Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago served the church in many capacities—yet perhaps he offered his greatest gift and witness simply by the manner of his death. (November 14 996) Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he announced, “I can say in all sincerity that I am at peace.”
Conversation
“I consider this as God’s special gift to me at this moment in my life. We can look at death as an enemy or a friend. If we see it as an enemy death causes anxiety and fear.. As a person of faith I see death as a friend, as a transition from earthly life to life eternal.”
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In a book written in his last months he wished to “help others understand how the good and the bad are always present in our human condition, and that if we ‘let go,’ if we place ourselves in the hands of the Lord, the good will prevail.” This was a lifelong process.
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