Father Ralph Drendel, SJ – R.I.P.
On December 2, God called home a good and faithful servant,
and today, at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, we had a special mass for
Father Ralph J. Drendel, S.J. The celebrant and homilist for the liturgy was, Father Jim Thermos, one of the priests whom he
formed in the spiritual life when Father Drendel worked as our spiritual director from 2000
to 2008. It was a beautiful moment of thanksgiving for the life of a man who dedicated himself to the service of the Lord.
peace and helped many seminarians overcome some of the insecurities that often
haunt men preparing for the priesthood. He could be challenging in the pulpit,
especially when it came to half-heartedness, complaining, and any failure to
teach the truth to the faithful. If he demanded a lot, it was because he believed in what God was doing in the new generation of young men who felt called to the priesthood – the John Paul II generation, perhaps because like John Paul II he saw them as living signs of hope. In fact, he saw our seminary as a place for the renewal of the priesthood, a renewal that could only happen through a disciplined life rooted in love for the truth and devotion to the Lord.
always had great compassion and conveyed great confidence in God’s mercy. He
even saw the penances that he assigned as acts of love he would share with the
penitent, and I suspect he carried the greater part of that effort, more than
his penitents might suspect. He was constantly praying for souls who had poured
out their hearts to him, and constantly taking up the most menial chores,
especially the one’s everyone else wanted to avoid.
The old Jesuit also gave lots of retreats and offered spiritual
direction to many religious and lay faithful. He was especially popular with
various lay Carmelite groups. To this end, I helped give a retreat with him. I
provided the conferences and he, Mass and Confession. He was so encouraging to
work with and so humble about how the Lord was working through him. Whatever he did, whether in a homily or in
private conversation, what he offered was heart-piercing. You could tell by the
tears his penitents shed and the silence after his preaching. I think this is
because everything he did in his priestly ministry only magnified the love of
God – and he had a way of making people confident in that love no matter what they were struggling with.
In 2008, the rapid progress of Parkinson’s compelled him to
return to a Jesuit retirement community in Los Gatos. Years before, he had been
Novice Master at the same location when it served as the Jesuit Novitiate. I
looked in on him on occasion in the last few years. It was difficult to see the
lion weighed down by an earthly tent that was falling apart. His gentle eyes could betray a fierceness even
as they hid behind a gentle smile. I had
the sense that something in him was straining for what lies ahead even as he
humbly accepted the debilitating effects of his disease and age.
The hope that
lived in his heart was no longer commensurate with what this earthly existence
could sustain. And so, the Lord brought him through the veil where an even
greater love awaits us. Father Thermos pointed out that Father Drendel would end every homily with the same three words, and so I end this reflection about this holy priest, good
religious, and prayerful man with the same prayer for him with which he would bless all of us,
“God love you.”
Amen. A beautiful tribute. I wrote him a card in November after my annual retreat. I pray he was able to have it read before he died- but that prayer is probably just for me. I hope you link this on twitter.