It is with heavy heart that we say good-bye for now to our dear friend and parish neighbor Monsignor [Colonel] John F. Dwyer. Father Dwyer was the long-time pastor of OLSH, Tappan. He passed away early in the morning on Sunday, January 12th. He will be waked at OLSH starting Tuesday with a variety of services to follow over the next few days. For more information please visit the OLSHTappan.com website.
[A printed copy of Msgr. Nevin's homily:]
MASS FOR FATHER JOHN DWYER
WEDNESDAY EVENING
JANUARY 15, 2020
MSGR. EMMET NEVIN, HOMILIST
THERE ARE SOME PERSONAL THINGS ABOUT FATHER JOHN WHICH I’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU THIS EVENING AND I WILL TRY TO WEAVE THEM INTO MY HOMILY. AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, I SPENT 22 JOYFUL YEARS AS A WEEKEND PRIEST HERE AT Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, MOST OF THEM WITH FR. JOHN. I KEPT UP WITH HIM OVER THE YEARS WHEN I WAS ASSIGNED TO ST. CATHARINE’S AND ELSEWHERE AND, OF COURSE, DURING THE MANY TIMES I SHARED A MEAL OR A BBQ WITH HIM AT MIKE AND LARAINE PAYNE’S HOUSE WITH MANY OF HIS OLSH FRIENDS AND PARISHIONERS. THE PAYNE HOUSEHOLD, WHERE HE WAS AFFECTIONATELY CALLED UNCLE DWYER, WAS FOR SO MANY YEARS HIS SECOND HOME.
WE ALL KNOW FROM HIS OBITUARY THAT FR. JOHN WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL STUDENT AND ATHLETE IN HIGH SCHOOL. A HAYES MAN. HE WAS ALSO A FORDHAM MAN. HE WAS A THREE LETTER MAN AND A TEAM CAPTAIN. WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW IS THAT HE WAS A BLUE CHIP BASEBALL PLAYER. AS HE WAS GRADUATING, THE NY YANKEES EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN HIM. BUT HE ALSO FELT CALLED TO THE PRIESTHOOD. WHAT TO DO? HIS SISTER NOEL, A BLAUVELT DOMINICAN, HELPED HIM MAKE UP HIS MIND BY TELLING HIM “IF YOU GET A CALL FROM THE N.Y. YANKEES AND YOU GET A CALL FROM GOD. YOU ANSWER THE CALL FROM GOD!” NOW, ALL OF US WHO HAD THE SISTERS IN SCHOOL LEARNED THAT WHEN SISTER TOLD YOU TO DO SOMETHING, THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE WAS “YES SISTER.” AND SO HE ANSWERED GOD’S CALL AND BECAME A PRIEST.
FR. JOHN WAS AN INTELLECTUALLY GIFTED MAN BUT NOT IN A SHOWY WAY. HE WAS AN AVID READER AND A TALENTED WRITER. HE WAS ALSO, AT ONE TIME, AN AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER AND HE LOVED TO GET TOGETHER WITH HIS FRIENDS AND PLAY A ROUND OF GOLF. I UNDERSTAND THAT HE WROTE SOME SHORT STORIES WHICH I WOULD LOVE TO GET MY HANDS ON SOME DAY. I UNDERSTAND THAT HE ALSO WROTE AND OFFERED THREE SCRIPTS FOR THE TELEVISION SERIES, BLUE BLOODS. APPARENTLY, PARISHIONER AND RETIRED POLICE OFFICER, JOE GANNON WAS CONSULTING FOR BLUE BLOODS AND GOT FATHER JOHN ONTO THE SET WHERE HE MET THE STARS. HE RECEIVED FROM THEM A PRIZED “GET OUT OF JAIL” CARD SIGNED BY THE BLUE BLOODS CAST. FR. JOHN WAS PROBABLY THE LAST PERSON TO ACTUALLY NEED A GET OUT OF JAIL CARD, BUT HE TREASURED THE SOUVENIR.
THIS EVENING’S GOSPEL READING FROM MATTHEW, IS ACTUALLY JESUS FIRST SERMON IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL ACCOUNT. WE KNOW IT AS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. IT IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS AND IMPORTANT OF JESUS SERMONS.
WHAT IS SIGNFICANT ABOUT A SERMON ON A MOUNTAIN?
WELL, THE MOUNTAIN WAS REGARDED AS A PLACE WHERE GOD REVEALS HIMSELF. THE HIGHER UP ONE WENT, THE CLOSER TO GOD. ABRAHAM WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN TO SACRIFICE TO GOD. MOSES WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN AND ENCOUNTERED GOD. THE TRANSFIGURATION IS PORTRAYED AS HAVING TAKEN PLACE ON A MOUNTAIN. THE ASCENSION TOOK PLACE ON A MOUNTAIN.
SO, FROM THE BEGINNING, PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO FIND A SPECIAL AND HOLY PLACE TO COME CLOSE TO GOD WHEN THEY PRAY AND WHEN THEY SACRIFICE. FOR MANY YEARS, THE PEOPLE OF OLSH CAME TO WORSHIP IN A SCHOOL GYMNASIUM. THEY LONGED FOR A HOLY, A SACRED PLACE IN WHICH TO PRAY AND TO CELEBRATE MASS ON SUNDAYS. IT WAS UNDER FATHER JOHN’S PASTORAL LEADERSHIP THAT THIS BECAME A REALITY. THIS CHURCH, WHICH HE BUILT, IS OUR HOLY MOUNTAIN AND IN IT WE COME CLOSE TO GOD THROUGH THE SACRAMENTS, MOST ESPECIALLY HIS EUCHARISTIC PRESENCE.
WHAT IS A BEATITUDE? THE WORD COMES FROM BEATI WHICH TRANSLATED MEANS “HAPPY”, “RICH” OR “BLESSED.” THE BEATITUDES ACTUALLY REFER TO EIGHT BLESSINGS.
IN HIS BEATITUDES, JESUS BASICALLY DELENIATES THE CATEGORY OF PEOPLE HE SAYS ENJOY SPECIAL FAVOR WITH GOD. THESE BEATITUDES ARE, IN A WAY, THE STARTING POINT AND ALSO THE SUMMATION OF JESUS TEACHINGS.
FOR JESUS, THE LUCKY ONES OF HIS DAY ARE NOT EMPERORS, CONQUERERS, PRIESTS OR THE WEALTHY BUT THE POOR, THE NEEDY, THE PERSECUTED AND THE PEACEMAKERS.
THESE PEOPLE, DENIED WORLDLY SUCCESS, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO LIVE RIGHTLY WITH ONE ANOTHER. THEY NEEDED TO BE ENCOURAGED, MADE TO FEEL IMPORTANT, TO KNOW THAT GOD LOVED THEM. FOR JESUS, THE NEW KINGDOM HE PREACHED WAS TO BE ORGANIZED NOT FROM THE TOP DOWN BUT FROM THE BOTTOM UP. THE PEOPLE, THE COMMON PEOPLE, THE MAJORITY OF THE POPULATION, THE ONES HE LOVED SO DEARLY WOULD HELP FORM HIS NEW KINGDOM.
SO, WHO ARE THE BLESSED IN JESUS SERMON? WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE BLESSED? WE SO OFTEN THINK ABOUT BLESSINGS IN TERMS OF GOOD HEALTH, OR A STEADY JOB OR FINANCIAL STABILITY OR A CLOSE LOVING FAMILY…WINNING THE LOTTERY??
BLESSED MEANS FORTUNATE OR PROSPEROUS. THE BLESSED ARE THE LUCKY ONES. THE POOR IN SPIRIT ARE PROSPEROUS. THEY WHO ARE MERCIFUL ARE THE FORTUNATE ONES. THE RICH AND THE POWERFUL WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE ONES THEY DISTAINED, WHOM THEY LOOKED DOWN THEIR NOSES AT, COULD POSSIBLY BE CONSIDERED BLESSED.
WHEN YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT IT, THE OVERRIDING MESSAGE OF THE BEATITUDES IS IN VERY SHARP CONTRAST WITH THE JEWISH OR EVEN ROMAN PREJUDICES OF JESUS DAY. SADLY, THE SAME COULD ALSO BE SAID FOR OUR OWN TIME, COULDN’T IT? THIS IS, PERHAPS, THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FACING THE CHURCH, FACING THE PRIEST WHO IS ORDAINED TO BE ANOTHER CHRIST IN THIS WORLD.
AS A PRIEST AND PASTOR, FATHER JOHN DID HIS BEST TO HELP US SEE THINGS FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE, NOT THE WORLD’S. HE HELPED US TO VALUE THE THINGS OF GOD, OVER THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD. BY ACTING IN A MORE GOD LIKE WAY TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER, WE WILL, ONE DAY, FIND OURSELVES TO BE BLESSED IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.
WHO ARE THE POOR? THEY ARE THOSE WHO ARE BENT DOWN, AFFLICTED AND MISERABLE. WE SEE THEM ON TELEVISION OR IN THE NEWSPAPERS OR….. EVEN RIGHT HERE IN OUR LOCAL TOWN AND COUNTY, ALL TOO FREQUENTLY, DON’T WE? THEY ARE THOSE OF LOW ESTATE, WHO ARE SOCIALLY DEPENDENT, WHO ARE DEFENSELESS, OFTEN EXPOSED TO INJUSTICE AND FEEL DISHEARTENED.
FATHER JOHN WAS A GENEROUS BENEFACTOR OF SO MANY WHO WERE POOR OR BENT DOWN BY MANY THINGS. HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO OFFER HIS LOVE AND HIS PRIESTLY MINISTRY AND, VERY OFTEN, HIS PERSONAL FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO PEOPLE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE...IN HIS FIRST PRIESTLY ASSIGNMENT IN SPANISH HARLEM…IN THE AIR FORCE COMMUNITY… IN THE PARISH COMMUNITY...AT THE V.A. HOSPITAL…AT THE PRIESTS RESIDENCE IN RIVERDALE IN WHICH HE LIVED AND HE WAS ALSO ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH PEOPLE HURTING IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11.
SO, WHO ARE THE MEEK? THE MEEK ARE THOSE WHO BEND THEMSELVES DOWN BEFORE GOD, THEY ARE HUMBLE AND THEY ARE GENTLE. FR. JOHN WAS GENEROUS OF HIS TIME AND TALENT TO A FAULT. HE DID NOT COUNT THE PERSONAL COST TO HIMSELF. SO MUCH OF WHAT HE DID WAS DONE QUIETLY AND WITHOUT FANFARE. HE NEVER SOUGHT CREDIT OR PRAISE FOR HIS MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS, LARGE OR SMALL. I THINK WE’D ALL AGREE THAT, IN THIS SENSE, HE WAS A HUMBLE AND GENTLE MAN. THIS IS NOT TO SAY THAT HE DID NOT HAVE STRONG CONVICTIONS OR DID NOT EXPRESS THESE CONVICTIONS TO OTHERS, EVEN THE HIGHER AUTHORITIES OF THE ARCHDIOCESE. BUT WHATEVER HE DID WAS DONE IN A RESPECTFUL AND DIGNIFIED WAY.
WHO ARE THE PURE IN HEART? WELL, THEY ARE THOSE WHO ARE SIMPLE AND SINCERE, THEY HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS IN THEIR DEALINGS WITH OTHERS. FATHER JOHN CAME ACCROSS AS SIMPLE AND SINCERE IN HIS DEALINGS WITH OTHERS WHETHER IN THE PARISH, THE COMMUNITY. HE WAS AN ADVOCATE FOR PRIESTS IN THE ARCHDIOCESE, HE WAS OUTSPOKEN WHEN HE FELT THERE WERE INJUSTICES AND HE WORKED TIRELESSLY TO STAND UP FOR THOSE HE FELT WERE BEING TREATED UNFAIRLY IN ORDER TO HELP IMPROVE THEIR STATION IN LIFE. WHAT HE DID FOR OTHERS WAS SELFLESS, DONE WITHOUT ULTERIOR MOTIVES.
NOW, WE ALL HAVE SOME IDEA OF WHO THE PEACEMAKERS ARE. THEY ARE THOSE WHO TRY TO LIVE IN PEACE WITH OTHERS AND DO THEIR BEST TO NURTURE PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP AMONG OTHERS. FATHER JOHN WAS A PEACEFUL MAN. SOMETIMES WHEN OTHERS WOULD LEVEL CRITICISM AT SOMEONE FOR SOMETHING THEY HAD SAID OR DONE, HE WOULD SMILE (WE ALL KNOW THAT SMILE) AND TRY TO SOFTEN THE CRITICISM BY LOOKING AT THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT, LESS HARSH, POINT OF VIEW. HE WAS ALWAYS PATIENT AND A GOOD LISTENER.
HE WAS ALSO JOYFUL IN HIS SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY’S MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN AND THEIIR FAMLIIES. EACH POST HE WAS ASSIGNED TO WAS REGARDED, BY HIM, AS A PARISH AND HE WAS THEIR PASTOR. SPEAKING OF MILITARY, MANY OF US ARE FAMILIAR WITH HIS APPEARANCES AND PRESENTATIONS AT OUR LOCAL TAPPAN PARADES. HE LOVED OUR UNIFORMED MEN AND WOMEN AND HAD A SPECIAL DEVOTION TO THOSE WHO WERE RETIRED OR HURTING AS A RESULT OF THEIR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. UPON RETIREMENT, HE WAS A FULL COLONEL AND...REALLY PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HE COULD STILL FIT INTO HIS OLD UNIFORM …WEREN’T WE ALL SO VERY PROUD OF HIM AS WELL?
SO WHY IS THIS PARTICULAR GOSPEL READING SO APPROPRIATE FOR THIS EVENING?
BECAUSE FATHER JOHN DWYER PREACHED AND LIVED WHAT HE WAS INSTRUCTED TO DO ON HIS ORDINATION DAY. “RECEIVE THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST WHOSE HERALD YOU ARE, BELIEVE WHAT YOU READ AND PRACTICE WHAT YOU TEACH.” FATHER JOHN WAS A TRUE BELIEVER AND A FAITHFUL PRACTIONER AND TEACHER OF THE GOSPEL HE WAS ENTRUSTED WITH.
FINALLY, IN OUR SECOND READNG WE ARE REMINDED THAT , “WE MUST ALL APPEAR BEFORE THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, SO THAT EACH ONE MAY RECEIVE RECOMPENSE, ACCORDING TO WHAT HE DID IN THE BODY….”
IN THE END, IT IS THOSE WHO ARE FOUND WORTHY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WHO ARE TRULY BLESSED. THESE ARE THOSE WHO DID THEIR BEST TO IMITATE CHRIST IN HIS KINDNESS, PATIENCE, COMPASSION, GENEROSITY, FORGIVENESS AND LOVE. NOW, WE ALL KNOW THAT IMITATION IS THE BEST FORM OF FLATTERY. I BELIEVE THAT GOD MUST BE VERY FLATTERED BY THE LIFE AND PRIESTHOOD OF FR. JOHN BECAUSE, IN MY VIEW, HE DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB OF IMITATING CHRIST IN HIS LIFE AND IN HIS PRIESTHOOD.
SO...THIS EVENING, WE GATHER TO SAY GOOD BYE AND TO OFFER OUR PRAYERS AND THIS HOLY MASS FOR FATHER JOHN DWYER – A FAITHFUL SON AND BROTHER; DEDICATED AND HOLY PRIEST; PATRIOTIC AND LONG SERVING CHAPLAIN; PARISH PRIEST; PASTOR WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY TO BUILD A NEW CHURCH AND RECTORY AND LEAVE HIS PARISH RENEWED AND DEBT FREE UPON HIS RETIREMENT; PASTOR EMERITUS WHOSE CONTINUED PUBLIC PRIESTLY MINISTRY WENT ON FOR SO MANY YEARS PAST RETIREMENT…AN INSPIRATION TO HIS BROTHER PRIESTS, A SPIRITUAL FATHER TO MANY AND A FRIEND TO ALL.
FATHER JOHN…GOD REST YOUR GENTLE SOUL. YOU HAVE BEEN A BEATITUDE, A TRUE BLESSING TO THIS PARISH FAMILY AND EVERYONE WHO HAS BEEN PRIVILEGED TO KNOW YOU OVER THE YEARS OF YOUR LONG AND BEAUTIFUL AND PRIESTLY LIFE….
+ REQUIESCAT IN PACE…..REST IN PEACE.