Just before the Pope's visit, Cardinal Dulles gave his last McGinley Lecture at Fordham University. The cardinal could not speak but was present in a wheelchair, while his lecture was read for him.
In this last lecture he wrote that "suffering and diminishment are not the greatest of evils, but are normal ingredients in life, especially in old age. They are to be accepted as elements of a full human existence."
"Well into my 90th year," he wrote, "I have been able to work productively. As I become increasingly paralyzed and unable to speak, I can identify with the many paralytics and mute persons in the Gospels, grateful for the loving and skillful care I receive and for the hope of everlasting life in Christ."
Concluding this final lecture, the cardinal wrote: "If the Lord now calls me to a period of weakness, I know well that his power can be made perfect in infirmity. ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord!'"
Source: Zenit
