��so that where I am, you also may be.� These words of Jesus have always touched me deeply. When I hear them, my heart leaps within me to reply. �That�s where I want to be, where you are, Jesus.� And I just know it was the same for Joe Power. And the fact is that Joe pretty much was�always�where Jesus was. And now he�s with Jesus in the fullest possible way. Joe is with him forever in paradise.
Joe�s journey with Jesus began right here in Lewiston, NY. The son of Frank and Rita Power who were good Catholic people and who ran a Red & White grocery store in Lewiston. He grew up with Paul, his brother, in the shadow and the protection of the Sacred Heart that was part of every Catholic home at the time.
Joe went to school here at Stella Niagara, the Cadet School, and learned to walk with Jesus under the guiding hands of the Stella Niagara Franciscan Sisters whom he grew to love and who loved him. As a boy, he served Mass for Father Hyme, the old German priest who was chaplain here and who is buried here in the cemetery. How fitting that Joe, who was also the chaplain here for so many years, will be buried there, too.
Then to Bishop Duffy High School, where Joe met the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, a religious community of men whose motto is: �I have found the one whom my heart desires, I will hold him fast, and I will not let him go� �Tenui nec dimmittam. Joe continued throughout the rest of his life to hold on to Jesus and never to let him go.
The reason for the existence of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales is to live and propagate the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales and, by extension, the spirituality of St. Jane de Chantal. The reason for the existence of Joe Power, I truly believe, was to join, to enliven and to share his heart, his head and his life with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, which he did so generously and lovingly�never for a moment forgetting or leaving out the hundreds of people whom he loved and with whom he shared his life and gifts and, it must be said also, the many causes of peace and justice to which he gave himself tirelessly.
Joe had a magnificent mind that he put at the disposal of the entire Salesian family and the Church at large, as a teacher, a professor, and a scholar. He wrote articles, and books, and gave lectures. He worked with Wendy Wright in editing and bringing to the world, St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal in fresh new clothes so that the wisdom of these two saints whose message is so contemporary could be read and understood in down-to-earth English. The Salesian Conference, which meets annually to bring together the members of the entire Salesian family, was the dream of Joe Power. He made that dream a reality through the cooperation of many people who loved Francis and Jane and who loved Joe Power. That, along with the DeSales Resource Center, are lasting memorials to his hard work and determination. May they continue to grow and flourish for years to come.
And beyond his work in Salesian spirituality, Joe also spent time bringing the teaching and philosophy of Jacques Maritain, his mentor in some ways, to some of the difficult moral questions facing our world today.
In addition to his magnificent mind, Joe had a magnificent heart. He lived and preached and loved from that heart. He loved his family, caring for his Dad and Mom as they grew old, and enjoying and sharing life with his brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Mary and their children, Bridget and Joe and their spouses and children. But it didn�t stop there. Joe�s heart, a caring, listening, and compassionate heart, extended far beyond his family. Joe�s love and concern were felt by hundreds of people, from his brother Oblates, to the Visitation Sisters, to the Sisters at Stella Niagara, to the Daughters of St. Francis de Sales, to his close friends here in the Lewiston/Niagara area, to his Faith and Sharing group, to those he had taught with at Niagara University, to those to whom he preached retreats and Oblate missions, to those for whom he was a spiritual director, to all those who worked with him at the Center of Renewal, the DeSales Resource Center and the list goes on.
Let me read you something that Joe wrote in his book, Francis de Sales: Finding God Wherever You Are (p. 12). He is speaking about his beloved Francis de Sales:
His heart was neither a sponge drawing only from those around him,
nor a precious stone, gifted but impervious to others� gifts. It was
rather a constantly pulsating heart-center which never ceased drawing in and
giving forth God�s love. It was a heart gifted through others, and a heart
gifted to share with others.
What Joe says about Francis de Sales is true of Joseph F. Power, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales.
�Do this in memory of me.�
�Remember me as I
remember you.�
It is a sad day.
It�s been a sad fortnight. We
are in pain, and I certainly ache to the depth of my heart.
Our beloved De Sales speaks
to us in faith and hope when he says:
�Do
not look forward to what might happen tomorrow�the same Everlasting
Father
who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day.
Either
he will shield you from suffering or he will give you unfailing strength
to
bear it.�
So long ago in that upper
room, HE was gathered at table with his friends to celebrate their heritage.
They had been with him for a good while.
They had journeyed together. They
had had their ups and downs, their laughs and their spats�and yet through it
He loved each of them to the core of their being.
Reaching out, He took the
ritual bread form the table. Peering
into their eyes�into the depth of their hearts from his heart, he began to
speak:
�You
know guys, we�ve had some good times�remember Cana�what a party�
even
if they did run out of wine�what a party!!!
We�ve had some rough times too. Remember
when they ran me out of town!!! See this bread�This is my body to be broken for
you�remember me. Remember me as I
remember you.�
And taking the ritual cup,
He held it before them and said:
�This
is the cup�the cup of my blood�my life poured out for you and for
all�remember
Lazarus, and what about your mother-in-law Peter, remember the
ten
lepers, the blind man, the tax collector�the adulteress.
Remember---
Remember
what we�ve done together. Take�eat.
Take�drink. Be strong for
the
journey.
And getting up, He took off
his robe, and embracing bowl and towel, he knelt and began to wash their feet,
taking on the role of servant�the role of slave.
Coming back to table, He said: �If
I, your Lord and Master can do this, so also must you do�for there is no
greater love for you to show than to lay down your life, your lives�your
time�for those who come your way. I
leave you my example. If you follow
what I have done, you will know true happiness.�
�For it is in giving that we receive.�
Last Supper narratives:
Mtt., Mk., Lk., Jn. and St. Francis of Assisi
Jesus was no fool.
He knew the centrality and the importance of the table in life�in
everyday life�in everyday ordinary mundane life.
For it is at the table where we find the sustenance of life�of our
lives.
Food and drink�yes�but
so, So, SO much more.
It is at table where we
learn of our past, where we live in the present, and plot our future.
It is at table where we hear how perfect our parents were as children.
It is where we hear stories of the ancestors we never knew. It is at table where we argue with our siblings proving how
right we are and how wrong they tend to be.
It is where we heal our differences�where we welcome friends.
It is where we laugh, where we die unto self as we share with
others�and where we cry over spilled milk and lost opportunity.
Yet it is always a place of hope�a place of new life.
IT IS A CENTER OF RENEWAL!!!!!!!
FOR IT IS THE PLACE WHERE
WE GAIN STRENGTH FOR OUR JOURNEY�as Jesus wished.
�nd do not our hearts
burn� when we come to know our way, our truth and life at the table!��are not our eyes
opened!�
Lk. 24�Emmaus story
The Table prepared and
strengthened Jesus for HIS cross�The table prepares us
for our cross�not the ones we pick and choose�but rather the ones that come
to us WHICH WE DO NOT WANT�OR WISH TO DEAL WITH!!!
It was the table that
prepared Jesus for that horrific Friday we call good�Good because that day led
to new life�leads us to new life. For
�It is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.�
St. Francis of
Assisi
Joe in his life certainly
knew the pain of the cross as did his Lord and Master, Christ Jesus.
He knew it at different times�in different seasons, and most profoundly
in recent days: frustration�being misunderstood�too much work, not enough
time�being on display---
�MY
GOD, MY GOD---WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?�
Mk 15:34
He struggled with hurt and
rejection�of having ideas dismissed, sometimes by those closest to him�as
Christ Jesus.
�FATHER,
FORGIVE THEM, THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO.�
Lk. 23:34
And he knew peace, the
peace that comes from trying to do his best and then turning everything over to
God, come what may---abandonment�humility.
�INTO
YOUR HANDS, LORD, I COMMEND MY SPIRIT.�
Lk 23:46
He knew beginnings, and he
knew endings as did his Jesus.
�IT
IS FINISHED.�
Jn. 19:30
The table and the cross
together enables him, and challenge us to do what Jesus did�as Jesus did.
�The
lost I will seek, the strayed I will bring back.
The injured I will bind up�
the
sick I will heal�being a true shepherd to them.�
Ezekiel
I
will bring them peace�and justice.
The table and the cross are
the challenge �to detest evil and to do what is good�to rejoice in hope and
to be patient under trial�to offer hospitality and to bless our
persecutors�to weep and to be glad.�
Romans 12:1-18
�I WILL HOLD TO HIM FAST
AND NEVER LET HIM GO��TENUI NEC AIMMITTAM�LIVE JESUS�the Oblate mottoes.
�God grant me the
serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things
I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.�
The table and the cross
offer the challenge: �to live one
day at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, taking as Jesus did,
the sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that you, O God,
will make all things right if I surrender to your will, so that I may be
reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with you forever in the
next.�
Reinhold Niebuhr
Yes, it is at
table
and through the
cross
that HE is made known in the breaking of the bread, and where we are challenged
to open our hearts.
�lips
speak but to ears�heart speaks to heart.�
St. Francis de
Sales
It is here at table where
death�which looking so hopeless and bleak�is confronted and overcome by
LIFE!!!!!!
IT
IS RESURRECTION!!
It is the RESURRECTION that is the profound
and fundamental TRUTH of the Will of God:
THAT GOD�S LIFE�THAT GOD�S LOVE IS
FOREVER AND EVER
AND EVER AND EVER!!!
AND WE WHO ARE CREATED IN THAT IMAGE OF
LIFE----IN THAT IMAGE OF LOVE�ARE FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER.
Yes,
Lord, thy will be done on earth,
Where we have
No pleasure without some pain mixed in
No
roses without thorns
No day without a night to follow
No Spring without a Winter that went before�.
On earth.
O Lord, where consolations are rare and trials everywhere..
Still, O God, thy will
be done
Not only by our actively carrying out Your commandments,
counsels and inspirations
But also by our patiently accepting the sufferings and hardships
we meet,
So that, through us, for us, in us and with us,
Your will may accomplish all that is pleasing to you.
St. Francis de Sales
Treatise on the Love of God, IX
1
And so there is no need for
worry�no need to be anxious:
For the same Everlasting Father who cares for us today,
will take care of us tomorrow, and every day.
either He will shield you from suffering or
He will give us unfailing strength to bear it.
St. Francis de Sales
�Do this in memory of
me.�
Jesus
had a story�someone had to pick up the mantle.
DeSales and De Chantal had their stories, and someone had to pick up the
mantle. Joe had a story�and
someone will have to pick up the mantle. We
all have stories�Let us pick up the mantle�let us rejoice and be glad and
share his story�our stories with each other.
Let us remember.
Joe, my mentor, my
confessor, my rock, my friend and brother,
I WILL REMEMBER YOU AS LONG
AS I LIVE---and then some.
Remember me as I remember
you.
Remember us as we remember
you-----till we meet again!
AMEN----ALLELUIA
Joe Power was a consummate friend, with all the rich Salesian resonance of that word, friend. He not only knew but acted on the truth that deep in each human heart is the ache for God. That ache is met most surely between people who love each other deeply. Heart to heart. This church (and well beyond the church) is crowded with those who loved and were loved by Joe as friends, heart to heart. Joe knew and taught us that each person is like no other and he met each of us with his ready love and his willingness to receive the gift of who we are.
Joe was a gracious shepherd. He was the shepherd of a whole flock of people drawn to the beauty of the Salesian spiritual family including Oblate fathers, Visitandines and other vowed members. But especially was he a shepherd for lay people � the Daughters and the Society of Francis de Sales and others of us he liked to call �unaffiliated Salesians.� He founded and shepherded the annual spirituality conference which these past twenty years has been so joyful and sustaining and which has encouraged so many to do little things with great love.
Joe �lived Jesus� so faithfully. He especially had a heart that, like Jesus whom he so loved, was gentle and humble. That ever so slightly diffident yet wonderfully warm and welcoming smile that was �so Joe,� is seen so unmistakably in all the photos family and friends brought to the wake and the funeral. That smile invited us all into his quiet, gentle presence. Joe�s gentle heart was pliable too, capable of growth and change. Over the years Joe�s love of Francis de Sales grew to include Jane de Chantal and her past and present daughters, even Margaret Mary Alacoque. It continued to grow to include the whole of the heritage of the extended Salesian family in all its variety. Our gentle Joe was for so many of us the embodiment, the living witness, of the Salesian charism.
For all of his gentleness, Joe lived with great but quiet passion. Joe loved God�s astonishing creation. Certainly he was the Niagara area�s best promoter of the falls. And he was a tireless defender of the environment through his efforts on behalf of the Love Canal. He had a passion for the church, he loved her dynamism and he engaged in her intellectual debates through his work on Jacques Maritain.
Joe was passionate about his family, on whom he lavished attention. And he was passionate about his Brothers in the Oblate community, being an active participant in the order�s life and governance all the while gently but persistently encouraging his Brothers to more deeply explore their particular Salesian charism- to truly have the heart of Jesus.
Joe was even passionate in his generosity. In the hospital, before he began to decline, Joe was planning how he could arrange things at the church at Stella so he could continue to say mass for the Franciscan Sisters whom he so cherished. And to anyone who showed a scholarly interest in Francis de Sales or Jane de Chantal, Joe was an incomparable mentor, pouring through musty tomes, translating fragments, searching bibliographies, organizing seminars, sharing his wisdom, eager to learn more. His contributions to Salesian scholarship both bear his own name and are hidden under the names of a long, long list of others.
Joe lived gracefully between what he, following Saint Francis, called �the two wills of God.� With untiring persistence he pursued what he believed was God�s signified will � the De Sales Resource Center. Yet I believe that it was not just the Center he loved but his sense that through the Center God�s own desire to draw people closer was being realized. Yet Joe knew that the full expression of God�s will is much beyond our ability to grasp. And he loved that too.
Several of you have mentioned how fitting it is that Joe rounded out his life with us on the birth date of Saint Jane and on the eve of Saint Francis� feast day, those holy ones whose vision he had captured. They, like Joe, lived passionately into that ache for God. And Joe, like them, drew so many others- heart to heart- into God�s loving embrace.
We will all miss him terribly. But I think it is because of him that we can gather (both in person and joined with so many others in prayer) and genuinely recognize ourselves as a family. What a gift he has been.
A light has gone out on the Niagara Frontier. The death of
Fr. Joe Power, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales is an incomparable loss to our
community. Joe was a native of the area; he attended Stella Niagara as a Cadet,
and Bishop Duffy High School. After graduation he joined the Oblates of St.
Francis de Sales, the order that taught him in high school.
�His heart was neither a sponge drawing only from those around him, nor a
precious stone, gifted but impervious to others' gifts. It was rather a
constantly pulsating heart-center, which never ceased drawing in and giving
forth God's love.� These words are Joe's, written about his patron, St.
Francis de Sales, but they can be just as well applied to him as we mourn his
loss.
Joe became, indeed, he always was a scholar. His work in
theology shed light on the implications of democracy to the Christian in a
pluralistic society. His thinking created a path for consideration of interfaith
issues, always urging participants to act in common, and not let differences
limit justice. He forged the logic that allows Catholics and others to be active
in governmental matters not necessarily in accord with the teaching of their
faith. He reduced the writings of Jacques Maritain and Reinhold Niebuhr to every
day practice.
In the sixties, Joe traveled from farm to farm in rural Niagara County,
ministering to migrant laborers. He participated in the Migrant Ministry as a
Chaplain. Wherever he went, he was loved for his simplicity and humility. For
all his scholarly achievements, he mixed with everyone, from laborer to cleric,
and scholar, demonstrating God's love.
He worked as a minister to the migrants while he taught theology in Toronto and at Niagara University. To Joe, theory and practice were one. Indeed, he could hear the philosophy of the laborer, and he could put the philosopher to work.
In 1979 when Niagara Falls faced the consequences of faulty waste disposal, and Love Canal became an identifying scar on the image of the community, Joe heard the ministerial call "Where is the church in all of this?" He joined with Paul Moore and the churches of the community in the formation of the Ecumenical Task Force of the Niagara Frontier. He was a leader in the movement to minister to the afflicted and to seek recompense.
He was an active and articulate member of the Bishop's Peace and Justice Committee, where his skill as a mediator served, as did his skills as a leader. He could see both sides of a question, and come down on the side of truth, to the surprise of all the parties with less vision.
He plunged wholeheartedly in the activities designed to restore and renew the earth. Joe participated in the environmental movement with all his characteristic enthusiasm. He used his leadership abilities working to correct the wrongs and to restore the environment to its pristine goodness. But he was always conscious of the people involved, and eager to bring opposing forces to the table to reason together for the common good. His background in ecumenism gave him the words and grace to mediate between affected citizens and industry, to speak to government courteously but firmly, identifying the problems to be addressed.
Even as Joe moved in circles of government, and church leadership, he was active in the movement inspired by Jean Vanier, Faith and Sharing, and L'Arche. He regularly prayed with mentally and physically handicapped people, and their caretakers. He prepared and led retreats telling of God's wonders, inspiring all who heard him to see Christ in one another. He knew how to make community come to life with God's love.
Joe was equally at home among scholars, theologians,
politicians, housewives, the physically and mentally handicapped, sisters,
priests, activists, and artists. He could deliver esoteric theological papers,
and assure the simplest little man, bent and mute, of God's personal love for
each person.
In his book, FINDING GOD WHEREVER YOU ARE,
Joe describes St. Francis de Sales in words that can be applied to himself. He
"had a great personal capacity and a profound appreciation for friendship,
seeing both human and divine friendship as that for which we are made."
Certainly he practiced that quality which he appreciated so greatly in his
patron.
At his funeral mass, bishops, priests of many orders, scholars, men and women who watched him grow and mature right here on the Frontier, and others who studied with him in Europe, and Canada, his brother Oblates, and little people who barely understood what happened to him, gathered in tears to mourn the loss of a friend.
We miss you, Joe.
I truly hope that these words have given you comfort and joy and that together we will continue the journey that Joe has begun with us, knowing that he is close by�we carry him in our hearts.
Joanne Kinney
DeSales Resource Center
Many have inquired about a memorial fund to continue Fr. Power�s work. Contributions can be made to:
DeSales
Resource Center
4421 Lower River Road
Stella
Niagara, NY 14144
Note on checks: Memorial Contribution