Homily from Bishop Boland

(As spoken at Savannah, GA. service)

Reverend Herbert J. Wellmeier
1930 - 2005
Funeral Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Friday, October 21, 2005

To these present and those who could not be in attendance, our consolation and love. Our diocese was blessed with a beloved and faithful priest. We share your loss because we know how deeply he loved his family and his extended family of a multitude of friends, not only in this diocese, but in far off niches of hospitality that he visited on a regular basis.

For more years than I can remember, August was Herbie's month of vacation. From early morning of the 1st to late evening of the 31st, he was a vagabond preacher. Church statutes indicate that a priest may take a month's vacation. It is reported that he selected August because it has 31 days.

My gratitude to my brothers in the priesthood who are present in such great numbers. In coming from near and far, you continue a great tradition: when one of our own is called home, we gather to say goodbye. For many we give back to the Lord a lifelong friend. Herbie seldom missed an occasion such as this. For Father Wellmeier the ordained priesthood was a shared responsibility - we always needed to be there for each other in the good times and frustrating times, in the days of ordination and in the day of deliverance which we celebrate this morning.

Parishioners
Herbert Wellmeier spent 47 years in active ministry and 2 years in retirement - let's call it quasi-retirement. For the past two years, he was constantly on the go helping out in different parishes and taking care of needs that otherwise would not be fulfilled. To use the cliché - "He died with his boots on."

He served seven different parish communities - in Savannah, the Cathedral and Most Pure Heart of Mary together with parishes in Tybee, Augusta, Albany, Columbus and finally, Richmond Hill. Every one of these places has been enriched because of his presence and ministry. You reciprocate with your presence today. Thank you.

Scriptures
Isaiah tells us this morning that God will destroy death forever. If we consider this holy place as our mountain, then we take consolation in the fact that God will provide for all peoples. We are all God's people and Herbert Wellmeier was God's instrument in a special way. God provides for all of us in diverse and different ways. We celebrate and rejoice and we are glad because God has saved us. As Paul told the Philippians, "Our citizenship is in heaven" and our passport is an acceptance of God's gracious love in the person of the Lord Jesus.

Several months ago, Father Wellmeier asked me to preach at his Golden Jubilee Mass scheduled for May 26th of this coming year. For a man who planned from one hour to the next, this was an unusual step but it was a measure of his values. He loved the priesthood and indicated that is what he wanted me to talk about. Well, Herbie this is it - we pray here this morning that your golden moment is the embrace of Jesus, Mary his Mother, all the saints that you loved, your parents and siblings that have gone before you and your many friends whose homes provided you with an open invitation to rest and to be fed. And so, your jubilee is not a day, but rather a lifetime of joy and peace in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I recognize that these are all nice and fuzzy words (lovely homily Bishop), and it would be misleading to miss out on the vessel of clay that was Herbie Wellmeier. He was my friend for 46 years and gratefully that friendship did not change when I became a bishop ten years ago.

May I take you on a walk? Jesus is in the center, place yourself on the left of Jesus and Father Wellmeier is on his right. We are on our way to Emmaus. It is seven miles so we have plenty of time to banter back and forth.

Jesus: "Herbie, I noticed that a couple of days before you died, you visited one of your sick friends in the hospital. Bishop Boland was at the other side of the bed - you produced the Holy Oil of the Sick and invited the Bishop to do the anointing, but he insisted that you should do it. You anointed the forehead and one hand and suggested to the Bishop he should do the other hand. For the benefit of the patient, I'm glad you figured out that a shared anointing is not the way to go! I also like your gesture of leaving your calling card. It was, however, a card from St. Anne's, Richmond Hill with the Cathedral stamp superimposed. You should ask Monsignor O'Neill to give you some new cards. He can afford it!

Person on the Left: Jesus, did you ever take a ride with Father Wellmeier in his automobile? I felt at times my life was endangered - not that he drove too fast, but he was always carrying on a conversation with the driver of the car in front of him, beside him or behind him. Many times he would make very derogatory remarks about the other drivers and their lack of knowledge of road etiquette. Jesus replies: "I told St. Christopher to take care of Herbie years ago."

Herbie: "Jesus, some of my friends give me a hard time about some of my frugal habits. Is there anything wrong with recycling Christmas cards? It's so easy, especially if they just sign their name with no message. I cross out their name, add my own and mail it to selected friends. They know how I am. I always go through the sample boxes of cards; they are really beautiful. I just cross through the price schedule on the back flap and off it goes!

My Lord Jesus, Bishop Boland is out of town now, but he recently inquired if the next time we go for a meal, if he could he select the restaurant. Apparently, he must be getting tired of my selections - I always have two for one coupons!

Person on Left: Jesus would you mid telling Father Wellmeier to call ahead when he intends to pay a visit and drops in on friends in his former parishes. We love to have him, but you know we ladies want to look our best. Once he caught me dyeing my hair!"

As we continue our journey to Emmaus with Jesus and Father Wellmeier, we should recall our own story and put it in context as to how Jesus would react. He would listen intently and smile internally because to get to know Father Wellmeier, you had to get through the outer veneer. He could be curt, he could be blunt, he could be easily misunderstood, he could be as odd as two left shoes! There may be some who never got to the point of seeing his "inner self."

As a priest his bottom line was loyalty to his Church in humble and obedient service. He was a priest's priest and a bishop's joy. Once you were his friend, you were always his friend. This meant you got many newspaper cuttings during the year and a recycled card at Christmastime.

Yesterday, an adult said to me: "I really liked Father Wellmeier. When we were children, we had nothing. He brought us toys." This poignant observation says more about the man than our hearts will ever know.

Jesus is our companion on the journey and we say to him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." For Father Wellmeier, the day is done.

For forty-nine years he presided at the altar table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to us.

It is time for us to return to our homes with the renewed conviction that "the Lord has been truly raised and has appeared to Simon." We believe he will also appear to Herbert Wellmeier.

AMEN.