Mass of Christian Burial, FR. Emil Kapaun

[Music] i [Music] is [Music] is [Music] r [Music] [Music] is [Music] please [Music] is [Music] thank you [Music] so [Music] uh [Music] this is a recording of the chaplain's hour in tokyo japan by the far east network on april the 21st 1950 we hear a hero's voice as we listen to this sermon being delivered by father amy o'kapon of pilsen kansas he had his apostles gathered about him one day and he said to them peace i leave with you my peace i give you not as the world gives do i give to you do not let your heart be troubled or be afraid the peace which god gives to people is different from the peace known by the work the world regards peace as freedom from suffering freedom from worry and care freedom from want freedom from fighting in a way it is a sort of a negative thing but the peace which god gives is a gift which exists even in suffering in want or even in time of war the saints who were friends of god had peace of conscience even when they were persecuted even when they had to suffer many outrages and some of them even had to part with their life we can surely expect that in our own lives there will come a time when we must make a choice between being loyal to the true faith or of giving allegiance to something else which is either opposed to or not in alliance with our faith o god we ask of thee to give us the courage to be ever faithful to thee blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake for theirs is the kingdom of heaven may the blessing of god the father the son and the holy spirit descend upon all of you amen so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] good morning and welcome to hartman arena for this morning's funeral liturgy at this time we ask you to please make your way to your assigned seats and begin to quiet yourself for the beginning of the liturgy once again please make your way at this time to your assigned seat and quiet yourself for the beginning of this morning's funeral we we will be starting momentarily thank you you [Music] ah [Music] uh [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is is [Music] welcome to the funeral mass for chaplain captain mlj capon from hartman arena in park city kansas the diocese of wichita the liturgy is celebrated by the most reverend carl kemi the ship of wichita can celebrate with archbishops and bishops including the most reverend richard spencer on behalf of the archdiocese for military service with priests of wichita and elsewhere i'm father mike nolan [Music] [Applause] [Music] as i was [Applause] is is [Music] free is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] jesus rise [Music] is [Applause] [Music] pallbearers are from the first calvary division at fort hood texas they carry the body the entire length of the procession as a sign of reverence and respect for the fallen is [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is is is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] uh [Music] [Music] is as father gabon carried many soldiers and brought brought many to safety so now this honor guard has carried him to a place of remembrance and prayer in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit peace be with you [Music] in the waters of baptism amel joseph capen died with christ and rose with him to new life may he now share with him eternal glory the holy water reminds us of the saving waters of baptism and calls to mind the baptism of father kapon and his initiation to the community of faith the paul is now placed over the coffin as a reminder of the baptismal garment of the deceased it is a sign of the christian dignity of the person and this signifies the equality of all the eyes of god a rule by which father capone certainly lived his life the book of the gospels be placed in the coffin as a sign that christians live by the word of god in life amel cherish the gospel of christ may christ now greet him with these words of eternal life come blessed of my father a sign of fidelity to the holy scriptures the cross will now be placed marking the cross and baptism of father capone baptism among receive the sign of the cross may he now share in christ's victory over sin and death [Music] unto him [Music] blessed are they whom you choose [Music] is due to you inside and o god who you we pay our vows in jerusalem you will hear our prayers [Music] [Music] but our transgressions you wipe away [Music] blessed is he whom you [Music] of choose house [Music] with wondrous deliverance you answer us o god our savior you are the hope of all the earth [Music] let us pray grant we pray o lord that the soul of amel your servant and priest whom you honored with sacred office while he lived in this world may exalt forever in the glorious home of heaven through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever and ever the introductory rights now complete we move to the liturgy of the word scott carter who coordinates the father coupon guilt responsible largely for much of the promotion of his cause for sainthood we'll read our first reading a reading from the book of wisdom the souls of the just are in the hand of god and no torment shall touch them they seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead and their passing away was thought and affliction and they're going forth from us utter destruction but they are in peace for before men indeed they be punished yet is their hope full of immortality chastised a little they shall be greatly blessed because god tried them and found them worthy of himself as gold in the furnace he proved them and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself in the time of their visitation they shall shine and shall dart about as sparks through stubble they shall judge nations and rule over peoples and the lord shall be their king forever those who trust in him shall understand truth and the faithful shall abide with him in love because grace and mercy are with his holy ones and his care is with his elect the word of the lord the cantors for this morning's mass are heidi hirock and alan held [Music] the lord is [Music] [Music] is [Music] the lord is my shepherd there is nothing i shall want fresh and green are the pastures [Applause] [Music] he leads me [Music] oh [Music] he guides me along the right path for the sake of his name no i should walk in the valley of the shadow of death no evil would i fear for you are with me your crook and staff will give me [Music] so [Music] you have prepared a table before me in the sight of my foes [Music] my head you have anointed with oil my cup is overflowing [Music] surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life in the lord i dwell for length of days [Music] is [Music] the second reading will be from the first letter of john and will be read by specialist raphael capone wilhelm a reading from the first letter of john beloved we know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters whoever does not love remains in death everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that anyone who is a murderer does not have eternal life remaining in him the way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters if someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion how can the love of god remain in him children let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth the word of the lord the deacon of the word will be reverend mr seth arnold from the church of the holy spirit in goddard he is a student at bundaline seminary and will god willing the ordained priest in may of next year incense is brought to the bishop to be prepared for insulting the gospel the deacon will process the book of the gospels of the ambo the company by incense and candles and the gospel acclamation accompanying this procession prepares us to hear god's word as we stand now christ speaks to us of the scriptures [Music] foreign [Music] if we die with christ we shall live with him and if we are faithful to the end we shall reign with him [Music] the lord be with you a reading from the holy gospel according to john [Music] the gospel is incensed as a sign of reverence and respect jesus said to his disciples 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 who love one another the gospel of the lord [Music] the deacon now brings the book of the gospels to the bishop who will reference it with a kiss peace and the bishop will then proceed to the ambo to deliver his homily give thanks to the lord for he is good his love is everlasting dearest brothers and sisters in christ these words first words from the 107th psalm beautifully convey the sentiments that surround the joyful purpose of our gathering today as the psalmist generations ago invites we give thanks to god who is good we give thanks to god for the particular and special blessing of the identification and the return of the mortal remains of father amel joseph capen as he is known by many here in this part of the world or father capone as he is known by others especially by his military brothers who knew him and received his heroic and saintly ministry in that prisoner of war camp 70 years ago indeed the lord has shown us his fatherly goodness in allowing his earthly temple his body to be discovered and now to be back with us in the land of his birth in the land of kansas in the name of the diocese of wichita i wish to acknowledge and to thank the many who are with us today as honored guests and dignitaries first and foremost father capen's immediate family his nieces and nephews and their families who have demonstrated such a familial devotion to their uncle it was an honor of immeasurable proportions for me and our diocesan delegation to accompany you ray and your wife lee in honolulu to bring the mortal remains of father amo back here to kansas thank you thank you so much for the profound privilege and experience and share and to share in the viewing of the remains that are now enshrined in this beautiful casket i for one shall never forget that moment for as long as i live we thank the surviving fellow pows who i wish to mention by name because of their incredible importance to all of us they are herbert miller mike dao paul roach robert mcgreevy and bailey gillespie without your testimony none of us would have known of the heroic witness of your chaplain and friend father capone and so i invite all of us here in the arena today to come to our feet and to thank these our surviving pows [Applause] similarly we thank all in the armed forces so many of whom are with us today from all branches and representing all ranks for your service to our country to my brother bishops who have honored us with your presence archbishop coakley of the archdiocese of oklahoma city bishop james conley of the diocese of lincoln bishop sean mcknight of the diocese of jefferson city this too is for you a homecoming since the diocese of wichita is your is your native diocese we thank you for being with us today and we thank also bishop richard spencer of the archdiocese of the military services and bishop chad zielinski of the diocese of fairbanks himself a former air force chaplain and finally our brother and friend of the north bishop jerry vinky of the diocese of salina we are so grateful for your presence today and coming to pray with us in this historic moment we are grateful for the large turnout of priests the priests of the diocese of wichita and our visiting priests from near and far to the leaders in governments on all levels national and international we thank you for your presence and service to our communities finally to all the faithful young and old from near and far representatives from all parts of this local church and beyond to all of you who are with us in person and the many who are joining us by live stream it is nothing less than inspirational to see you in such great numbers as we come to pray for father's repose to pay our respects to this fallen soldier this medal of honor recipient to this humble and saintly priest i consider it a singular but undeserved honor as the present bishop of wichita to lead us today in the mass of christian burial six of my predecessors longed for and prayed for this day but perhaps none more so than bishop mark carroll it was bishop carroll who we are confident acted under the inspiration of the holy spirit and permitted father abel to return to active duty as a military chaplain in 1948. it was bishop carroll who ministered to father capen's family when word was received of his untimely demise in the nearly monthly letters between bishop carroll and father capen there is revealed a deep paternal and filial relationship between a bishop and one of his priests i found in those letters much to ponder and to consider bishop carroll no doubt prayed for his military priest son to return safe and sound and to take up a long and fruitful ministry here in the diocese which he was capable of doing as he demonstrated before and after his first tour of duty but such was not to be god's goodness and everlasting love was to be witnessed in a different and mysterious way in the life of this young priest from tilson kansas now no doubt the holy see and in particular the congregation for the causes of saints would want me to remember and to remind you that we are not here today to beatify this man for the work of the church's investigation toward canonization continues no we are here today to provide for father what was not provided for him seventy years ago a mass of christian burial and though many of us pray for his intercession today we pray for his repose as we do for all the deceased this is our christian duty as we bring him to his new place of rest and we are blessed to be able to offer this work of mercy for him today for the one who lived the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in such heroic ways as we perform this service of our faith we can rightly reflect on how he conformed his life to christ both as priest and victim in the case of father cape and we have much to consider the words of today's gospel from the gospel of saint john i think rightly bring all of father's life and witness and service into focus jesus said there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends jesus modeled that love for us on the cross he gave his life for us his friends so that we might not perish but might have eternal life father capen imitated that love all throughout his ministry but it reached its fulfillment on may 23rd 1951 the day of his personal calvary in a dark and lonely place far from here offering all that he had for those he considered his friends but that imitation of christ so powerful then so clear began long before that appointed day it began not far from here almost 36 years before in pilsen on a farm in the midst of the prairie when father amel's earthly life began and when he began to live as he was so well known a quiet almost hidden way but in a way that attracted the attention of his own family of the priests who served him in his parish of fellow parishioners neighbors and others something was unique and special about young amal joseph capen in so many ways he was like his middle name namesake joseph he was humble obedient virtuous simple and hard working his biographer father arthur tani would write of this so well of him he would exemplify those same joseph-like qualities all throughout his life could this be one of the many reasons why he was identified in this year dedicated to saint joseph little wonder then that god looked deep into the prairie of kansas here in the heartland of our nation to find a young man who would possess a heart of courage it has been said that amel joseph capen his courage had the softness of velvet but the strength of iron just like saint joseph no one was surprised when he declared his desire to be a priest for he had been drawn even at an early age to this form of service making the day as even a small boy making his way down to the church some three miles from their country home to serve early morning mass after his years in the seminary and in spite of feelings of unworthiness he was ordained a priest of jesus christ in 1940 just before the world would enter the second world war and the wars and conflicts that would follow as a result like all priests he offered his life in obedience to the bishop in whatever form of service he would be called to give but he heard in the quiet recesses of his heart a call within a call the call to give of himself as a chaplain in the armed forces this request was granted by his bishop and he began to offer then that kind of loving and dedicated humble service for which we know him today a sacrificial and selfless love of others especially his beloved fellow soldiers whom he regarded as brothers and as a priest as sons the accounts of his service to his fellow soldiers in those last months his fellow pows reveal so much of the man whose body we honor today with christian burial his love was simple effective selfless and deep i never tire of reading the accounts of how in those last months weeks and days he would go at night among the huts of the wounded the sick and the depressed to do whatever he could to lift their spirits he would lead them in prayer sing a song tell a joke pick lice off their bodies boil water in a make in a helmet to give them a drink of clean water to ward off dysentery give them some meager amounts of food he had somehow managed to get even yes even by stealing in short to do whatever he could to bring light to those who entered into a darkness few of us can ever imagine he was a missionary disciple of hope and that hope indubitably kept many of those men alive and evidently he did all of this day after day in an uncomplaining fashion never begrudgingly but happily dare we say even joyfully fulfilling god's word which we heard in the first and second reading for our mass today being tested by gold in the furnace by laying down his life for his brothers all the while bringing god's love in simple and profound ways to those who are at risk of losing all hope brothers and sisters this is what was seen and heard and witnessed but think of all that was unseen and unheard and unnoticed known only to god all of this man father amel joseph capen whom we are blessed today in the church to call the servant of god his was an enduring testimony to the truth that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends those were not simple simply words those were deeds for he lived that truth in these days leading up to this momentous catholic moment for us one of the more powerful and poignant moments for me personally happened while in hawaii when by the invitation of ray and his wife lee we were able to join them in the very room where they would receive and view the skeletal remains of their uncle father capen after a few moments at one point in that serene and solemn moment ray asked if i and those with me would like to touch his remains i was stunned by that invitation but after a moment expressed my deep desire to do so they then opened a cleared sealed bag that held father capan's skull and with dignity placed it before us on a table as each of us reverently touched this remains of the man whose body we bury today many many thoughts immediately flooded my mind the skull it's the physical foundation of so much of what makes us human our face the eyes the ears the lips and the mouth as we were permitted to so gently touch this part of father capen i found myself reflecting on his face which we see so often in photos his was a caring face a face of quiet strength a face of character and virtue the face of a friend a brother the face of a comrade that brought calmness and consolation that instilled in those who looked upon his countenance uncommon courage and confidence his was the face those soldiers would never forget i thought of his eyes eyes that saw human suffering in front of him imma unimaginable suffering but eyes that were able to see beyond the dirt and the grime the lice and the disease eyes that were able to see through all of that to the person who needed him at that very moment those who were so blessed to look into his eyes i am confident saw a reflection of jesus to whom father amel had dedicated his life and ministry i thought of his ears which heard the cries of the poor the lonely be afraid the ears that listen to the fears and concerns of the soldiers the ears that heard their sins and listen beyond the words beyond to the words beyond those words of realities far deeper than human senses can convey and i thought of his mouth and lips that spoke words that lifted spirits and gave strength and courage that gave absolution and freedom it was in those places that father was also baptized on his forehead becoming a child of god and anointed on the crown of his head as priest prophet and king and years later was ordained as a priest of jesus christ by the imposition of hands from this center of who father capan was flowed the life of a baptized disciple from there flowed the ministry of a priest and the dedicated and courageous service of a chaplain dear friends allow me to bring my reflections on this solemn day to a close by extending to each of you an invitation and it is simply this come to his tomb come to his tomb for us as christians the tomb is a holy place a place of pilgrimage and remembrance a place where all of the past comes back to us in the present we believe that we have prepared and provided a dignified and worthy place for father capen's burial in our beloved cathedral so i invite you all to come family friends fellow fellow pows members of the families of pows members of the armed forces my brother bishops and priests come you who are young and old you are discerning and asking important questions in your life of what god is asking of you come you who are powerful and you who are weak you are sick and you are healthy come all of you and regularly reflect on the extraordinary man whose mortal remains we will enter there today to all who have been inspired by the ministry of his priestly life we now have a place to be in the company of his mortal remains and to pray for his intercession especially when for us life is dark and lonely and when we are hopeless and afraid come to his tomb pray there and sit there in the stillness of the beauty and peace that surrounds you and let god speak to you through the example and the witness of this servant of god father amel joseph capen and let us all continue to pray for his cause so that one day soon we will be able to call him the saint we are confident he truly is give thanks to the lord for he is good his love is everlasting chaplain father amel capen servant of god pray for us having heard the word of god having heard the word of god proclaimed and preached the assembly will shortly respond to that word with prayers of intercession for father capone and all the deceased the family and for who mourn and for all of this assembly brothers and sisters jesus christ is risen from the dead and sits at the right hand of the father where he intercedes for his church confident that god hears the voices of those who trust in the lord jesus we join our prayers to his in baptism emil received the light of christ scatter the darkness now and lead him over the waters of death lord in your mercy hear our prayer our brother emil was nourished at the table of the savior welcome him into the halls of the heavenly banquet lord in your mercy our brother emil shared in the priesthood of jesus christ leading god's people in prayer and worship bring him into your presence where he will take his place in the heavenly liturgy lord in your mercy many friends and members of our families have gone before us and await the kingdom grant them an everlasting home with your son lord in your mercy hear our prayer lord god giver of peace and healer of souls hear the prayers of the redeemer jesus christ and the voices of your people whose lives were purchased by the blood of the lamb forgive the sins of all who sleep in christ and grant them a place in the kingdom through christ our lord amen liturgy the eucharist now begins eucharist meaning thanksgiving the altar will be prepared bread and wine will be presented as gifts on behalf of the congregation by the capon family symbolic of creation the weed of the field and grapes of the vine rendered by the work of human hands and human ingenuity red wine will become for us the body and blood of jesus christ to be given to us in holy communion [Music] [Music] oh [Music] hey [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] bye [Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] me [Music] lorraine greer's lead kindly light performed by the west point catholic cadet choir shortly we begin the eucharistic prayer the great prayer of consecration with elements of memorial intercession for the church and the world the invocation of the holy spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine and the gifts that are truly changed becoming the body and blood of our savior jesus christ which we will receive that we might be changed to be more christ-like in our reception of holy communion the incessant proceeds to the various bishops then to the clergy and then finally to all of god's people each of us standing in prayer rising to god in solidarity with the communion of saints pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to god the almighty father grant we pray almighty god that through these holy mysteries amel your servant and priests may behold with clarity forever what he faithfully ministered here through christ our lord [Music] the lord be with you r [Music] let us give thanks to the lord our god r [Music] it is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks lord holy father almighty and eternal god through christ our lord in him the hope of blessed resurrection has dawned that those saddened by the certainty of dying [Music] might be consoled by the promise of immortality to come indeed for your faithful lord life is change not ended and when this earthly dwelling turns to dust an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven [Music] and so with the angels and archangels with thrones and dominions and with all the hosts and powers of heaven we sing the hymn of your glory as without end we acclaim [Music] oh glorious me [Music] you are indeed holy o lord and all you have created rightly gives you praise for through your son our lord jesus christ by the power and working of the holy spirit you give life to all things and make them holy and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name therefore o lord we humbly implore you by the same spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration that they may become the body and blood of your son our lord jesus christ at whose command we celebrate these mysteries for on the night he was betrayed he himself took bread and giving you thanks he said the blessing broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when supper was ended he took the chalice and giving you thanks he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me the mystery of faith [Music] oh [Music] therefore o lord as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven and as we look forward to his second coming we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice look we pray upon the oblation of your church and recognizing the sacrificial victim by whose death you will to reconcile us to yourself grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your son and filled with his holy spirit may become one body one spirit in christ may he make of us an eternal offering to you so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect especially with the most blessed virgin mary mother of god with blessed joseph her spouse with your blessed apostles and glorious martyrs and with all the saints on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help may this sacrifice of our reconciliation we pray o lord advance the peace and salvation of all the world be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim church on earth with your servant francis our pope carl our bishop me your unworthy servant and the entire people you have gained for your own listen graciously to the prayers of this family whom you have as whom may have summoned before you in compassion o merciful father gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world remember your servant father emma joseph capen whom you have called from this world to yourself grant that he who was united with your son in a death like his may also be one with him in his resurrection when from the earth he will raise up in the flesh those who have died and transform our lowly body after the pattern of his own glorious body to our departed brothers and sisters too and to all who are pleasing to you at their passing from this life give kind admittance to your kingdom there we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory when you will wipe away every tear from our eyes for seeing you our god as you are we shall be like you for all the ages and praise you without end through christ our lord through whom you bestow in the world all that is good through him and with him and in him oh god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours for ever and ever [Music] teachers [Music] is oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] deliver us lord we pray from every evil graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ lord jesus christ who said to your apostles peace i leave you my peace i give you look not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign forever and ever the peace of the lord be with you always [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world blessed are those called to the supper of the lamb lord i am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed in the holy exchange of gifts christ gives himself to us to build up his body the church for service and witness in the world we are united in holy communion and in christ to one another we are to become what we celebrate the body of christ and the world after the example of good men like father capon as the bread was taken blessed and broken and given so now will the disciple of christ send admission to the world [Music] foreign [Music] eternal rest right unto him light shine upon [Music] for him are merciful with the lord there is loving mercy [Music] is [Music] out of the depths i cry to you o lord lord hear my voice oh let your ears be heart and dear to the sound of my bleedings [Music] if you o lord should mark iniquities lord who could stand but with you is found forgiveness that you may be repeated [Music] i long for you o lord my soul longs for his word my soul hopes in the lord more than watchmen for daybreak [Music] me more than watchmen for daybreak let israel hope for the lord or with the lord there is mercy in him is plentiful redemption [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] yes [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] my [Music] music ministry today is provided by choirs the magical choirs from mccabe and mount carmel high school bishop carroll high school in wichita the west point catholic chapel kel wire and the united states air force catholic cadet choir instrumentalists include carol brock of the organ the bella dolce string quartet and instrumentalists from the united states military academy at west point acquire awesome blues members from parishes across the diocese of wichita [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] see [Applause] yes [Music] yes so [Applause] um [Music] uh is [Music] [Applause] [Music] honor guards today are provided by the knights of columbus fourth degree knights and dames of the equestrian order of the holy sepulchre of jerusalem minor ministers our deacons and the seminarians of the catholic diocese of wichita under the master of ceremonies gabriel greer jacob carlin hayden charles all fathers and andrew de la sega [Music] is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] good [Music] uh [Music] [Music] christie we adore your christ by theodore dubois performed by the united states air force catholic cadet choir [Music] oh [Music] oh is [Music] yes [Music] yes foreign [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] one [Music] yes is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] uh [Music] i am [Music] times [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] hey [Music] [Applause] yes [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] grace [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] at the death of the christian whose life was begun in the waters of baptism and strengthened the eucharistic table the church today is interceding on behalf of father kapaun because of his confident belief that death is not the end nor does it break the bonds forged in life we celebrate these funeral rites these days to offer worship praise and thanksgiving to god for the gift of a life which has been returned to god the author of life and hope of the just this mass this memorial of the death and resurrection of jesus christ is our principle celebration [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] oh [Music] is [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] see oh [Music] uh [Music] after the closing prayer there will be two speakers sharing in remembrance of father capone reverend reverend matthew wolikowski on behalf of curt old mike tao eow and friend to father gabon and rake upon the nephew having received the sacrament of salvation we employ your kindness oh god for amel your servant and priest that as you made him a steward of your mysteries on earth so you may bring him to be nourished by their truth and reality as unveiled in heaven through christ our lord [Music] thank you everyone for being here i've got to warn you up front it's been in a very emotional week and a half so you know i'm not sure what'll happen i first off want to thank all the bishops that are here and all the priests that are here for this remarkable event a special thanks to bishop kimmy you made our our return home from hawaii the most blessed and sacred event that i think we could have ever hoped for for a family thank you very much although i do have to say i think you would have looked great in a hawaiian shirt i'm just saying uh i could stand up here probably for hours on end trying to thank everybody that that made this happen to made this event happen made this great great event happen you know i'd look out on this crowd and see all of you people here and realize that the lives that fathering will touch this is just a fraction of the lives that he touched and it's just amazing so i thank you all for being here i want to thank the diocese for everything they did my family greatly greatly appreciates all that was done to have this event happen and the people of pilsen kansas i can't thank you enough for keeping father's name alive when a lot of people didn't even know his name for keeping that spirit growing and making sure that every generation that you had knew who and what father stood for um these last four days we've been going back and forth my wife and i've been going back and forth to pilsen we've been there four times in the last four days we were out there yesterday and we were actually looking for houses for sale we thought you know we may as well just stay there i'm going someplace where i've always wanted to be and when i get there i'll say a prayer for you uncle amel welcome home home at last i think of most of the people who know me know i always talk about the pows they've become my my friends they've become my almost my second father's um you know i i can't thank those guys enough i mean these guys came out of this this house death camp which basically what it was and came out and told the story of father amel told it to anybody who would listen told it to anybody who wouldn't listen told it to anybody and i truly truly believe that we probably would not be having this amazing event if it wasn't for these guys if it wasn't for them continually putting that story out there you know my wife and i had the had the blessed opportunity to spend the last four days with two of the pows um i can't describe to you what what that has been when these guys would get together and sit and talk about father the love that they had for him the the devotion that they had for him when we listened to what they had to say it truly was it truly was what true love meant and what true belief meant because they really would still to this day lay down their lives for him so i i can't say enough things about those guys and and i appreciate it bishop kimmy when you acknowledge them because these guys are they're amazing and herb i it was great to get to meet you yesterday again and to actually be out at pilsen to meet you i think that was probably the best best spot that could have ever happened the last song that we're going to do today at the end of the mass is america the beautiful and i think that is the most appropriate song that could be sung in a prison camp in north korea on an easter service a chaplain who at that point was probably barely able to stand on his own knew that his life on this world probably wasn't very long but knew he would still give everything he had to save his fellow soldiers to save his fellow man and after the service was over this chaplain one single voice knew he had no song that he wanted to sing that one song that would bring the people together that would bring his soldiers together no matter what faith no matter what belief no matter what he knew they could stand behind that song and with one voice he began singing that song and soon as that happened another voice picked it up and another soldier picked it up and another soldier picked it up and pretty soon all across the entire camp up and down that valley everyone was singing america beautiful and that's a perfect example of what father reima was of how he lived his life and a perfect example of one person can make a difference that one person has has made a difference and is still making a difference every day and i think the best thing we can do at the end of this mass we sing that song i think we all need to be singing as loudly as we can because we've got to carry on his work we've got to carry on his passion we've got to keep that name and that word out there to continue to grow like a wildfire burning across the kansas plain and across this country to make sure nobody forgets what this moment is right now nobody forgets what today is nobody forgets how you feel right now thank you very much god bless [Applause] on behalf of colonel mike dao one of our few surviving prisoners of war west point class of 1950 and personal friend of father kapaun he has asked me to read these remarks which he has written i bet i'm the only one here who can truthfully say that he or she spent several months sleeping beside a saint but i'm getting way ahead of myself let me go back to the 4th of november 1950 we had defeated the north korean army and on 2 november my platoon had just reached the yalu river at sinuiju bordering china i received orders from battalion to keep my troops off the dam so as not to provoke the chinese from entering north korea to attack us little did we realize that the chinese had already infiltrated into north korea by the tens of thousands and that the shelling we heard way off to the southeast was the cav being hit by the chinese at unson where father kapaun along with doc anderson would two days later volunteer to stay behind in their perimeter to take care of the wounded while the unwounded broke out and made their way south to friendly lines meanwhile after a forced march back to anju we were pushed up to the chanchon river on a road that was not even on our world world world war ii japanese maps there we were to cover the withdrawal of the remnants of a republic of korea division that had been decimated on the border by the chai comms the chinese communists we set up the roadblock on the 3rd of november and sure enough on the 4th we fought wave after wave their bugles blaring when we were out of ammo and i only had three men left in my platoon my buddy bill functions had six left in his rocky the company commander of charlie company first of the 19th infantry the battling boys of bastogne ordered us to withdraw but the enemy simply came around the hill and grabbed us until then we didn't know for sure that we were fighting chinese and after recovering the bodies of prisoners tortured and mutilated by the north koreans capture was not an option that night they took us to a schoolhouse where we were joined by the men from the calf perimeter i was unaware at the time that father kapaun was among them the chincoms turned us over to the north koreans for what was to be a death march of a couple of weeks to our first pow camp those who were able to had to carry the wounded for if anyone dropped back so did a chinese guard there would be a shot and that american soldier was dead while the north koreans kept telling the man not to pay attention to your officers just take care of yourselves it was necessary to continually organize and urge people to carry the stretchers we made of rice bags and poles that we cut one of the officers who kept helping with the organization of the stretcher carrying despite the north korean shouts i let her i later recognized to be father kapaun it was a couple of weeks after when we reached our intended destination chok tang on the yalu river our bombers arrived at the same time and to our cheers from a hillside overlooking the town fire bombed and completely destroyed the town as dusk settled we were assembled to march back to the southeast i asked the name of the fellow who picked up the rear of the stretcher i was carrying capani said putting out his hand father i said i've heard of you his reply was well please don't tell my bishop he doesn't know i'm here and we got a much needed chuckle after walking for several years we were led into a valley from which the soldiers had just driven out all the residents there we were to spend from november through january one of north korea's coldest winters in bitter 20 to 40 below zero temperatures in our summer clothes the wounded were dropped off next to the road and the enlisted men scattered in the huts along the creek to the head of the valley where the officers were placed nothing stopped father and doc andy from visiting and caring for and cheering up the wounded as best they could without any supplies since the daily ration we were given was bought several hundred grams of millet bird seed or cracked corn neither of which our systems could adequately digest fathers set the example as a food thief praying for help to saint dismiss the good thief who was crucified beside christ with the food father would pilfer he would seek down the valley in the evening with a container and pockets of the grain he had stolen on ration runs or from the native corn cribs and it to the gi's he would give them a puff on his pipe who knows what was in it since he was out of tobacco talk to them about the importance of maintaining their faith in god their country and each other and then he would move on to the next hut at the same time father was doing this in simbak ii the korean name or happy valley the pentagon name or capone valley the name we gis gave it there were two other similar pow valleys mining camp and death valley the fact that the death rate was many times higher in the other two camps than in capone valley can only be attributed to the way father kapaun instilled the will to live among the troops by february pyaktan was repaired enough for the chinese to consolidate the three valleys and take over the administration of the pows from the north koreans in pyaktong father continued to sneak past the guards away from the officer's compound again at the top of the hill and pop into the gi huts that were along the road down to the yalu the death rate kept growing as the pows continued to weaken less than a thousand of over 2000 pows survived that winter and burial detail was the worst of all the pows who died during the night would be placed outside their hut and the frozen corpses carried down to the yalu and across to an island where using an entrenching tool a knife enough ice would be scratched up to create a place to put the corpse and cover it with ice father would volunteer for these horrible details bring any good clothing back with him wash it and distribute it to the living in his rounds back in pyongtang father capone also added to his fame for the officers where he slept he would get up around 6 a.m in that freezing cold stoke the cooking fires and after heating water come around awakening us calling out coffee everyone and man did that hit the spot in march they introduced golian beans into our diet father would parch them put them in a gi sock and soak them in boiling water and let me tell you that was delicious coffee he confounded the chai comms who tried to lecture us he made implements and pans for cooking and boiling water and distributed them in fact in one such endeavor chipping at a piece of metal a splinter flew into his eye blinding it it did not slow him down he made a black patch for his bad eye and took off on his rounds sneaking past the chaicam guards to minister to the gis with his scraggly beard eye patch and hat pulled over his head made out of a gi sock he looked a lot more like a pirate than one who could bring the comfort and peace that he brought to all the gis all religions and all nationalities he would cheer them up give them hope give them a puff on his pipe say a prayer and sneak onto the next hut when it comes to the question of miracles i have to tell you about my good friend and company executive officer dick hagen for a short while dick had been having discussions about religion with father when dick knew he was fading from dysentery pneumonia and the terrible conditions we were all in due to starvation and neglect he asked us to get father father was off on his rounds and before we could find him dick passed away it was well over an hour later when father was located and brought back to our hut and told that dick had been asking for him father sat down on the floor next to dick put dick's head in his lap and dick came back to life while father administered the last rites and dick then immediately died a happy death yes most of us who survived that winter owe a great deal to father and many of those who did not died a happy death because of him a week after his famous easter service that was held in defiance of the screaming chai comms with the guards and placing their bayonets at the end of their rifles father didn't even seem to realize the bayonets existed and it was a couple of weeks later as he was giving again his forbidden weekly sermon that he collapsed he had a blood clot and now it was our turn to take care of him a couple of weeks of rest and hot compresses did the trick but he no sooner recovered from the blood clot then he caught pneumonia most of us had that or some form of bronchial disease and with our doctor's help routinely recovered clearly the chai comms had been afraid of father and when they learned that he was recovering decided to get rid of him in a way that wouldn't cause a riot there have been many versions of how he died and i want to tell you the correct one just how he was martyred guards came with fixed bayonets despite the protests of our doctors who insisted that father was recovering the chi the chai comes and all knew that the chai comes were going to kill him and when those of us around started to react father personally calmed us i was in tears when he said to me mike don't be sad i'm going where i always wanted to go and when i get there i'll be praying for you all he then told ralph nardella ralph you know the prayers keep the weekly services going and ralph did when they took him away bob wood a close friend from west point who knew father well and told stories about the priest who ran to the sound of the guns was one of the stretcher bearers and has described what happened the hospital is about half a mile away on a hill in the town outside of the pow camp at the bottom of the hill was the little infirmary where sick call was helped at the top of the hill were three buildings a structure on one side housing the chicom medical personnel a long structure next to it that was the hospital ward where patients were treated and a structure about 10 by 10 without windows that was the death house patients who were incontinent or otherwise difficult to treat were put there to die without food or water with vermin maggots and feces once dead their bodies were thrown into a canyon behind the death house that became a mass grave no one lived little more than a day in the death house and no one placed in it survived a few gi's say they did but they survived the ward which many mistook for the death house when they reached the hospital bob has often described how they were forced to leave father kapaun in the death house instead of the hospital ward bob wood said that as the chide comes put him in there father said god forgive them they know not what they do the guards closed the door and in a day or so he was dead that is how they killed him not because of politics not because he was a soldier but because he was a shining light in the darkness living out his faith as a christian they martyred him years later when our graves registration team was allowed to recover the remains from that mass grave none were identified as father but amazingly there was one person buried separately near the death house instead of being thrown into the mass grave and this singular grave is mysterious but the person who is buried in that separate grave has only recently been positively identified as father capone he is with us here today in his entirety minus a couple of fingers and no one has an explanation father capone's was the only separate burial found at that location and that is the true story of his martyrdom when i returned i wrote a magazine article about father that some may have read i was assigned to the pentagon where i worked on a number of pow-related matters one of which earned me a commendation from ike that assignment was the eisenhower commission to formulate a code of conduct for our armed forces the air force took the position that after 30 days a pow knows nothing of tactical value and should be able to do or say anything that in his estimation enhanced his situation they were trying to ameliorate the actions of a colonel and his crew who went to p king and broadcast false germ warfare conditions confessions that was a big victory for the chinese communists who are masters of propaganda and manipulating the media i use the comparison of the survival rate in capone valley with that of mining camp and death valley under like conditions i presented the army position basing it on how by instilling loyalty to god country and each other the pow not only becomes a problem for the enemy but enchant enhances his own chances of survival the army position won out the example of father's work and life in the camp became the basis of today's code of conduct for our armed forces so whether people knew his name or not father has been shaping the character of service members in all the branches of our armed forces for the past 70 years i hope after today many more people will now know his name and the character of this amazing saintly man that i have the pleasure of calling my friend whom i look forward to seeing in heaven my friend united states army chaplain father aymol joseph thank you for being with us those who must leave now pray for us presentation of our mass continues online we've heard eyewitness news the final accommodation is a final farewell to father kapaun an act of respect entrusting him to the tender and merciful embrace of god this act of farewell acknowledges the reality of separation and affirms though that the community of the deceased baptized into one body share the same destiny resurrect or we go our separate ways let us take leave of our brother may our farewell express our affection for him may it strengthen our hope one day we shall joyfully greet him again when the love of christ which conquers all things destroys even death itself incense will be used to honor the deceased the baptism became a temple of the holy spirit is now a sign of our prayers rising to the throat of god and a sign of farewell and respect is uh [Music] so see [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] well now our priestly prayer to the blessed mother into your hands father of mercies we commend our brother amel in the sure and certain hope that together with all who have died in christ he will rise with him on the last day we give you thanks for the blessings which you have bestowed upon able in this life they are signs to us of your goodness and of our fellowship with the saints in christ merciful lord turn toward us and listen to our prayers open the gates of paradise to your servant and help us who remain to comfort one another with assurances of faith until we all meet in christ and are with you and with our brother forever through christ our lord [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] r [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] r [Music] oh [Music] let us take our brother to his place of rest so we move to the final station the military procession for veterans memorial park the paul will be replaced with the flag of the united states of america the people will sing american angels [Music] and take you to the holy city [Music] is [Music] [Music] so [Music] foreign [Music] please [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] um [Music] is [Music] is [Music] my [Music] hey [Music] is is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] pallbearers were from the 3rd battalion 8th cavalry regiment fort heard texas this final procession of the funeral mirrors the journey of human life as a pilgrimage to god's kingdom of peace and light the new and eternal jerusalem if you'd like to join the military procession from veterans memorial park you can line up anywhere between the park and the cathedral along central avenue they will begin from veterans memorial park at 339 veterans parkway wichita at 1 30 central time this afternoon military casing horse drawn with honor guard and final salute will take place at the cart at the cathedral steps the tournament will be in the immaculate conception cathedral it will be private there for family pows military and priests of wichita [Music] thank you for joining us for this funeral mass for father emil kapon servant of god we pray one day for his canonization and we ask his prayers and today we pray for him may god bless you and thank you for watching [Music] [Music] you

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Length: 151min 7sec (9067 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 29 2021