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Bishop Brennan’s funeral homily for Father Richard Engle
“‘Peter began to speak, saying, ‘In truth, I see that God shows no partiality; rather, in every nation, whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.”’ (Acts 10:34-35).
“I only knew Father Engle – I had a really hard time calling him ‘Bird,’ I’m telling you that; everybody says, ‘No, that’s the way to go,’ but I’ve only known him in the last two years of his life – but I think he would speak the same way that Peter did: ‘God shows no partiality; rather, in every nation, whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.’
“I think that’s how Father Engle saw the world, too – with no partiality, but recognizing those who fear God and act uprightly. That’s what really matters. Indeed, he called them as he saw them, with no partiality. His family said to me when I told them that I’ve only known him the last two years, ‘Oh, you missed all the fun.’
“But I think that, indeed, he could speak with that sharpness and directness, but he understood the ability to see into the heart. And he had the ability, as a priest, really to want to be of help, to be able to respond. In these last years, his generosity really marked him, and sometimes, not always, in the best of ways. There were those who would take advantage of that kindness and Father’s generosity, almost to the point of a gullibility.
“And yet, one of the Carmelite sisters at the Villas (of St. Therese, where Father Engle spent his last days) said that when he would respond to somebody, she would say, ‘No.’ She would say, ‘Give me the money.’ But he said – his response would be, ‘But they need it.’
“And there was some kind of an insight, again showing no partiality – being sharp and critical when he was ready to do that, but being able to recognize somebody in need and saying, ‘I need to respond. They need it,’ and that was what moved him. Indeed, he had a way, whether he intended to or not, of making us all laugh. He had a way of making his will known, but there was no partiality.
“We’re all loved by God in every nation. ‘Whoever fears God and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.’ Peter uses this to bring in the ministry of Jesus and the way Jesus cared for people and brought the kingdom of God alive in people’s lives in very practical ways. And Peter goes on to say, ‘And we are the witnesses of these things.’
“Today, as we commend our brother, Father Engle, to the Lord, we do so with thanksgiving for the way that he witnessed to the truth of Jesus Christ and His cross and resurrection.
“Some of the most powerful stories of Father Engle – Father Metzger was sharing with me just the other day at a memorial Mass for one of our priests that powerful story you know better than I – of how he himself served honorably our nation, and the medals and his injuries, of how he as pastor at – was it at St Philip? – he called people together to bring in guns so that he could melt them down, out of which he formed a cross.
“Talk about turning swords into plowshares! He took weapons of violence, of destruction, of hatred, and called on people as a witness of the Gospel. He called people to something finer, something deeper – to recognize their weapons of destruction could be melted down and changed into something else, but not just anything else. He turned to the cross.
“Indeed, with that simple but powerful gesture, he made an extraordinary statement. Indeed, how needed his witness is today. Here we gather to commend him to the world, but in our streets and in our cities, the culture of violence has just skyrocketed in an awful, awful way. Divisions are deep, tensions are high and people are hurting.
“How we need his witness, and how that witness of his can inspire us to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, to point people in the direction of the cross, and from the cross to the resurrection.
“In the Gospel today, I imagine Jesus picking up the grain of wheat. You know, that Gospel story comes when people want to see Jesus. Some of the Greek-speaking people came up to Philip and said, ‘We’d like to see Jesus,’ and Philip brings them over to Jesus and he says, ‘Jesus, there are some people who want to see you.’
“Jesus bends down and picks up the grain of wheat and, I imagine, is holding it in his hand, and he talks about this grain of wheat, and unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat.
“I’m picturing Philip saying, ‘Is that a yes or a no? Will you see them or not?’ But what Jesus is saying is ‘If you really want to see Jesus, you have to look through that grain of wheat. If you really want to see Jesus, it’s necessary to die to oneself and become something else.’
“A grain of wheat sitting on a shelf isn’t going to do much good. A grain of wheat planted, that dies to itself, literally breaks open and becomes something else. Then you see Jesus.
“By dying to himself as a priest, by dying to himself by the way of his life, Father Engle helped us all to see Jesus and to see how one thing can become something else, how powerful in our personal lives, by keeping ourselves awake, we gain full life and eternal life, how the cross leads us to the resurrection, how things of destruction can be melted into signs of the victory of Christ.
“We can be called to something else. Those who are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God. ‘You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the spirit of adoption’ (Romans 8:15). Father Engle had no fear, but knew that he was beloved by God.
“You know, in those last days, in a prior hospital stay, one of the last things – Father (Michael) Lumpe (diocesan vicar for priests) and I went in to see him, and we went into his room, actually before he had gotten there – apparently he was all discombobulated, he was really upset. He was looking for his breviary.
“He wanted his breviary, and we stopped over at the Villas and brought the breviary. It was the beginning of Lent, so it was the red Lenten volume – and talk about worn, the pages were nearly separated – but he knew he wanted to pray.
“He needed help getting it all set into place, but when we went in there and Father Lumpe gave him that book, something settled down right away. This was part of who he was, this priestly prayer, this daily prayer. It was who he was, it was what rooted him, it was that connection with the Lord.
“Just a week or so before he died – was it Father (Donald) Franks that brought him his vestments, the vestments he’s wearing? – he told Sister, ‘That’s for my burial.’ We didn’t think or realize it would be this soon, but he was ready to go to the Lord. Why? Because he was connected with the Lord.
“And so, as a grain of wheat can be transformed into a stalk that feeds the world, and as metal from guns can become the sign of the cross, you and I, our simple ways of living, our lives can become powerful witnesses of the Gospel, as he did, and our lives on earth, our humanity is transformed through the resurrection of Jesus into life, and life with God forever.
“Thank you, Father Engle, for your goodness, your generosity. Thanks for making us laugh. Thanks for recognizing our needs and responding to those, and thanks for teaching us ourselves to be transformed, sure that in heaven, there are people who are ready to embrace you and thank you for helping them on their own way through your priestly ministry.
“May the saints welcome you, welcome you home with Christ.”