Michael Sliney

“He pours light into our minds, arouses our desire and gives us strength… As the soul is the life of the body, so the Holy Spirit is the life of our souls.”  —St. Peter Damian

“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
— Lance Armstrong

“A former Navy chaplain, Bishop John McNamara, recalled for me his first meeting with Cardinal O’Connor. Let me quote from his reminiscence: “Father O’Connor, the division Chaplain of the Marines, came up from Vietnam to interview the new clergy. I remember his first words to me. I'm John O'Connor, what can I do for you?' I often thought of this meeting because those words,What can I do for you?’ so characterize arid personify the John O’Connor I have known for 35 years.”

So many of us have heard him say, “What can I do for you?” There was no burden too heavy, no problem too complex for his genuine compassion and desire to help. To understand this in him is to understand that he was, to the core of his being, a priest.”