Father Mark Payne Funeral Homily

Father Mark Matthew Payne, OSB

1951 - 2016

Funeral Homily by Abbot Melvin

July 14, 2016

Dear sisters and brothers of Mark: Ann, Frank, Tom, Margaret, Julia and Ellen, and all his friends,

How do I begin a eulogy for Father and Monk, Mark Payne this morning in the context of the Holy Eucharist and divine Faith which makes present and recalls today the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Mark’s Lord, Jesus Christ. He it is that the young Boy Scout Matthew and the dear son and brother Matthew came to believe in so powerfully, love so totally, and commit his remarkably blessed life and his life’s great gifts of mind and training, along with his legendary energy, to. Now, finally and fully, Mark lives in the Divine Universe of the Holy Trinity that holds all being in existence.

The monk Mark is now living with God--- this more real a reality than Mark’s much explored, studied and contemplated Space Universe that encompasses and upholds Jesus’s and Mark’s Planet Earth. I believe Matthew/ Mark was fascinated by the Universe and Space, Physics, airplanes, the outdoors, the mountains and trails exactly because these awesome realities, all holy signs, sacraments for him, brought him back constantly, unerringly to their Author, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, savior of the world, Mark’s redeemer. We know Mark’s often stated faith-conviction. Jesus is the Redeemer of each and every single human being, all his brothers and sisters-- from the beginning until the consummation of all creation in the One Lord. All of us human persons, sisters and brothers, intimately bound to Jesus Christ --all living and dying into God on this tiny planet Earth, Jesus Christ’s own Home. Just as Mark died on the Lord’s Day, July 10---- we believe into God.

Brothers and sisters, I intend to allow the great teacher and explorer of Matter and Mystery Mark Payne himself to speak to us unafraid to do so because this man all his days lived a life of inspiring transparency and brilliant thinking, judging and choosing. Even while in the dread prolonged grasp of sickness these recent years he would proclaim: “I’m the luckiest man in the world!” He meant it, lived it and employed this graceful exultation to help anyone who was lucky enough to know him to sense their own great self-worth reflecting back automatically Mark’s lucid personal appreciation of his own myriad and astonishingly varied gifts of mind, spirit and body. Remember he could and did hike the trail all day, happily and with the same boundless purposeful energy that had him construct a Physics class lesson, prepare a space/universe presentation or swim in the pool or lake at “his” Munsee---all the while managing being the monastery’s Prior, the director of admissions, supervisor of the Freshmen trail project, fine tune the Group system, and I’m sure someone here is adding to the list. Oh, yes he taught Physics! …but could spend hours as a student at Benedict’s, then at Notre Dame and back here as a teacher helping and energizing actors, stage crew, anyone in the theater! He loved to experience the camaraderie that produced a final good result: the Play—a unified effort of time, talent and persons, a trademark of Mark.

You know Mark often spoke of his beloved Mom and Dad, Mary and Matt, and his deep personal formation that included as a private favorite example of early learning for him, taking care of the Twins! Dedicated loving caring only grew wider and deeper-- encompassing so many-- particularly St. Benedict’s Prep young men. He learned how to Father and Mother each with profound respect and great nurturing objectivity—with a Mother and Father’s sympathetic and strong kind of love. Mark understood and lived loving and it made a substantial difference in others’ lives-- month after month, year after year, one person at a time, or one class or group at a time. The miracle of a man who lives life completely here in the present nuts and bolts, and at the very same time in transcendence and mystery, in the tangible embrace of Jesus Christ, his Lord. He was deeply aware this was how God made him. With perfect spiritual humility and a boldness which I believe derived from his truly remarkable self-esteem, he lived and sang: My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit exults in God my savior.

How early in his life did he become aware of who he is and who he was becoming? I turn to a personal letter he wrote to Abbot Ambrose in January, 1970 during his freshman year second semester at Notre Dame. He was 18 years old. This letter was written to advise the Abbot that he was still interested, very much so, in becoming a priest and a scientist, and working at both at the same time. He was clear about himself, his desires, and his vocation very early. Here are Mark’s words to the Abbot: “Father Matthew called me the day before I left [for Notre Dame] and told me that I’d missed a meeting of those interested in joining Newark Abbey. In this letter I’ll follow what he told me about your meeting.” First of all I have wanted to be a priest ever since I was old enough to know about it. I have embarrassing memories about saying Mass in the three homes where we’ve lived. I even celebrated one of the first outdoor Masses in Niagara Falls, Canada.”

“I have also had a fantastic interest in science and have done well enough in the sciences to be able to continue through college with it. I remember during an eighth grade retreat with the Graymoor priests or something in upper New York state that I told their vocations director during the interview that I wanted to be a priest and a scientist. He told me he was very sorry, didn’t I know that oil and water didn’t mix. Even then I knew that he was wrong and figured that their mixing was perfect.”

This statement for me is a profound insight into this young man. His habitual excellence of reasoning only grew by leaps and bounds, with much and consistent praying and daily study and meditation on the divine scriptures, as his well-worn Bible attests. His Bible was only laid aside when 5 years ago the dementia robbed him of his ability to read, a daily suffering we can only imagine.

Mark continues: “Thirdly, philosophy has fascinated me ever since Kevin started me thinking about it in sophomore year. What this leads up to is that I’m majoring in Physics at Notre Dame and filling up with theology and philosophy as far as they will allow. I think I can audit whole bunches of these courses even without official consent.”

Mark was a man who could make paths, provide solutions, and straighten out anything, easily, quickly and usually to everyone’s satisfaction. He practiced it in his own life’s unfolding and ministered it to all kinds of folks, young and older —the specific circumstances did not seem to matter much. Any person invariably benefited from talking to Mark, working with Mark, learning from Mark or simply watching how Father Mark lived. I count it a gift to our monastery that Brothers Thomas, Simon and Asiel had the honor and benefit to know and minister to Father Mark especially these last months of his life on earth with us. And I thank Raj his most faithful companion for the past year and a half of extraordinary care.

Mark continues in the middle of the letter: “If I do finally decide to join up, which so far I’d really like to . . . I’d like to ask you a few questions; the first are kind of profane. What is the future of Benedict’s? Scholastically, financially, religiously, the works? Is it a good house? (Getting cocky)” [Please remember sisters and brothers Matt Payne is writing in January 1970—2 years before St. Benedict’s closed!!]

Then Mark writes: “Christ said that the Christian road is a hard road with suffering and possible torture coming to those who live His message: LOVE. I can see how a teacher is loving but the monks don’t seem to be suffering much. Why not? Or are they really.” I do not know what Abbot Ambrose answered. Asking these questions tells us who Matt Payne begins to be, and Father Mark became.

Matt ends his probing questions of the Abbot already pledging his obedience “to headmaster and the Abbot of the place”, [his words] noting that this vow of obedience itself is nuanced, in his own words, “seems to be unquestionable at some places and less so at others.”

You are each of you thinking of your own relationships with Father Mark, what they mean to you, and we sense his love, his wisdom, his sheer intellectual brilliance, his energy for any sort of task, his humility and boldness, his Christ-centered trust and obedience. Missing what? His letter to Abbot Ambrose has a final short sentence which allows us a piercing look into Mark’s deepest self.

Father Mark Matthew Payne, Son, Brother, Confrere and Friend shares it with us in his own words: “I forgot to ask about faith. Right now let me just say that I’ve caught myself in the ironic position of praying to God to believe in Him; and praying to Christ in the Eucharist for the faith to believe it’s really He.” And believe, he did! Amen.