John next week. There is something about the Gospel of John and the way the intimacy of Jesus with his father is portrayed throughout. The church sees this as an excellent vehicle for us to gain an intimacy with the Lord by an ongoing meditation of the Gospel of John as part of the readings of the liturgy in this high season of the church year."

He mentioned that the account of the resurrection in John is "so distinctive." Matthew, Mark and Luke represent the risen Lord as well.

"St. John has a way of making very profound what happens when we meet the risen Jesus," said the cardinal. "In chapter 10 in the Gospel of John, Jesus gives to his disciples and to the world an extended analysis of what it means to be a shepherd. He tries to unpack for us what it means for him to be the shepherd of the sheep."

The major theme, Cardinal DiNardo pointed out, is that Jesus lays down his life for his sheep and does it voluntarily.

"He also says, 'I know my sheep and my sheep know me. They hear my voice and I call them by name,'" he quoted. "Do you see therefore the poignancy today in the resurrection account? The first major appearance of Jesus in the Gospel of John is to Mary Magdalene. Like everyone who meets the risen Jesus, at first they are not sure who he is. Mary Magdalene thinks he is a gardener."

She doesn't recognize that it is Jesus until he calls her by name.

"When you really and truly encounter the risen Jesus, you want to tell the world," said Cardinal DiNardo. "How do you do that? You tell them your distinctive vocation. It strikes me, sisters, that here you tell the world about the risen Jesus by regular times of prayer in office and the liturgy of the hours, by the growing intimacy you gain in your own personal prayer and by the work you do here at the monastery."

He added that the sisters need to make sure people keep hearing about the risen Jesus.

"I think the experience you give to the church of Sioux City is very important," said the cardinal. "The center of the diocese, on one level, is the cathedral where the bishop's chair is. The heart of the diocese is at the Carmelite Monastery because this is where prayer intensely arises in a private and a public way. That's what allows Jesus as Lord to be known."

Cardinal DiNardo told the sisters that they do good work. The Lord has sent them to this form of consecrated life and he prays that they continue it.

He asked the sisters to continue to pray for him, Bishop Walker Nickless, priests and deacons. He also asked for prayers for young people that they meet the risen Lord and they get their "job assignment" - married couples, priests, consecrated religious.

At the conclusion of Mass, the cardinal thanked the priests who concelebrated and those who attended Mass.

Cardinal DiNardo spent time talking to the sisters following the liturgy before leaving to catch a flight back to Texas.