If you've never met the man (and been charmed by his smile, his optimistic personality, and his true welcoming spirit), two books will help you do your research on the presumptive heir to Egan, O'Connor, Cooke, Spellman, Hayes, Farley, Corrigan, McCloskey, Hughes, Dubois, Connolly, and Concanen. One will let you into his mind, the other into his heart:
- Priests for the Third Millennium, first published in 2000 by Our Sunday Visitor. It's a collection of Rector's Conferences given by then- Monsignor Dolan to the seminarians of the North American College. It'll give you a glimpse into is writing and speaking style, as well as the way he lures you into a story to make a point about the life of parish Priests.
- New Men: Inside the Vatican's Elite School for American Priests, published in 1997 by the Diane Publishing Company. OK, I've got a little problem with the North American College being called an "elite school" for a bunch of reasons, first among them that the NAC is not actually school but the place where the seminarians live. The seminarians live at the NAC, but actually go to a number of schools in Rome (the Angelicum, the Gregorianum, San' Anselmo, etc.). Sorry, my "Mount Pride" kicked in. But besides that, the book is essentially following the seminary years of a group of "new men" just beginning their studies in Rome, their struggles, hopes, experiences, etc. The book has a few great passages about Abp. Dolan, who was Rector at the time. It gives you insight into his personality, his care for the students, his sense of community building for Americans who may be out of the country for the first time (and maybe a bit homesick).
These are available from a bookstore, or online. I think you'll find them useful.
THIS JUST IN... This LINK will take you to a resource page from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee that has some more of Abp. Dolan's writings and speeches.
3 comments:
I would also recommend the adaptation of "LIving the christian Life" "Called To Be Holy" for deepening your spirituality.
"Here is how to be a good steward of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit as you hear and answer God's call."
Thanks, Victoria, but I need to put a comma in there. The title of Dolan's book, "Called to be Holy", is an adaption of the first section of Priests for the 3rd Millennium, which is titled "Living the Ctn Life". I say this because Billy Graham has a nook called "Living the Ctn Life", and I don't want people to think they should read Graham's book to get a read on Abp. Dolan.
So you were a seminarian in Roma? Which school?
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