Cardinal Egan - Practice for Heaven

Praise for Practice for Heaven

One of his classmates from seven decades ago in Rome once told me, Even back then, when Eddie Egan spoke, we listened; when he wrote, we read. As Cardinal Egans grateful successor, I heartily agree. Thanks to this welcome work of Dr. McAleer, we can now all enjoy the wonderfully effective prose of this master teacher.

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan

Archbishop of New York

Life with its varied problems, some tragic, some gently humorous, passes before our eyes in a series of observant little stories or portraits. Short they may be, but their content (since it concerns humanity) is serious, with a message for each of us. This is a book of hope for every age, for men and women, old or young; for folk believing in God, and for those who dont. The books inevitable Catholic slant is never offensive or judgmental but always compassionate. A great reader himself, the cardinal will live on in these articles to influence and comfort whoever reads them.

Virginia Barton

Oxford, England

Practice for Heaven

True Stories from
a Modern Missionary

by Edward Cardinal Egan

Edited by Dr. Joseph McAleer

SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS
Manchester, New Hampshire

Copyright 2016 by the Estate of Edward Cardinal Egan

The articles in this book, which include minor revisions, were originally published in Fairfield County Catholic and Catholic New York between 1989 and 2008.

Cover design by Perceptions Design Studio.

Cover image: Cardinal Edward Egan, Easter Mass, April 12, 2009 (4993915) Ace Pictures / imagecollect.com.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Biblical references in this book are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1965, 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church , second edition, for use in the United States of America, copyright CD 1994 and 1997, United States Catholic Conference Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Sophia Institute Press
Box 5284, Manchester, NH 03108
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Sophia Institute Press is a registered trademark of Sophia Institute.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Egan, Edward M., 1932-2015, author. | McAleer, Joseph, editor.

Title: Practice for heaven : true stories from a modern missionary / Edward

Cardinal Egan ; edited by Dr. Joseph McAleer.

Description: Manchester, New Hampshire : Sophia Institute Press, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016004361 | ISBN 9781622823413 (pbk. : alk. paper) ePub ISBN 978-1-622823-420

Subjects: LCSH: Egan, Edward M., 1932-2015. | Cardinals New York
Biography. | Catholic Church United States Clergy Biography.

Classification: LCC BX4705.E325 A3 2016 | DDC 282.092 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016004361

Contents

Acknowledgments

This book could not have been completed in accordance with the late Cardinal Egans wishes without the assistance and cooperation of a number of individuals.

In the Archdiocese of New York, special appreciation is extended to Cardinal Egans successor, Timothy Cardinal Dolan; and to Monsignor Gregory Mustaciuolo, Vicar General and Chancellor, for obtaining the approval and blessing of the cardinals estate for the publication of his writings. James P. McCabe, Esq., General Counsel for the Archdiocese, facilitated this process.

At the Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in New York City, where Cardinal Egan resided, Father Douglas Crawford, the cardinals secretary, and Margaret Rice offered hospitality and support. Catherine Triglia Murphy was an expert typist.

In the Diocese of Bridgeport, brother priests and former colleagues of Cardinal Egan offered insight and advice, including Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni, H.E.D., Monsignor Thomas W. Powers, Father Michael K. Jones, Dr. Joan M. Kelly, Brian D. Wallace, and John R. Glover. Father James K. McConica, C.S.B., Rosemary Giedroy, and Kasia Parham lent an international perspective.

Finally, a debt of gratitude is owed to the hard-working editors and staffs of Fairfield County Catholic and Catholic New York , in whose publications these Articles of Faith first appeared.

Dr. Joseph McAleer, Editor

Introduction

Ask anyone who knew His Eminence, Edward Cardinal Egan, and they will inevitably remember two things: his distinctive baritone (The voice of God, one Catholic school first-grader described it) and his diocesan newspaper column. The latter was a labor of love for the cardinal, who took the task seriously, revising multiple drafts before publication. Over twenty-one years as an ordinary of dioceses in Connecticut and New York, he wrote more than 230 newspaper columns, either for Fairfield County Catholic or Catholic New York .

The cardinal connected with readers through a writing style akin to storytelling, precise and elegant, yet approachable. His mission was the same as that of any Roman Catholic priest: to teach the Faith. Whether recounting a past experience in a parish or in Rome, or carefully delivering a catechetical lesson, the cardinal drew you in as a trusted listener and a faith-filled friend. He was also not afraid to proclaim boldly on controversial issues of the day, including abortion.

In simplest terms, the cardinal was an evangelizer, a modern missionary. All of his efforts as a priest were practice for getting into Heaven, as explained in one of what he called his Articles of Faith.

For years, admirers of his writings appealed to the cardinal to publish a book. In retirement, he acquiesced. At the time of his death in March 2015, he had culled fifty columns. He thoroughly enjoyed the vetting process but (predictably) revised each article multiple times, displaying his usual insistence on correct punctuation and grammar. They are now published here with the permission of the cardinals estate.

The cardinals columns are arranged thematically in six categories but can be enjoyed at random, too. This is a commonplace-like book to be shared and savored, to pick up and put down, enjoyed at leisure in one sitting or several. The stories within all true (some names have been changed) contain grace-filled moments that always instruct, frequently entertain, and sometimes astonish. They represent well a master storyteller at his best.

* * *

Edward Michael Egan was born on April 2, 1932, in Oak Park, Illinois, the third of four children to Thomas and Genevieve (Costello) Egan. His father managed sales in the Chicago area for the Emerson Electric Manufacturing Company.

The Egans belonged to Saint Giles Parish, and the children attended the parish elementary school, staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. The parish was our life, Cardinal Egan recalled. It was our center. It was the source of our friends. What a gift to be reared in that kind of an environment.

At the age of eight, Edward and his older brother, Thomas, contracted poliomyelitis and were homebound for the better part of two years. I couldnt walk or move, with an aspirator by my side, the cardinal recalled. I remember my mom and dad saying, Oh Eddie, well get you out of this. They were fighters, in a quiet way. That was the old way that people handled things. Edward and Thomas escaped the long-term ravages of polio thanks to the Sister Kenny System suggested by a doctor from the March of Dimes. The experience would instill in the young Edward a drive to succeed at anything he undertook in the future, particularly academics.