William J. M. Moody, S.J., (March 7, 1940 - April 23, 1974)
With his mother on the day of his ordination in 1972
Bill was able to serve as a priest for only a short time. He died of sepsis during his first priestly mission, a faculty member at Saint Joseph's Prep. The future Cardinal Avery Dulles, S. J. spoke of him at his funeral Mass as dying of an enlarged heart, not defining a medical condition but describing the kind of man he was.
There are still eleven of us Jesuits surviving who joined the Society of Jesus with Bill in 1959 at Wernersville. Three others ordained among us, F. Scott Howell, Phil Rosato and Gerry Fitzpatrick, are with Bill in God's embrace. I am in no hurry to join them (I have no words to describe the reunion that is part of Christ's promise.) But I will have a chance to visit the graves of Bill and Phil this afternoon. Scott is buried in Tokyo where he served at Sophia University and Gerry is buried in Philadelphia. Their memory continues to strengthen those of us they left behind. (P.S.: Joining them in death in June of 2016 is William Miller, scripture scholar and educator. So there are ten of us surviving.)
4 comments:
Thank you for this.
Mari (Farrell) O'Neill
(I'm somehow signed in with my son's old account and don't know how to switch it out!)
I was at My cousin Bill's Ordination when I was young. I remember visiting him at Wernersville. He was such a nice guy. He was my younger brother's Godfather.
Hi George. My Dad Joe Farrell passed away earlier this week and my Mom wanted to make sure you were aware. You were a blessed friend to both my parents. Love to you and hope you’re doing well.
This is Bill Farrell in case it doesn’t say 😊
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