Funeral Homily for Br. David Downey, O.S.B.
Abbot Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B.
January 14, 2008
Lamentations 3:17-26
2 Corinthians 4:14-5:1
Matthew 24:31-46
My brothers and sisters, today is the first official day in what the Church
calls “Ordinary Time.” Were we not celebrating a funeral, today we would be
wearing green vestments – a color that represents the gift of life. The phrase
“Ordinary Time” is not meant to be in any way diminutive of the season or an
indication that it is less important that the designated seasons of Advent and
Christmas that we just completed, or of the seasons of Lent and Easter that
really are just around the corner this year. Rather, the phrase “Ordinary Time”
points to that time of the year when we reflect on the normal life of a disciple
of Jesus Christ – a life that strives for faithful discipleship without any
particular ceremony or solemnity. It is a time when we reflect on our ordinary,
“normal,” living out and witnessing to the love of God revealed to us in Jesus
Christ.
This being the case, as I mentioned yesterday evening, this seems to be the perfect day on which to commend our dear Br. David to the Lord. In the eyes of many, Br. David strove to live the gospel in the many and varied circumstances of ordinary life with ordinary people. Without being pompous or showy, Br. David witnessed to many just what it means to be a Christian and to be a Benedict: a desire to be united with God, an openness to be of service to others, an appreciation of the importance of each moment and a humility that recognizes ones own limitations and need for God’s grace. This is the ordinary call of Christian, the ordinary vocation of a Benedictine, and it describes the characteristics embodied by Br. David.
This is also the point of the gospel that was just proclaimed. In this passage we have before us the only description that Jesus gives us of the Last Judgment. Jesus teaches us that one encounters God in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life, and that accomplishing the will of God is as simple as responding to the needs of others. It is important to note that those who accomplished God’s will in their lives were just as surprised as those who were condemned for not doing God’s will in their lives. Those admitted to the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven, it seems, were those who were just getting-on with the task of treating others with the respect, dignity and love. They did not expect or demand notoriety for their actions, nor did they necessarily go looking for special circumstances in which to minister – they simply acted on the opportunities that came to them in ordinary life and they made life better for others in doing so.
Judging from the testimony of many, this is how Br. David lived his life. Being a person of simple directness, Br. David had a knack for seeing that Christian life could and should be lived in all places and circumstances: in family, in schools, in caring for animals, in farming, in prisons, and even in monasteries. Although he was at first glance somewhat shy and perhaps even quiet, he very much valued his relationships with other people and with the communities that became a part of his life. Indeed, Br. David was connected to and touched deeply many communities and often served as a bridge between individuals and communities as well. Perhaps this was and is the case because it was precisely in his interaction with other people that he most easily encountered the God he also loved.
First of all, he deeply touched the community of his own family. In looking through the photographs collected from the Downey Family, and in personally seeing their deep concern for him and the sacrifices they made to help care for him in his illness, I know that this was a strong and primary community for Br. David. We at the monastery certainly extend our sympathies to the extended Downey Family and we thank you for your help in caring for him. I know that all of you wish you could have spent as much time here as did Doris and Kathleen. Be assured that it was a great blessing for him that all of you were represented by Kathleen who was present at the moment of his passing.
Br. David was also connected to his
monastic families – to his brothers of many years at Holy Cross Abbey, and to
his recently discovered brothers at St. Gregory’s Abbey. It is easy to focus on
the difficulties surrounding the last years of the community of Holy Cross and
the fact that it eventually closed its doors. To do so, however, would be to
undervalue the community that Br. David experienced at Holy Cross. Even though
he had his share of struggles at Holy Cross, his concern for his dispersed
confreres, and in particular his complete dedication to Br. Matthew, continued
throughout his life. I am so glad that Fr. Louis was able to travel here from
Atchison to participate in this liturgy. It is also moving that God’s
providence has placed
Br. Matthew and Br. David next to each other in our abbey cemetery.
It is almost impossible to imagine the difficulty of transferring to a new monastery after thirty-three years of profession. And yet, Br. David made every effort to do so. He not only was eager to be a contributing member to the community, but he took a sincere interest in the issues facing our community at St. Gregory’s and was eager to make constructive suggestions toward our life here. He was also eager to familiarize his family members and former students with his new home. Rather than isolate himself in order to survive in a new setting, he looked to the future and became involved, and we are the better for his witness to monastic life.
Br. David was connected to another form of community living – that of inmates in the prisons around Canon City. This corresponds directly to the gospel, in which the Lord speaks of visiting those imprisoned as a special encounter with God. Generally speaking, we do not quite know what to do with prisoners or those who perpetrate crime. Our primary reaction is that of punishment, and wanting to simply build more prisons so that we can lock more people away. It’s easier to do that to address the basic issues that help give rise to crime. Br. David, however, took a different approach. As Mike Long, an alumnus of Holy Cross Abbey School noted, it was a big jump for him, given his shyness and the fact that he had never ministered beyond the campus of Holy Cross. And yet, it was a jump he made, visiting prisoners four or more each week, praying with them, leading scripture studies, encouraging them, and giving them hope by treating them like men. In fact, one the men Br. David visited with regularly in prison, Jim Marren, is present for this celebration. Mr. Marren testifies to the way in which Br. David was able to instill hope into the lives of inmates all faiths and all races, helping them to look beyond their own depression and despair by the witness of his own strong faith. And when he was rejected or criticized by prison officials or by some inmates, Br. David would not become discouraged, but would continue on his ministry without fail. In what is perhaps the highest form of compliment, Mr. Marren is now a Benedictine Oblate and continues Br. David’s work by helping inmates and recently released prisoners to find success in life through spiritual development in his current home of Philadelphia through the Prisoner Visitation and Support program.
Br. David was available to the broader community of guests and employees of the monasteries where he lived. His simple and direct manner and his interest in people made others feel at ease and provided a strong foundation for lasting friendships. Even in his short time here, he connected with those involved in our therapeutic riding programs and with the staff of St. Gregory’s University.
And, perhaps most significantly, Br. David was connected to the communities of The Abbey School and Camp Holy Cross. It has been quite moving to read the many notes, emails and letters that we have received at St. Gregory’s over the last few days as former students and campers have wanted to pay tribute to Br. David. It would be impossible to cite them all, but many echo the testimony of Kelley Kight, who wrote: “He taught me a great deal, not just about horses but about responsibility and teamwork. He could be tough when I needed it but he was always fair. He was a great mentor and he helped me become the man I am today.” Br. David became an anchor for the students he mentored – and disciplined – and they were eager to maintain contact with him. Mike Taggett wrote: “One of his great attributes is that he never spoke ill of anyone. This I have learned is a difficult thing to do. For many of us the Abbey remained a safe haven after graduation and when you went there you felt protected and in your own world. You always knew that if you ever got in trouble you could call Br. Dave and he would be there for you....no matter what. Like the sun rising in the morning. A humble man who was rock solid. Someone who made you want to be a better person.”
Alumnus David Burke sent a beautiful testimony of how Br. David’s dependability for the former students of the Abbey School was made very evident last summer when, already suffering from the effects of cancer and chemotherapy, Br. David met a group of middle-aged alumni in the mountains above Canon City for a special memorial service for Tom Burke, who had died a year earlier. Br. David knew where he wanted to lead them, and pushed and pushed them to “go higher.” In pushing them to reach the summit of the high mountain meadow, Br. David was still stretching these former students beyond their desires and perceived limitations in order to reach the summit of what life had to offer. It was only after reaching the high meadow that the group was able to appreciate where Br. David was leading them – not just the beauty of the natural setting, but to a “higher” place in life. It was through just such challenges that Br. David led students and campers to become, as David Burke concludes: “It’s really quite extraordinary and we are all better off as men, fathers and brothers to have had the privilege of calling him our friend.”
Through the course of life, Br. David faced many challenges and difficulties. I am sure that there were moments in his time at Holy Cross, as well as in the last nine months when he could easily say with the author that we heard from in our first reading: “My soul is deprived of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; / I tell myself my future is lost, all that I hoped for from the LORD. / The thought of my homeless poverty is wormwood and gall; / Remembering it over and over leaves my soul downcast within me.” And yet, Br. David was not one to wallow in self-pity or discouragement. He had a strong faith in God’s mercy and wanted to do God’s will, and so he could also say with the author of Lamentations: “The favors of the LORD are not exhausted, his mercies are not spent; / They are renewed each morning, so great is his faithfulness. / My portion is the LORD, says my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” The words of St. Paul in our second reading are important to remember today, for they express the attitude with which Br. David faced the illness that would take his life: “although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.”
It is in this same faith that we commend Br. David to the Lord on this “ordinary day.” We are grateful for the many blessings that came to so many in this life through Br. David. We mourn because he had to endure suffering, and that he is no longer with us in the way that we knew him. And yet, we are also hopeful, for we know of his faith in God and that he was strengthened by that faith until the end of his life. Br. David met the needs of the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the imprisoned, the lonely, the stranger and those who needed to experience God’s love. He was nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, and was strengthened by the blessing of Christ at the moment of his physical death. Knowing all of this, we entrust him now to the Lord, and pray that he hears that glorious invitation: “'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
