he picked up Ben and took him to a sporting goods store to buy his first set of clubs . “ We play golf around here ,” Fr . Junk told him . That was Ben ’ s introduction to what he described as “ the awesome and treacherous game of golf ” that hooked him the rest of his life — though for those who had the privilege of playing golf with Ben over the years , you know he rarely hooked his drives . He did not have the distance , but they were straight down the middle .
Like his drives in golf , his life was lived “ down the middle .” Although when he left Hamiliton and moved to Glandorf in December 1952 , Ben admitted , “ I did not make a very good impression upon the pastor , Fr . Otto Brackman . I carried my golf clubs in first . He looked at me and said , ‘ Where is your chalice ?’” Ben also recalled how in those days the assistant was not allowed to own or possess a car . “ So when Fr . Otto allowed me to use his car ,” Ben said , he would tell him , “ Be sure to take good care of this car . I can always get another assistant but I ’ m not sure I can buy another car .”
In 1963 , Ben moved to western Kansas to become pastor in Syracuse . He told me when he arrived , his first thought was : “ Where are the trees and the lush blue grass ?” But the wide-open spaces of western Kansas captured the landscape of Ben ’ s soul and the open-minded and compassionate priest he was . The only drawback he said of the five years he spent in western Kansas was the local golf course only had sand greens . Fortunately when he moved to Linton , North Dakota in 1968 to begin a decade of service as pastor of St . Anthony ’ s Parish , the local nine-hole golf course converted the sand greens to grass greens and Ben said , “ I played some of my best golf .”
His greatest shot , however , occurred on October 9 , 1996 when he lived in St . Joseph , Missouri . Ben achieved golf nirvana when he recorded a hole in one . “ There was something very special about that shot , about its accuracy ( some say luck ) with which it was executed ,” Ben recalls . “ Using a seven wood on a par three 135 yard hold I knocked the ball directly into the hole , no bouncing across nor dribbling on the green . The ball just landed in the hole . That took real skill !”
Welcome Home
Ben ’ s greatest skill , of course , is not on the links but in the thousands of living rooms where he visited the people he served with gentleness , kindness and care . His reputation for being a good mentor to young priests was well known in the province . During the ten years he was there as pastor , six different associates , some of whom were newly-ordained , benefited from Ben ’ s gentle guidance and mentoring skills as a pastor . One of Ben ’ s fondest memories of Linton was the large number of parishioners who came to daily Mass . Ben loved to lead them in singing at the Daily Eucharist . Indeed , for many years , Ben helped to lead the singing at our provincial assemblies each year . And for many years , the jubilee banquet that closed out the Assembly would not be complete without Ben singing his beautiful rendition of “ Danny Boy ” in honor of the first provincial of the Kansas City Province , Fr . Danny Schaefer .
Ben became chaplain at the Motherhouse of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Wichita , Kansas in 1980 . During these seven years , Ben said worked with the nuns on peace and justice issues . They also impressed him with their care for one another . “ I was deeply impressed by their health care unit ,” Ben said , “ and in their gracious and trusting art of dying in the Lord , the way they supported each other in the dying process , praying and singing their favorite hymns and being with them until their death . They really taught me the blessed way to prepare for God ’ s call from his life .” For the past few years , Father Ben has been engaged in this “ art of dying in the Lord ,” and we are profoundly grateful for the extraordinary care he received from the nurses and staff here at St . Charles .
Whether around the table in a family ’ s dining room or around the altar in the many sanctuaries where he broke open the Word and passed the Cup , we are grateful to God for Gentle Ben and his ministry of compassionate presence that reflected the best of priesthood in the blood of Christ .
May he rest in peace W
February 2017 • The New Wine Press • 15