I thank all of you for coming to this funeral. I offer sympathy to those who mourn with us in a special way: Lauriean Zollar, Bill and Rosemary Hinkfus, Dave Nenning, Patricia McVay, Bob Burke.
Last Friday night Father Cornell said to nurse Joanne, "My work is done. I'm ready to go. Please bring me my white Norbertine habit."
He was anointed for the journey into the next life on Saturday afternoon.
He died at 1 AM on Sunday morning. It was the fifth Sunday of Easter, a reminder of the resurrection of Jesus the Son of God and son of Mary. It is a promise of Bob Cornell's resurrection and ours.
We just heard the Gospel story of the death of Lazarus. Martha said to Jesus, "If you had been here, our brother would not have died" Jesus replied,
"I am the resurrection and the life. Your brother will rise again.
Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Do you
believe this?" Martha said,
"Yes Lord. I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God "
In our Mass this afternoon we will hear the words that echo Christ's promise: "Life is changed not taken away." Father Bob Cornell lives in a new life. His body died but his soul lives on. After Mass, we will take his body and bury it in the earth. It is like a seed that will blossom in immortality. His body will rise again in the fullness of time.
Fr Bob was a priest, an educator and a congressman. I knew him well in all three roles. When I was a sophomore at Philadelphia's Southeast Catholic high school, he was my home room teacher.
In my junior year he was my American history teacher. I learned a lot about our presidents, wars and development as a nation. I marveled at his capacity to lecture one hour for every class, rarely consulting notes. He was famous for this skill throughout his 40 plus years teaching at St. Norbert College. At the end of my junior year I attended his ordination to the priesthood.
As a senior I took his course in National Problems. I received my first hint of his passion for the labor movement, the working class, those who needed a public voice. His interest in the Church's social teachings became evident.
I became one of his numerous lifelong friends after being in his classes five hours a week for forty weeks for each of those three school years. In later years he loved needling me about my conversion to the conservative point of view.
He was never the aloof teacher. He was interested in us as people. He had high standards, a great sense of humor and was devoted to his students. Five of our senior class entered the Norbertines that year. Father Bob came to the B & O train station to encourage us on our trip to De Pere.
One of his more recent students, Brian Mathu of Wrightstown, caught the magic of Father Bob's life in these words, "Father Cornell will likely be remembered for his days in Congress when he shook hands with presidents and worked with many influential people. But I will always picture him humbly talking with and listening to my young sons, giving them some loose change or a small toy as a gift and making them feel like the most important people in the world."
He was always a priest devoted to God and active in local parishes, such as Corpus Christi in Sturgeon Bay. It was there he conceived the idea of running rock concerts to make money for the parish church he served on weekends. Later he moved the concerts to Green Bay where the profits were given to Premontre High School. One of his favorite performers was Johnny Cash.
The year that he was elected to his first term in Congress it happened that I was working at the National Catholic Educational Association at Dupont Circle in Washington DC. He lived with me that first year then moved to Capitol Hill. I had the privilege of witnessing his growth as a Congressman.
People often asked him why a priest would=2 0want to be a politician. In his book, Is There a Priest in the House?, he gave the answer:
"In May 1961, I gave a talk to an assembly of Catholic leaders on the
Church's social teachings as an answer to Communism. The
reception was cool. I heard that one of my critics said, ‘Where does
Cornell get all those crazy ideas?' I decided that teaching the
Church's social positions was not enough. I believed that only by
advocating social public policy in elective office was there hope in
making needed changes."
As a Congressman he did exactly that. Yet he always wore his collar and black clerical suit. He saw no conflict between his priesthood and political service. In his last campaign he was compelled to abandon elective office by Church authority.
Yet he continued his defense of the poor, the working class, Viet Nam Veterans, family farms, the underdogs of this world, those who needed a voice. He did his through his newspaper columns and letters to the editors and - in a deeper fashion - through his history classes at St. Norbert's.
St. Norbert College Student Bill Payant wrote that "I didn't agree with some of Father Cornell's political ideas but as a history teacher there was none better. Another St. Norbert student, Aaron Walter, wrote, "There were many young men such as myself who were impacted by Father Cornell's kindness and passion for politics."
Tom Booker, who served as Father Cornell's legislative assistant, remembered his old boss as a man who never forgot his roots. "He was a self deprecating man who enjoyed politics and never let his position go to his head."
Then there was a case where no good deed goes unpunished. Abbot Tremel gave Father Cornell permission to use most of his salary for charitable purposes. On a call-in Appleton radio program, one caller asked if it was true that he gave most of his salary away. When he confirmed this, she said: "Well then you don't know how to handle money."
Father Bob was a star of our Norbertine community in Northeast Wisconsin. He never flaunted his celebrity among us. He returned to community life for last 29 years of his life. He was funny, opinionated, passionate, and yes, Loving, which is why he attracted friends and kept them - as Shakespeare wrote - with "hoops of steel."
In my countless conversations with him he often would break out with a little poem I want to share with you now. Imagine him saying it. It was his confession of faith:
To meet in heaven, how sweet the thought,
When life's short years are past.
No more to weep no more to part,
To meet in heaven at last.
To meet in heaven around the throne
Of him who died to save.
Be this our hope, our anxious care,
To meet beyond the grave.
I join Abbot Gary and our Norbertine community and our Norbertine Associates in thanking our nursing staff for their loving care of Father Bob. Nurse Joanne [also called Bitsy], Anna, Olivia and others found numerous ways to make him comfortable and loved. Cornell liked to watch Jeopardy right after supper. In these last few weeks as he drifted away, Nurses James and Leslie would join him for the program as they sat on the floor beside his bed. After the show, James would stand up and say, "We love you Bob." I do too.
|
