Father Michael William Labadie

June 1, 1973 – June 28, 2005

Funeral Homily by Fr. Kevin Bazzel

When Deacon and Mrs. Labadie asked me to preach today for Father Labadie’s funeral I was overcome with some fear.  It wasn’t because I knew the Archbishop would be here, or so many priests, or all of Father Labadie’s family or countless friends.  No, I was afraid because I knew Michael would hear everything I said and, if I don’t get it right, he’s liable to come back and tell me!  So I begin by asking forgiveness from Michael if I misspeak or maybe even have brushes with theological error.  Besides, this is the longest homily I have ever written – I figured he would appreciate that!

How can I give fitting tribute to this priest whom I have been blessed to call my friend?  If my words fail, though, it won’t make a difference.  Look around and see the tribute you give him by your presence.  Look around at the lives he has touched.  How many of you have been changed by having encountered Michael?  I will attempt to put the sentiments we all share into words, but enough has been said already by your prayerful presence this day – Michael truly loved and was loved by so many.

It seems proper to begin where Michael would begin coffee…  Actually, I think we should start with his intelligence.  He was smart… man was he smart, and extremely well read.  If ever he had to write or speak about anything, you can be sure that he immersed himself in books, old and new alike, to get to the very heart of the matter.  I was always amazed at his ability to remember things – both helpful things and useless things.  He put his intellect at the service of others, always willing to learn, always willing to teach.  Many of his students and parishoners have commented on Michael’s ability to explain complex theological topics with precision, clarity, and maybe even a little fun.  His intelligence was perhaps one of his greatest gifts, if not also one of his greatest stumbling blocks.  Sometimes he was too smart for his own good.  Other times he was simply a smart alleck.  Regardless, I imagine most all of us admire him for his smarts.

After his intelligence, we should recall Michael’s vocation.  Perhaps he did not seem like the most likely candidate in his former life (the long-hair days), but this man became a devoted Priest indeed.  Michael’s Priesthood was a gift he fought for strenuously.  Like most gifts of grace, this particular gift was not easy for him to obtain.  There were ups and downs, struggles and joys throughout his time at Saint Ben’s in Louisiana and at the North American College in Rome.  However, thoroughly convinced that God was leading him to a vocation in the service of the Church and her people Michael pressed on in his studies and formation determined to fulfill God’s plan for his life.

I would like to propose that, for us Priests, Michael’s goal for priestly perfection is a model for all of us to follow.  Maybe his living out of his ideals was not always the most prudent.  Maybe his zeal sometimes got the best of him, causing him to have a case of “foot-in-mouth” every now and again.  But anyone who knew him well and took a moment to look into his heart saw the unmistakable and irreplaceable marks of a good priest – a love of souls and a profound desire to offer sacrifices for their salvation.

Who could forget his Mass of Thanksgiving here at Our Lady, Queen of Mercy, on May 19, 2002?  All present saw Fr. Labadie moved to tears because of his love of the Eucharist and his incredible awe at what he had just done – having called the Lord of Heaven and Earth down from Heaven to take on the appearances of bread and wine so he, the Priest of God Most High, could nourish the members of the Lord’s flock.  As a side note, I keep being told of some incident when we had gone back to the Labadie’s that afternoon, where Fr. Labadie, Fr. Bart Smith, and myself supposedly started jumping around in the moonwalk, hogging it from the kids.  I think that story is pure legend, however, even though people say they have pictures!

Anyway, his Mass of Thanksgiving was not the only time the celebration of Mass would move him.  He spiritually united himself with our Lord on Mount Calvary each and every time he offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  He was a Priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek, and he was never more a Priest than when standing at the Altar and offering the sacrifice for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.  In his own life his one desire was that he might be worthy of offering that sacrifice.  Better, when all was said and done, his first and foremost prayer was that he would be perfect as his Heavenly Father is perfect and that, by his witness, he would lead others to holiness as well.  That is the mark of a beautiful soul.

But Michael also knew that uniting ourselves with Christ would not always be easy.  The path to holiness is long and difficult.  Anyone who has found the short and easy path to holiness – I wish they would tell me about it, but probably it is a wrong turn.

And so Michael suffered.  Every good Priest, at some level, desires to share not only in the glory of our Lord but above all in His suffering.  We understand that suffering was the key that unlocked the gates of Paradise, and it is suffering that brings us into a deeper appreciation of and participation in the life of grace.  This is the firm and constant witness of the saints throughout history.

For Michael, his suffering came not so much from any physcial ailment but more as a result of his own struggle for personal perfection.  He could forgive others – he was the hardest on himself and the most unforgiving of himself.  Again a lesson – we must be converted ourselves before we can help others to change.  But Michael had confronted many things in his life, especially during this past year, and, one after another, they began to take hold of him.

Many will want to focus on how Michael died.  I believe, however, that it wasn’t the act that took Michael from us; it was those underlying struggles.  The act itself was just one of many symptoms of a deeper unrest.  While this may sound somewhat symantical on the one hand and despairing on the other, I believe this distinction gives us great hope.

You see, his struggles are what interfered with that place where intellect and free will collide.  That is the place where truly human acts are performed.  If something gets in the way of those two powers, the acts performed are not completely our own.  In other words, it is as if Michael had become an actor in a drama that was not entirely of his own making, playing a role that he never would have wanted to play.

If we don’t look at the situation in that light, the temptation will be to get bogged down in all of those questions that have no answers: “What more could I have done?” “Why did he have to go through so much?” “Why did he have to die so young?”  All of these questions keep us trapped in the past.  We become like Martha in the Gospel reading, “Lord, if you had been with Michael, he would have never died,” or “Lord, if only I could have done something or said something more to Michael, he would be with us today.”

But we can not stop there.  We must also finish with her prayer, “Even now I am sure that God will give You whatever You want.”  It is God’s will that Christ will not lose anyone whom the Father has given Him, but that He should raise them on the last day (cf. John 6:39).  Therefore, this must be what Christ wants – that Michael be welcomed into the Heavenly worship with all the Angels and Saints.

Thus, after we have made our prayer in faith to the Lord, “Even now we are sure, Lord, that God will give You anything You want,” we hear the words of Christ spoken to us, “Your brother will rise again.”

And so, putting behind all those questions that leave us trapped in the past, we look forward to the Heavenly glory that awaits the just.  But, before we commend our brother to the Lord, it seems fitting that Michael be given the opportunity to thank some of you for all the love and support you gave to him:

†     Jim and Maryann – you have been a firm foundation for Michael, and your love for him showed him the face of God;

†     Bill and Nan – your support for Michael showed your loving concern for him;

†     Denise – you have been a sounding board for Michael for some time, and you were always ready to help him whenever you could;

†     Andy, Kelsey, Matthew, Ashley – Michael loved you all very much and talked about you every time we spoke;

†     Laura, Ken, and August – Michael always looked forward to seeing you, especially since it was harder for you to get together.  In fact, when we spoke on Monday, we were making plans for getting together in a couple of weeks, but we couldn’t do it on the weekend of the 23^rd, because that was when you were coming to visit;

†     Archbishop Lipscomb – When I spoke to Michael on Monday, he once again told me, as he had many times in the past, of how grateful he was for your constant support, prayers, and guidance;

†     The Priests of the Archdiocese – especially those here in Montgomery who have stood by Michael through good times and bad;

†     Faustin Weber and the faculty, staff, and students of CHS – Every time I spoke with him it was CHS this, CHS that – my students this, my students that… Teaching was his passion, and he loved all of his students so very much;

†     All of Michael’s classmates from Our Lady Queen of Mercy; CHS; Huntingdon; Saint Ben’s; and the NAC – especially those present to offer your prayers for him today;

†     And last, but not least, Sr. Judith, Michael’s true spiritual mentor, who, although not physically present here today, is certainly joining us in prayer…

The list could continue indefinitely, but I’m afriad we must end.

And so, my dear friend, we say goodbye as we commend your soul to the loving embrace of our Blessed Mother.  May our beloved Pope John Paul II greet you at the gates of Heaven and place you within the mantle of his mother, your mother, the Queen of Mercy.  May you be always present in our minds and hearts.  May you be the unseen concelebrant at all of our Masses as you take your place in the heavenly liturgy.  May it be said to you this day:

“Behold your God, to Whom you looked to save you!  This is the Lord for Whom you looked; rejoice and be glad that He has saved you!”