Homily:
Man Found Way Back to Path Before His Execution

EDITOR’S NOTE: Father Anthony Taylor delivered this homily at the funeral Mass for Eric Patton on Sept. 1 at St. Monica Church in Edmond. Patton was executed by the state of Oklahoma on Aug. 29.

Eric Patton: Wis 3:1-9; 1 Th 4:13-18; Jn 11:17-27

Eric Patton was a man who at one point lost his way in this life and strayed very far on the path of death. A spiritual death by drug addiction that left Charlene Kauer dead and Eric buried alive on death row. Eric killed Charlene in a moment when his powers of judgment were so impaired by drugs that he could not have acted with full freedom, but still a horrible crime.

Three days ago we — the  state of Oklahoma — killed Eric deliberately and in cold blood, which was even worse ... because we did act with full freedom, we the citizens of Oklahoma, are fully responsible for Eric’s death. Now we, too, have blood on our hands. But God is so great that he can bring good out of any evil. He did so 2,000 years ago through the execution of a young man named Jesus. And now he has also done so through the life and death of Eric Patton, because through what he  suffered, Eric not only finally found the way to truth and life for himself, he also ended up using his time in prison to touch the hearts of his fellow inmates, his guards and his lawyers, giving witness to the salvation he had finally found in Jesus Christ.

When I first met Eric 11 years ago in the county jail, I told him that his time behind bars might well be the price of his salvation, and it was ... and so I am confident that three days ago Jesus said to Eric the same words he had said to the young man executed with him on Calvary who also had put his faith in him: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Who was the first one to enter heaven following Jesus’ death? Not the Blessed Mother — she still had a few more years left to live on this earth! The first one to enter heaven was a convicted criminal who had finally found the way to truth and life!

 It is important to notice that Eric didn’t stray from the path of truth and life by himself, nor did he find his way back alone either. Eric belonged to a larger community which he influenced and which influenced him. In childhood, God gave Eric a loving family and a good Catholic education. But then as he grew up, he was traumatized by the tragic death of his brother, Philip, and then he suffered damaging effects of drugs and racism in the Army. And though he succeeded in getting out of the Army, it was only once he was behind bars that he was able to leave behind the drugs he got addicted to there.

And throughout, even when he had strayed the farthest, there were the continuing prayers of his family and especially his father and his mother, who like another St. Monica 1,700 years earlier, prayed constantly amid many tears for Eric’s conversion, that God might intervene to put him back on the path of truth and life. And God answered our prayers.

On Monday morning, I had the privilege of hearing Eric’s last confession and giving him sacramental absolution, forgiving all his sins. Then I gave him the Eucharist in the form of Viaticum, a Latin word that means “food for the journey” — communion  accompanied by special prayers for one who is about to die. We prayed together and  then I commended him to the Lord who had given him earthly life 49 years ago and to whom he knew he would be returning the very next day. And then at his request, I had  the honor of being with him to support him and hear his gracious last words and witness his death ... a death which occurred on Aug. 29, the day we commemorate the beheading of John the Baptist, another man killed in cold blood by the state, just like Jesus and the two criminals executed on either side of him Good Friday 2,000 years ago.

But, of course, Good Friday was not the end of the story. Jesus rose victorious three days later, winning eternal life for all who put their faith in him. And so today, amid our  tears, we rejoice that Eric Patton finally did find the path to truth and life, and we pray with confidence that Eric be welcomed with open arms into the glory of heaven.