Deceased priests remembered, prayed for at diocesan Mass, with confidence in God’s merciful love
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The priest who preached at Father Stephen Jones’s Anglican ordination 24 years ago dropped some heavy words from a saint on him.
Fr. Jones never forgot.
“Those words spoken to me on that day have stuck with me through the years, taking on a new sense of solemnity and soberness as I came into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and was ordained a priest,” he said.
Fr. Jones shared those words, attributed to fourth-century priest and bishop St. John Chrysostom, with his brother priests of this diocese:
“The road to hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks!”
“These can be overwhelming words, actually ... because each one of us knows we are unworthy,” Fr. Jones stated from the pulpit of the Cathedral of St. Joseph Nov. 6.
He was preaching the homily for the annual Memorial Mass for Deceased Priests of the Diocese of Jefferson City.
“We are all sinners,” Fr. Jones noted, “and all of us can probably imagine that our mistakes and failing surely deserve the fate Chrysostom proclaimed.”
But, thanks be to God, that’s not all of the story.
Fr. Jones also called to mind the words of Jesus to the penitent thief who was crucified next to him on Calvary.
“We hear the words of the thief on the cross ... his recognition and ownership of his own failings and sin” — and his plea to the Savior nailed to the cross next to him,” and the thief’s plea that “he might be remembered when that man came into his kingdom,” (Luke 23:33, 39-43).
Fr. Jones asserted that that portion of the Lord’s Passion narrative should speak to everyone present — priests and all Christians.
“For it reminds us of our utter dependency on the love and mercy of the Lord,” the homilist stated. “We, who —held to a higher standard by virtue of Holy Orders — are rightly condemned in our sins, cry out to Jesus ... asking to be remembered in his kingdom ... a request which is met with the promise of Paradise with him.”
It is with that confident assurance that the priests of this diocese gather each year during the Octave of All Souls to pray and offer the Sacrifice of the Mass for the priests who went before them.
“Some were holy men, some were worldly men,” Fr. Jones acknowledged. “Some virtuous, some ... perhaps ... without so much virtue.
“Some kind and loving,” he continued, “some harsh and abrasive. Most, probably a mixture of all these things.
“All were sinners — human beings in need of redemption,” he said. “Like the thief who hung next to Jesus.”
Each of those deceased priests, men who turned their unworthiness over to God in answering his call to Holy Orders, was unique.
“Each was called by the Lord and his Church, each anointed with the Oil of Chrism on their palms,” said Fr. Jones. “Each a recipient of the grace which comes through the laying on of apostolic hands.”
“All were priests, just as we are, and thus, they were set apart,” he said.
Fr. Jones stated what he believes to be the consensus of the gathered clerics that the Priesthood they share with their deceased brethren is something they are privileged and honored to undertake as servants of Jesus, their Master.
“We are glad to do it, we are blessed to be called to do it,” Fr. Jones stated. “But we also know that, as much as it is a joy, it can also be a burden.”
Namely a burden of submitting one’s own will to God and obedience to the call of the Church.
It’s a ministry that must be reflected by self-sacrifice and self-denial — “a Priesthood which is shown forth by the image of Jesus on the cross.”
“It is this priestly burden — borne out of joy and hope — carried by our forebears in the Diocese of Jefferson City, that we remember today as we gather to recall them individually and pray for the repose of their souls.”
Perpetual light
Bishop W. Shawn McKnight presided at the Memorial Mass, with many priests concelebrating.
The hymns and prayers were filled with ancient solemnity.
“May our prayers be for them, and their prayers today be for us,” said Fr. Jones. “As we stand today as priests, offering the re-presentation of the sacrifice of the cross on the altar of our Cathedral Church, let us fully unite ourselves to Jesus and cry out to him: ‘Remember us ... and our departed brethren .. when you come into your Kingdom!’”
After the homily, Monsignor Michael T. Flanagan, pastor emeritus of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia; and Monsignor David Cox, pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish in Wardsville and St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Osage Bend, took turns reading the names of the priests of this diocese who died since its founding in 1957.
At several points during the reading of the names, the priests and laypeople present sang together the refrain from the Song of Farewell, imploring the saints to “Receive their souls” and “present them now to God Most High.”
After all the names were read, the cantors chanted the “In Paradisum” — an ancient Catholic hymn inviting saints and martyrs to lead a person who has died into heaven to be with God.
The priests chanted the “Salve Regina” — “Hail, Holy Queen” — after Communion.
A plea for intercession from the Blessed Mother in times of difficulty, it’s what the priests of this diocese sing together whenever one of them passes from this life into the next.
Catholics are especially encouraged during the eight days following the Solemnity of All Saints to pray for those who died and are preparing to share the fullness of their Master’s joy.
The closing hymn was a joyful one, titled: “Sing With All the Saints In Glory.”
After Mass, the priests gathered downstairs in Cana Hall to share a meal.
Laughter filled the room as they shared stories and memories of priests they had ministered with and been inspired by.
Priests who served in the diocese before its founding are remembered in the prayers of the various neighboring dioceses to which they belonged.
