HOMILY & EULOGY FOR FR. KEFFER MONDAY MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL AT RESURRECTION CHURCH IN BURTONSVILLE 8-10-26
SCRIPTURES FOLLOW AFTER HOMILY TEXT
Ecc.3:9-13 1 Cor. 9:16-23 John 15:9-17
HOMILY FOR FR. BOB’S MASS
Life is a gift and it is meant to be celebrated. We are meant to live it right in the temporal and live it anew in joy into the eternal realm. This is a central focus and balancing act of what is Fr. Bob Keffer’s life.
Fr. Bob chose today’s Scriptures. I am captured by his Ecclesiastes chapter 3 one. I have an inkling why he picked it for his funeral. This is the text right after the first two chapters of the book to ask life’s main questions: ‘What’s it all about? Is there anything that life’s about? Is all in life just vanity upon vanity—only meaninglessness?’ Yet chapter three answers it. The wisdom writer says he has learned what life is about. First, start with the basics that God has made everything beautiful—how we are created beings—in His image, and that, secondly, God has set “THE TIMELESS” into humanity, implanting it into our hearts, and into a mindful consideration that there is more, because THERE IS GOD. Fr. Bob ascribed to this spirituality of “God awareness,” but not just as a moral compass, but to a deeper, Catholic, spiritual longing in each soul—“The timeless is set into our hearts. Eccl. 3:11. The Hebrew word for this timeless dimension in us is “olam,” which can be translated as eternity or an eternal sense, of the great future and hope, unto the everlasting hills of God. REF.PS.120-121
I think Fr. Bob knew the “olam” well, teaching others how we are to celebrate and live in the temporal, enjoying what we can, but it is always to be pairing with a life aimed to experience the eternal realm. We live for God’s glory, and right along with the “business that God has given to mortals” and all the “toiling” it asks of us (Eccl.3:9-10). Life has its hard parts, but it is not a drudgery. Hear Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 and as if in Fr. Bob’s voice: “I recognized that there is nothing better than to rejoice and to do well during life. Moreover, that all can eat and drink and enjoy the good of all their toil—this is a gift of God.” Then you pair this joy of living into the prayers of liturgy: Ecclesiastes 3:1 states: “There is an appointed time for everything–a time for every affair under the heavens (for God).” It all comes together, in other words. Put a celebration of life into one’s celebration of the Sacred Liturgy.
Way back when, at the University of Maryland as a student in 1977-82, I met Fr. Bob and Fr. Bill Kane in the Maryland Newman Center. I mostly partook in liturgy as a lector and music minister, and with their inspiration, we Terps definitely had some celebration going on in the 12:45 Sunday Mass with the fathers at the University Chapel. Singing “Blest Be the Lord…the God of Mercy, the God Who Saves” or “Seek the Lord While He May Be Found” —Fr. Bob loved the aliveness in us. It helped that he had taught us in a class of St. Irenaeus teaching: ““The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” He showed how this emphasizes the fulfillment of human life in communion with God and the divine purpose of humanity. That was good theology being taught at a secular university! We Catholic Terps left blessed by the campus ministry. I suppose the GW students, later, got the same great stuff.
I and Richard Scott, of the University of Maryland class of ‘83, later became DC Priests of 1988. Terp vocations to priesthood have kept on going and increasing, thanks to those good chaplains at Maryland–Keffer, Kane, Kalita, Byrne, Ingals, Walsh, Murphy and now Cwik, and who is helped now with FOCCUS missionaries.
“To everything, turn, turn, turn—there is a season, turn, turn, turn—and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance, a time we may embrace, a time to refrain, to let go…” That was in our chapel folk music repertoire. It seemed to say: celebrate humanity!
Fr. Bob liked his celebrations of life—his laughing, his dancing, his gardening and cooking, his mixing socially with others and his caring, his smiling and finding humor to ease us on in life. Fr. Bob’s celebrations were inclusive, like in sharing of his meals and his noticing what he might contribute to others’ lives. Bob’s cooking for people through the years was widely appreciated, and he even was once recognized in a Post article-“cooking for a mob.” From his Sacred Heart parish early assignment, to Maryland days, to Resurrection’s era-Bob was cooking for others. Celebration is a word to define this side of Bob. But in as living the “olam” -things in his life, as cooking, he had it paired right up with his celebration of Holy Mass, as merged joys.
Bob Keffer celebrated his priesthood—for 58 years he did. He sought that balanced life of temporal and eternal joys woven to one—not to ever be too worldly nor too heavenly for any earthly good. Balance. That was staff woman Annick’s compliment of him.
Celebration is a word to describe his life, like at his first parish assignment at Sacred Heart–DC from 1968 on. Bob helped in dinner theatre productions there, cooking, and of connecting youth together and across race lines. Our parishioner Vince recalls those days, as it did him a lifetime of blessing: Vince is our current choir man, lector, and council member–he lived at Sacred Heart in those days—and he acquired the fire of the Holy Spirit there. We heard from Bishop Roy Campbell that he had the same experience back to that parish and Fr. Bob. (They go far back.)
Helene on our current staff recalls how Father Bob’s move from university to parish life here brought him engagement with backing a youth group here. When she was interviewed for the youth ministry job, she noted that not only was Fr. Bob there, as so were high schoolers sitting with adults in the process. She liked that personalized and shared approach. She got hired. She is still here enjoying Resurrection parish.
Our retired maintenance man Ken Nolan was hired by Fr. Bob, too. He is with his wife here today, paying respects.
I also see members of our Catholic Cameroon Community here, including two of its lay founders, and a priest from those days way back. They came asking Fr. Bob if this parish could host a regular, regional, monthly Mass and get-togethers for Cameroonians with their style of liturgy. He said yes and they are still meeting here to this day. We’ve even had a couple of in-resident Cameroon clergy at the rectory, and the occasional visit of a bishop here from a Cameroon diocese or such.
I got to know Fr. Bob in three phases: as a college student under his chaplaincy, then some more time as knowing him as his neighbor when I was over at St. John the Baptist parish. In fact, we started the same July 1st day in 1999 to this general neighborhood. Then in 2017 I came on here, stage three, and I got to know him more from the good comments made by people of Resurrection, of what they liked in him as pastor. I had arrived 5 years after his retirement, but in 2018 I had the good timing to be here to welcome him back, with Sr. Rita, for a golden anniversary celebration at Resurrection, and to another celebration. He seemed to really enjoy being back, and it made me happy to see that.
In this recent time of 2012 to now, Father Bob was living just over the Maryland line in almost-heaven West Virginia. It was his country roads of retirement. Some people are here among us mourning Bob, who knew him there. Some of our parish community had seen him up there too, along these days. Now Fr. Bob goes from almost-heaven to Heaven.
In Fr. Bob’s Resurrection days, our parish added on the new Riderwood Village community—doing it as a side job. (Not as its own parish—like Leisureworld, but Resurrection does it as a side job.) A Mrs. Fitzgerald, I was told, said it first to Fr. Bob—“you better get down here soon, we have lots of needy Catholics.” He did hop to it. First we had busses coming up to our church for Mass, but then afterward to locations on the campus, until later a Riderwood Chapel was added—our present home for Masses and more.
Unbeknownst to people, Erickson’s first big retirement project was at Charleston in Catonsville, when they took a former seminary and turned it into a retirement village with its chapel remaining in the center. Guess who had been in that former seminary in the 1960’s? Bob Keffer! It was such a coincidence that it was not!
Fr. Bob made Riderwood Catholic community happen down here, and he asked our Linda Carey (founding member) to be a full-time lay associate to lead the ministry there. It was quite successful; it’s been going on more than 25 years later there, with Louise Locke after her, and now Fr. Virginus Osuagwu guiding it along. *See our Sunday bulletin for more on Riderwood’s beginning days.
He also added on staff at Resurrection a social justice director with a Haiti outreach, too, in his life-long friend of Sr. Rita Ricker, who was his sister Betty’s classmate back at good ol’ St. Jerome’s school. They each are at in their 58th year of living their vocation in the Church.
Then the big project of the Keffer Center came on, which built us space for needed classrooms and offices and youth ministry space. In 2021—the hall got finally paid off—staffer Gwen Wilhelm called Fr. Bob right away to deliver the good news—it’s ours! Gwen was another staffer who enjoyed Fr. Bob’s pastorate. Parish life was enjoyable for them with him, even enough so that they even could put up with Fr. Bob’s spoiled, not-strictly trained dog hanging around daily at the office, like he was on staff. ‘Wuf?!
I could write more of parish members thoughts, but let’s wrap it up to a Fr. Bob take-away line: “Life is a gift and it is meant to be celebrated.”
Eulogy
I transition now to eulogy words, passed on from the family input to me.
Of his vocation, Charles, his older brother, says that Bob clearly wanted to be a priest, discerning it so by his teens. Bob went to St. Charles High School Seminary up around Catonsville, while his brothers went to Gonzaga, and his sister Betty to Notre Dame Academy. They all started at St. Jerome’s-Hyattsville parochial school. Bob was drawn to the mystery of Christ Cross’ and the giving Savior on it. While in seminary, he asked his brother Richard to paint him the crucifixion. Richard did so. Bob kept it, liked it, and then gave it to us at Resurrection. We have it displayed today in our Commons to see. Normally it is up in the Reconciliation Room.
Bob’s sister Betty wrote me a Friday email to have me add the story of them all growing up under parents who “just loved taking their Sunday car trips to Triton Beach in Maryland (on the Chesapeake). Mom prepared the lunch, she played the nickel slot machines, we younger ones went to the Penny arcade after lunch, and Dad swam in the bay with us. They were all happy and exhausted on the drives home.” That’s what she wrote. It was uncanny, because my own weekend homilies featured a story on Sunday drives with the Barry family. ‘Yup! True!
In another account, Betty noted how Bob would visit his mom a lot during his UM days and Resurrection days—even picking her up from Bingo at St. Jerome’s or from DeMatha late at night then—to then regularly going over to help her to eat her lunch in later days when he was assigned here. He was that kind of caring son to his mother.
Betty recalled Bob’s love of dogs came as early as St. Jerome days when he brought home a puppy from a camp. That became “Prince.”
Adding to other family notes, she says that Bob became the spoke of their family wheel. He made sure to stay connected to each of the family. His family returned the pleasure when on Bob’s 80th birthday that surprised him with an arranged family zoom—that just tickled him!
Here you are—Bob’s family—along with his spiritual church family and friends, gatheredto salute our brother off to God. We’ll lay his ashes down at Gate of Heaven today, but say Godspeed to Eternity, dear soul of God. The “olam” and timelessness of God is now yours to see. Go soar. May the Holy Spirit do for you all the purifying work to bring you to the perfection of the Presence of God.
Ecc. 3:9-13
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF ECCLESTIASTES
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
What profit have workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to mortals to be busied about. God has made everything appropriate to its time, but has put the timeless into their hearts so they cannot find out, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
I recognized that there is nothing better than to rejoice and to do well during life.
Moreover, that all can eat and drink and enjoy the good of all their toil—this is a gift of God.
THE WORD OF THE LORD. Thanks be to God.
Psalm
Next follows the responsorial Psalm
2
1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23
A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS,
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel…
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
THE WORD OF THE LORD. Thanks be to God.
Alleluia song and Gospel
Next follows the Acclamation and Gospel proclamation.
3
John 15:9-17
A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN: + proclaimed from Book of Gospels
Jesus spoke to his disciples, saying:
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD. Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.