I've just returned from the lovely Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral during which Archbishop Timothy Dolan was festively installed as the new Pastor of the Catholics of the Archdiocese of New York.The dominant impression was the personal warmth of the Archbishop and the enthusiasm of the participants in the Liturgy. Significantly, the cloudy morning yielded to a gloriously sunny afternoon.Rocco posted Archbishop Dolan's homily before the liturgy had ended. Here is the conclusion:

For three weeks in July, 1992, I was on pilgrimage in Israel. I had a wonderful Franciscan guide who made sure I saw all the sacred places in the Holy Land. The day before I departed, he asked, Is there anything left you want to see?Yes, I replied, I would like to walk the road to Emmaus.That we cannot do, he told me, You see, no one really knows where that village of Emmaus actually was, so there is no more road to Emmaus.Sensing my disappointment, he remarked, Maybe thats part of Gods providence, because we can now make every journey we undertake a walk down the Road to Emmaus.My new friends of this great archdiocese, would you join your new pastor on an adventure in fidelity, as we turn the Staten Island Expressway, Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, Broadway, the FDR, the Major Deegan, and the New York State Thruway into the Road to Emmaus, as we witness a real miracle on 34th street and turn that into the road to Emmaus?For, dare to believe, that:From Staten Island to Sullivan CountyFrom the Bowery, to the Bronx, to Newburgh,From White Plains to PoughkeepsieHe is walking right alongside us.For why do we look for the living among the dead?For He is risen as He said, alleluia, alleluia!Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.

Robert P. Imbelli, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, is a longtime Commonweal contributor.

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