Rev. Damian Drass, T.O.R.
(October 22,1932 - February 11, 2006)

--Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, T.O.R.

Father Damian

We gather to offer this Funeral Mass for the soul of our deceased Father Damian,

• a friar of the Province of the Immaculate Conception,

• a brother to Audrey and Barbara,

• a brother-in-law to Bob,

• an uncle to Donald, Cathy, Melody and Polly,

• a nephew to Jane, Donald and Edward,

• a dedicated priest and loyal friend to all.

A man of relationships, past and present.

A man in relationship, even after death.

2

In front of human death, each one of us stands with a shaken heart, puzzled mind, and sad eye. But God has the right to call from this world to Himself � into His Eternal home �

• whomever He wants,

• whenever He wants,

• from any place He wants, and

• in the way He wants. 

He does not consult anyone about our death. He does not release anyone from death. God is our Loving Father, the Creator of our body and of our soul, the Absolute Master of time and of eternity, of these material spaces and of spiritual ones. This, my dear friends, is why we stand in the presence of God in an attitude of humility and faith. Father Damian accepted the Cross of Christ at his Baptism and again at his profession of vows, that same Life-Giving Cross that gave him the courage, at the last, to embrace Sister Death, the means to ultimate union with the Lord.

3

In front of God�s call, all human comments and stories stand still. The only remaining story is the answer to be given by Father Damian, and our prayers and intercession through this Sacrifice of Jesus in the Eucharist before our merciful Father in heaven.

First of all, in the name of the Province and all the friars gathered here, I would like to express our thanks and gratitude for your presence here as we honor Father Damian with Christian burial. If the Sunday Eucharist is an act of thanksgiving � a thanksgiving sacrifice and offering � then it is my prayer for all of you that this Funeral Mass, likewise, be a thanksgiving for this life, one that was human, Christian, Franciscan, religious, and priestly � a life that in everything was a great sacrifice, a great surrender, a great heart � for all people.

4

The deaths we read about in the morning newspapers do not really touch us. Death is only real for the persons we love. It is only real for those bound to us by affection. Their death is our separation from them. We prefer not to think of it. And then, in a seeming flash, death touches our lives. We are bereft. We are somewhat empty. The person who once filled our lives is gone, and we weep because he has been taken from us. The pain of death belongs to the persons who live. It belongs to the ones who are left behind.

And, dear friends, that was true in the village of Naim; it was true at the town of Bethany; and it is true in Altoona. Christ solved the problem of death at Naim; Christ solved the problem of death in Bethany; and my dear people, only Christ can solve the problem of death in Altoona. He solves the problem of death with the answer of life. Eternal life! Christ did not give us immortality. He gave us resurrection!

5

At every Eucharist, like this one, we recall the death of the Lord. And we remember more than that; we remember all Jesus said and did; we remember the promise of life given us by Jesus. We have hope. We have hope, that through Christ we live for ever. The life that we have for ever is the basis of our faith. It�s also the basis of our trust. The more we experience God, the more we love God. The more we love God, the more we trust God.

Death accompanies us throughout life. It is seen in the limitations of self. Father Damian didn�t want to retire. The thought was never in his mind, never in his wildest dreams. Having stepped out from active ministry, for health reasons � into retirement status � it was for him like falling off a cliff. His ministry was his life. But, then, within these 73 years, here before us lies a life that, humanly speaking, filled up not just one, but several life-times, because this life knew no fatigue, no letup, no rest. He never went to bed before midnight, and he never saw the sun come up in his room. His delight was to be with people: young or old, students or senior citizens; the little, the least, those for whom no one would have either heart or soul. Everyone was important to him.

6

Father Damian came to this parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in 1962. I was in the seventh grade then; Joe Saclaro, myself, and many others served Mass for Father. A young priest: exuberant, energetic, caring, aflame with zeal, and a vision: started a boys� club; not at the exclusion of the girls � they were already formed into a Sodality, with Father Vincent as their moderator. Damian sensed the boys should be organized as well. He set out, with the help of our dads as counselors, to provide, and from the guidelines of the FDBC, I quote: �a wholesome atmosphere conducive to the spiritual, intellectual, physical, civic, and social advancement of its members; to conduct a program of activities for youth by youth, under the direction and counsel of adult men, who will lead them closer to Christ, and associate them more closely with His Church, and to the community in which they live, and with one another.� It was Father Damian who had the greatest influence in my decision to become a Franciscan priest.

7

What was it about him that made him seem larger than life? He had to have some secret source of power, or energy to do the things he did. We didn�t know. He turned our whole world upside-down, and right-side up again. And we loved all of it; and him. With hindsight, a 44 year loving look back, his source of inspiration had to be Christ and St Francis. Christ:

• who never wrote anything, who only sowed the word that His disciples wrote down;

• Christ knew that only some falls on fertile ground,

and in Father Damian�s life that word was fulfilled to the end. It fell on the fertile ground of his faith, of his heart, of the tradition from which he imbibed in the family home in Hollidaysburg, and it bore fruit a hundredfold.

He lived in the image of Saint Francis. Francis, like Jesus, the Teacher of us all. Francis, the greatest among the great, the one who threw down his expensive suit of clothes at his father�s feet; Francis who loved poverty for the sake of poverty. That, too, had to be for Father Damian a daily inspiration: not to keep anything, but to give everything away. He gave to people left and right, without asking who it was and who is what. Damian passed the test of faith in living out the Gospel because love for people and love for God were embodied in his person. 

8

To be on fire for God and for people. Damian took no time-out to think over his life. It is death that takes the real measure of life. It clearly sends the message about that from which all of us should live and draw strength, and that is: one lives a short time, and it is necessary to leave behind us clear signs and directions for love. Traces that others gladly remember; tracks and ways on which others can pass. Jesus, knowing that His time had come, and because He loved His own whom He had taken from the world � loved them to the end � took a towel and basin and washed His disciples� feet. The feet are man�s most soiled members. In His love Jesus touched dirty but also wounded human feet. He touched the Achilles� heel of every person. 

What is there still to say about the tracks that Father Damian has left behind him? He went through Hollidaysburg, Altoona, Johnstown, and Philippi, doing good, proclaiming Jesus Christ, preaching and living the Gospel, celebrating the Eucharist, touching the sore spots � the Achilles� heels.

9

Father Damian did not just stay with words. He poured off words into deeds, forgetting himself. He poured himself out for those who had the most need of help. He was both a spiritual Father and a material Father, a companion to so many, beyond numbers. He left his trail, indelible. Into himself he poured the word of Jesus: �As the Father has loved Me, so I love you.�

Our dear Father Damian: 

• We are grateful to God that we had you. 

• We are grateful to Him that He called you to our Franciscan community. 

• We are grateful to God for the gifts with which He endowed you, and that you utilized to the max. 

• We are grateful to your family for giving you to our Province.

And finally, dear Father Damian, I would ask you for one thing: forgive us all if in our eyes, or from our point of view, you were not understood. One thing, however, remains plain and clear: your work is visible, permanent. It is woven into our lives. You traveled the journey for a while with us, and now you have gone on ahead of us, but you will always remain connected to us, with us, in our hearts.

Death Notices