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Homily
– Funeral Mass My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: With faith and gratitude we gather here today for this funeral Mass of our brother in Christ, Father John Steichen. We stand here alive before the body of our dead brother. Yet we know that death has not overcome him. It does not annihilate him. It does not wipe him out. But Death does change him. He can no longer interact with us as in the past. Through death he has crossed the great divide and stands before the Lord – his Creator – his Redeemer, the true and eternal God. As people of faith, we acknowledge these truths while contemplating the mysteries of life and of death, of priesthood and Church. As a grateful people, we thank God in a very special way for the person of John Steichen who lived, worked and ministered among us. We thank Father Steichen, too, for the dedicated fifty-two years of priesthood he offered us, the Catholic Church of Oklahoma. In the Old Testament reading of this Mass, the Prophet Ezekiel, inspired by God and speaking on behalf of Almighty God, said: “Thus says the Lord God: I Myself will look after and tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place. I will lead them out. In good pastures, I will pasture them. I Myself will give them rest. I will shepherd all My people – the lost, the strayed, the injured, the sick, shepherding them all rightly! Generations after Ezekiel and other great prophets, teachers, king and rulers, there was another voice that spoke on behalf of God. But this was notsimply a man who was chosen by God and commissioned to act in His Name. This was and is the ultimate Word of God. This is Jesus, the Eternal Son of God. True God and True Man – Jesus came into our world to complete the myriad prophecies, teachings and practices of His people. He came to establish a New Covenant. A Covenant enacted here on this earth by His life, death and resurrection. A Covenant flowing out from His Blood. In the new generation, this new Covenant, Jesus fulfilled the Old One fully and completely. He, the living God, does indeed Himself look after and tend the sheep. He rescues us. He leads us. He pastures us. He gives us rest. He shepherds us. Jesus is our Lord, our High Priest, our Savior. As High Priest, Jesus fully implements God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Likewise, He reveals the way He continues to save us: “I am the living Bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this Bread will live forever. And the Bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world.” In the proclamation of today’s Gospel, we heard again this dynamic saving message. We hear it over and over, again and again, in the Church’s teachings and celebrations. It is repeated so much because it is the heart of our Catholic faith. At the Last Supper, Jesus anticipated His death and gave of Himself so that, on the cross, He might give Himself as an act of prayer, of worship, of glory and ultimately of love. This indissoluble bond between the Last Supper and the death of Jesus changes death, which is the end of every earthly communication. It becomes an act of self-communication in which life triumphs over death. This act of self communicating of Jesus is His Holy Communion with us. The Eucharistic communion therefore must be the center of the life of everyone who follows Christ. The Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist, is the embodiment of Christ’s total self-gift in love. Ezekiel and the other prophets spoke on behalf of God. They were called by God, commissioned by Him, strengthened by Him. Catholic priests of the New Covenant speak on behalf of God because they are called by God, commissioned by Him, empowered by Him. There is the clear, direct and loving plan that Jesus reveals to us in establishing His Church. Jesus transmitted to the Apostles His own priesthood which includes servant leadership, proclamation of the Word of God and the performance of liturgical and sacramental actions. John Steichen heard the call of Jesus. He responded. He was ordained. He faithfully and joyfully fulfilled his priestly mission. Now, the Lord has called him again. And again, in faith, he has responded. May you and I gathered here today for this funeral Mass, as we prepare to receive the Bread that has come down from heaven, learn the beautiful message that God loves us. He calls us and He waits for our response! And for John, we pray: Eternal rest, grant him and may perpetual light shine upon him. Most
Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |