‘Our hearts are troubled … but we can endure the pain’

Monsignor William Novak stood before an overflow crowd at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, preparing to deliver his homily.

A deeply personal homily. One he never imagined having to present.

And yet, Father Linh Bui had once designated his former vocations director, vicar general and pastor, not to mention his friend and one-time roommate deliver the homily for his Mass of Christian Burial. Funeral arrangements are a requirement of priests shortly after their ordination.

In June 2014, when Bui was ordained at the age of 45, that request surely seemed like a formality. But when Father Bui died Sept. 19 from injuries suffered in a tragic accident at his parish in Elgin, Saint Ann Catholic Church, Monsignor Novak was needed.

In recent weeks, the clergy has been needed and tested to extreme, amid uncommon grief from the deaths of Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, Father Linh and Father Joseph Jacobi, casting “a pall over us like we’ve never seen or felt before,” Monsignor Novak said during his often-emotional funeral homily.

Novak and Bui were rectory roommates at Oklahoma City’s Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church for six years, the former serving as pastor, Father Bui as his associate. Monsignor Novak noted how Father Bui loved the people, and how they loved him.

“If he is not on the fast track to heaven, there is little hope for any of us,” Monsignor Novak said. “He was exceptionally Christ-like.

“Father Linh was the nicest person I have ever known. Many of you would agree. He was authentically kind, gentle, soft-spoken and always had a smile on his face.

“We got along great, especially being extremely different. He was humble. Calm. Patient. And meek. Need I go on?” Novak said with a bit of self-deprecating humor.

Archbishop Beltran’s funeral drew a large crowd to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City, including his former vicar general, Edward Weisenburger, now the archbishop of Detroit, who delivered his homily.

Father Jacobi’s Mass of Christian Burial was scheduled for Oct. 7 at the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.

Monsignor Novak acknowledged the hurt, yet also offered hope for all in closing his homily.

“Our hearts are troubled when we think about the death of Father Linh,” he said. “But we can endure the pain and the separation, because we believe all of it – all of it – is temporary, because death is not the end of our life. We shall see Father Linh again, and all the faithful departed, when the Lord returns in glory.”

John Helsley is editor of the Sooner Catholic.


The Mass of Christian Burial for the Most Rev. Eusebius J. Beltran was Sept. 24 at the Bl. Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City. Interment was at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.

The Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. Linh Bui was Sept. 26 at The Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Oklahoma City. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.

The Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. Joseph Jacobi was Oct. 7 at the Bl. Stanley Rother Shrine in Oklahoma City. Photo Chris Porter/Sooner Catholic.