A Loving Tribute to Fr. John LaTondress

COME SPIRIT!

(The homily given by Father Joseph Pellegrino on the occasion of the Mass of Resurrection for the soul of Father John LaTondress, Pastor of St. Ignatius Church, Tarpon Springs, Fl. September 3, 1988.

     Bishop Larkin, my brother priests, Helen and Edward, people of St. Ignatius, all of Father John's dear friends. Today we celebrate the life of a priest and a dear friend.

     Edward and Helen, we are all here to celebrate your brother's life. Helen, let me say this, there are many of us here, all of whom, because Father John was so loving and so open, count ourselves as your brother's closest personal friends; but Helen, our Father John was your brother, Jack. He loved you and cared for you the most in this life, and will continue to love you and care for you united to the eternal life of Christ.

     I want to tell you all a story now that you've heard Father John relate over and over in so many of his homilies.

     On day, John would say, he went out for a little walk to pick something up at Publix. One of the teenagers saw him and called out, "Hey, Father John, where are you going?" "I'm going to heaven," he said. Then he called again, "Yes, but where are you really going?" And he said, "I'm really going to heaven." Then he said, "Come on Father, where are you really, really going?", he asked. So I told him, "I am really, really going to heaven. But I'm going to stop off at Publix on the way." Then John would go on to say that life is a matter of various stops on our way to heaven.

     Today as we gather to celebrate Father John's life, we thank God that he stopped off here on his way to heaven.

     When Father John first became pastor of St. Ignatius, there was a small hall over the side of the property that we used to use for overflow masses. The Parish Life Center was about eight classrooms smaller. The Rectory consisted in two rooms in the back for priests, and one office in the front with a small reception and bookkeeping area. The property is quite different now, but the Parish has remained the same. You see, Father John didn't just build buildings, he built community. He took a community that was going through a stressful period and transformed it into a community whose love was so strong and vibrant that visitors still call the Rectory and ask: "Is this the Church that they bless the children?" St. Ignatius was and is a special Parish because Father John was and is a special priest.

     Father John would ring my neck for even mentioning any of the buildings. He once told me, I do not want to be remembered as a builder of buildings. I want to be remembered as a person who touched people. He wanted to be remembered as a priest. A priest is called to bring the Lord to people and to bring people to the Lord. He is called to build the Kingdom of God in hearts. For John LaTondress was a priest. You have no idea how much Father John cared for us all. He used to say to me, "Joe, people have such terrible, terrible problems." He would hurt with you. He wanted so badly to just take your pain away. He was determined to do the best thing he could do for you and for us. He knew quite clearly that the best thing he could do for anyone was to become the best priest he could be.
     When I first met Father John, I was right off the boat, this was my first parish assignment. I told him that I knew nothing about how to be a parish priest. You know what he said to me? He said, "Joe, do you like people?" "Yes, I do", I said. Then he said, "You know the most important thing about being a parish priest."
     Father John was genuine. He really loved you and me. And he really fought hard to be a good priest for us all. He used to say, "My life is an open book" -- recently, he's been adding that the pages sometime get stuck together. But the truth is, you, people of St. Ignatius, know him. Your most beautiful memories of your Father John are realistic. We have been gifted with spending time with a true priest of God. Every liturgy was so important to him. Every homily was prayed over, pondered over, written out, and delivered from the heart. Every pastoral visit was paid with a real concern and love for his people.
     The Letter to the Hebrews declares that a person does not take the honor of priesthood upon himself, but is called to this by God. Father John's response to that call leads every priest here to re-exam our own response to the call to the priesthood. His response to God's call leads everyone here who has been called to the sacrament of matrimony or to the life of the single committed Christian, to examine their own response to God's call.

     A year ago, almost to the day, Father John learned that he had cancer. He was told, then, that he only had a few months. But he was still your pastor. Now he had a new way that he could bring God to you. He would die as a man of faith, trusting in God's love and mercy. Do you remember his words in the bulletin, "How good God is in giving me this time. He has given me time to continue my work here and unite myself more closely to him." He told you that he did not want your tears, he wanted your support and your prayers so he could continue to share his life and love with you in the Lord. To his last day, he remained in control of the parish, not because he needed authority, but because caring for you was his life.

     He lived as a priest. He died as a priest. He is Helen and Ed's brother, our friend and pastor, and a priest forever, according to the Order of Melchizedek.

     God bless you John. God bless you for being Christ for us. God bless you for showing us priests how to pastor. God bless you for being a loving and caring friend. And God bless you people for listening to him, learning about the Lord from him, for caring for him. As we continue our own journey to heaven, we thank God for giving us this special priest who put a smile on our faces and the Love of the Lord in our hearts.

     Last week I spent most of a day off cleaning out my personal files to prepare for the annual task of paying income tax. I came upon my files regarding my incarnation or entrance into the Diocese. In these files I saved correspondence between myself and Fr. John LaTondress prior to my arrival here in August of 1979.

     I know you have heard a lot about Fr. John, but let me assure you, if you were not here when Fr. John was here, you missed one of the greatest priests and pastors ever.

     Fr. John's first letter to me explains that St. Ignatius is a parish of about 1300 families with about 500 children in religious education. At the time St. Ignatius included all of Palm Harbor, with 584 as the Southern border. (Now we are a parish twice that size with a southern border of Klostermann Road). He mentioned that the parish had an all purpose building, but that a permanent Church would soon be constructed. (The Church was completed and consecrated in November, 1981. I actually said the first Mass on Thanksgiving morning at 7:30 a.m.)

     Fr. John encouraged me to finish off the school year where I was teaching in Boston and then take some time with my parents. Many of you have heard the story of how I stopped to put on a clerical shirt just before arriving in Tarpon Springs. Fr. John showed up riding a motor cycle--I knew this would be a fun time.

     Indeed, Fr. John was a lot of fun. He was deeply spiritual, but he laughed a lot and joked a lot. I had to listen to all his sermons because I never knew what he would say about me. He also had a way of making everyone feel as though he or she was his closest friend. We grew very close during the four years I was at St. Ignatius and remained close after I went to St. Jerome and then founded St. Matthew.

    As I rummaged through my files I came upon Fr. John's will and final dispositions. He had asked me to be his executor many years before his sickness, but I never really thought much about his dying someday. He died all too soon for all of us. In the file I came upon his bulletin to the parish announcing his sickness. "I am your pastor, my door is open to help you with your problems. Please feel free to visit me, but do not come to visit my tumor. I need your support and your prayers, not your tears."

     St. Matthew was dedicated after Fr. John became ill. He made it a point to donate money towards the organ there. His name and his parents' names are on a plaque at St. Matthew to this day. Fr. John was happy that he was in enough of a remission to attend the dedication of St. Matthew. He was there because he knew what that parish meant to me and because he was always there to support me.

     I saw him numerous times immediately before his death. I remember him saying, "You know, this is not fun." He wanted to die as the active pastor of St. Ignatius. In the late afternoon of Saturday, September 3, 1988, he had his associate, Fr. Mike Muhr, bring him the announcements for the weekend Masses. As pastor, he wanted to be sure all was proper for the weekend liturgies. A few hours later he closed his eye (one eye was blind, so would always say that he would close his eye meaning his good eye) for the last time.

     I know that Fr. John had a hand in my coming back here to St. Ignatius two years ago on January 15th. I know that he wants me to use my own particular abilities to help the parish progress. I know that I can never be half the pastor or a quarter of the priest that Fr. John was, but I also know that he is guiding me to do what I do best as a priest.

     When people come to see me, they sit right in front of a big picture of Fr. John which I have in my office. I glance at that picture from time to time as people are talking to me. I try to think what Fr. John would want for this person and for his people at St. Ignatius.

     It has taken two years, but Fr. John has finally gotten something across to me. His people are my people.

     I am happy to be here.          (Fr. Joe)

In loving memory of a friend that I still miss ...