Bishops, priests of this diocese concelebrate Requiem Mass

For repose of the souls of all those who ministered before them

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Joyful but resolute, the priests processed into St. Pius X Church in Moberly.

They gathered at Christ’s altar as ministers of His death and Resurrection, to beg for assistance for their fellow priests who have gone before them.

It was a Requiem Mass for the priests and bishops of this diocese who died since its founding in 1956.

Bishop W. Shawn McKnight presided at the Nov. 8 Mass — offered during the Octave of All Souls — with Bishop Emeritus John R. Gaydos and nearly 40 priests concelebrating.

“We come here to pray for our departed priests, just as they prayed for us throughout our lives,” said Father Philip Niekamp, pastor of St. Pius X parish, who preached the homily.

“We come together today because we are a people of the Resurrection, who believe that Christ came into the world not to condemn but to save,” he said.

He noted that a man enters the Priesthood not through his own merit but in response to an inexplicable calling from God.

“And by God’s grace, by the imposition and by the consecration of his hands, (a priest) becomes something unique but also part of something greater,” said Fr. Niekamp.

He noted that the constant offering of the Eucharist throughout the world is how Christ chooses to make His people one in Himself.

“Without the Eucharist, we are nothing,” Fr. Niekamp asserted. “And without the priest, we don’t have the Eucharist.”

Each priest has his own unique gifts and foibles, but all share in the love of God and the love of His people.

That love, along with all the good the priest does with God’s assistance, is of lasting benefit long after the end of his earthly journey.

“Through their actions,” said Fr. Niekamp, “through their sacrifices, their offerings, their prayers, they helped us to be united with Christ, not only in His death, not only in His passion, but in His Resurrection as well.”

“And that’s what we remember today as we gather to pray for them.”

It is a serious but hopeful undertaking, rooted in faith in Jesus, Who is compassionate, forgiving, loving and understanding, Who shows Himself in Scripture to be deeply perturbed at the death of a friend.

“Today, let us pour our hearts out in prayer, that our brother priests who have gone before us might be remembered for their good deeds,” said Fr. Niekamp, “that they might be forgiven for their faults and failures ...

“But most of all, that they might be united with the great High Priest, Jesus Christ, in the banquet of the Eucharist in heaven.”

Into Paradise

Joining the priests at the Mass was a near-capacity congregation of parishioners from St. Pius X and nearby parishes.

The sanctuary was adorned with candles. Before the altar stood the lighted Easter Candle and a book containing the deceased priests’ names, along with the date of their priestly ordination, the date of their death and the place of their burial.

After Holy Communion, Father Christopher Cordes and Father Dylan Schrader took turns reading aloud the names of the deceased priests in the order of their passing.

At several points throughout their reading, the choir and people sang out to the saints and martyrs in heaven: “Receive their souls, O holy ones. Present them now to God Most High.”

“Confident in the love and mercy of God the Father,” said Bishop McKnight, “we lift our departed brother priests up in prayer and with our Christian hope, entrust them to the care of the saints and the angels on their journey to God.”

Bishop McKnight thanked Fr. Niekamp and the people of St. Pius X parish for their hospitality and enthusiastic participation in the Mass.

After he gave the blessing, he and the priests processed out of the church while chanting the ancient “Salve Regina” (“Hail, Holy Queen”), which concelebrating priests traditionally sing at the end of a Funeral Mass for one of their own.

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