Cardinal Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan reverently acknowledged the providence of The Lord during a Feb. 15 guest homily in St. John’s, Nfld. only made possible because of a diverted flight.

Dolan and some pilgrims from the Archdiocese of New York were on a United Airlines flight bound for Dublin, Ireland when a passenger’s medical emergency over the Atlantic Ocean compelled the pilots to turn back and land in the Atlantic province early on Feb. 14.

While the passenger received medical attention at a local hospital, the other 260 passengers and 12 crew members remained grounded for more than 48 hours in St. John’s due to high winds. Everyone received hotel accommodations and meal vouchers.

Acknowledging that “while it was disappointing for everyone on the flight that a medical emergency led to the flight being diverted to St. John’s,” Archbishop Peter Hundt stated, “we were pleased to be able to welcome and offer hospitality to His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan during his time here.”

At the beginning of his sermon at Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Dolan alluded to how Newfoundland and Labrador perenially offers “gracious hospitality.”

Famously, the Newfoundland town of Gander hosted over 7,000 people when 38 planes landed at Gander International Airport in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks. The openheartedness of the locals and the camaraderie that developed became so storied that it inspired the award-winning Broadway musical Come From Away.

Dolan praised Jesus’ proclivity during His earthly ministry to invert the world, using St. Peter as an example, specifically mentioning how the apostle insisted that he be put to death upside down because he didn’t feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord and Saviour.

"Jesus turned Peter's world upside down, and that must have dawned on him on that hill as he looked out at the city of Rome upside down," said Dolan. "He was literally ... head over heels in love with Jesus Christ."

In addition, "everything that Peter thought was important, Jesus said is not," and "everything Peter didn't think was that important, Jesus taught him was," the cardinal said.

That same inversion of values and expectations was clear in the Gospel for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the version of the Beatitudes in Luke (Luke 6:17, 20-26), he added.

"Think of the contradictions here," said Dolan. "Jesus says the poor will be rich. ... The hungry will be full of food. Those who are crying will be laughing. Those who are insulted and rejected will be prominent and will receive a reward."

As a result, "all the earthly values of being full, being happy, being rich, being prominent and successful and prestigious, Jesus turned upside down," he said. "Peter found that out first-hand.”

Dolan said he and his travel companions experienced, “in a small way,” their world “being turned upside down.”

“What we thought we were about didn't happen, and here we are … 48 hours later," he said. "Jesus has a great way of doing that, you see because he's in charge, not us. It's his values that will endure, not ours. It is his teaching that will be victorious, not the wisdom of the world. And it's all the things that the world considers frivolous and stupid that he tells us are extraordinarily important."

Dolan added that Jesus' grace inverted the world again as he and his fellow travel companions felt at home in the basilica rather than strangers from a neighbouring land.

In a post to his X (@CardinalDolan) account on Feb. 16, Dolan thanked the people for their graciousness. He also expressed that it was his honour to celebrate Mass in the cathedral that is said to have inspired Archbishop John Joseph Hughes – known as “Dagger John” – to build St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

A Newfoundland Catholic with the X handle @TinaCatholic responded to Dolan, stating, “what an honour to host you in our tiny province! Thank you for offering Mass.” And @JacquiKJanes wrote that Dolan offered “a lovely sermon.”

With Files from OSV News