Funeral Homily for Fr. Anthony Henry Kunkel, III
St. Mary’s Parish, Pylesville
September 26, 2022
Introduction
Not long ago, I came to St. Mary Parish here in Pylesville to join with you, Father Kunkel’s parish family, in celebrating his 50th anniversary as a priest. Today, we have gathered to commend his noble soul to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and to give thanks to the Lord for his life and his priestly ministry. We are here to pray for a truly good priest whom we knew and loved, that after a lifetime of serving the Lord and the Church he may share the eternal joys of heaven with the angelic choirs and all the redeemed.
After all, this is what Father Kunkel wanted for us. He labored for our salvation. He sought our happiness – not just in this world, but in the world to come. By his gentle and persevering priestly ministry, he sought to help us lay aside and move beyond anything in our lives that would stand in the way of our knowing, loving, and following Christ. In a word, he wanted us to be holy. That is why he devoted his life to proclaiming the Gospel and teaching the faith, to celebrating the Mass and the Sacraments, and to serving so generously the pastoral needs of God’s People. This is what defined Anthony Henry Kunkel’s life as a Christian and as a priest.
Steady and Consistent
The direction of his life and its pattern became clear early on. Father Kunkel was born in Lima, Peru and grew up in the suburbs of New York City. Happily, his family moved to the Baltimore area and when the Holy Spirit moved his heart to consider a priestly vocation, he applied and was accepted as a seminarian for this Archdiocese. He was sent first to St. Charles Seminary in Catonsville, and then to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore for priestly formation.
Like every seminarian, Henry Kunkel was evaluated by the seminary faculty. The faculty saw him as an excellent candidate for the priesthood, possessing “a good character…quiet, solid, steady, careful about his duties, sincere, straightforward, in order, and pleasant…” As I said at his anniversary Mass, the seminary faculty hit the mark. This is the Father Henry Kunkel we all knew and loved.
Even so, that fine evaluation did not tell the whole story. There was more to this young seminarian than met the eye. Beneath the surface was a heart that trusted in the Lord, a heart that was zealous for the work of the Lord, a heart that desired nothing more than the salvation of souls. As a seminarian, he spent his summers in Peru where he visited the sick and the imprisoned, taught Bible classes, worked with young people, comforted the dying and the bereaved, prepared couples for marriage and worked with them after they were married. As he approached priestly ordination, the seminary faculty recognized his pastoral zeal and his deep desire to advance the mission of the Church. They warmly recommended him to Cardinal Shehan for priestly ordination.
Father Kunkel brought that same zeal for souls and priestly joy to all his assignments: Associate Pastor of St. Lawrence in Jessup; Chaplain at Franklin Square Hospital while also serving as an Associate Pastor at Queen of Peace, Middle River. As Pastor of St. Augustine Parish in Elkridge he was beloved. And you, the parishioners here at St. Mary’s saw closeup his priestly goodness over a span of three decades of steady, loyal, and loving service as your Pastor. The fruits of his labors here are evident, not only in the many improvements to the parish facilities, but above all in the countless ways he touched your hearts and drew you closer to Christ and to one another as a family of faith, worship, and service.
Yes, even as he labored for our salvation, now we commend him to the Lord, asking our Savior to bring this good priest to his true home in heaven, that heavenly home where there are many dwelling places, that heavenly home beyond the reach of infirmity and struggle.
Skin in the Game
Without a doubt, Father Kunkel was a steady, faithful priest. He did not call attention to himself. There was no pretension, no grandiosity. While a strong and competent leader, he was self-effacing. A bright student, he made no special claims to theological expertise. A good homilist, he avoided soaring oratory and flashy gimmicks, but instead preached the faith in down-to-earth terms we could all relate to. Readily available to you, his parishioners, he did not see himself as heroic but simply as a disciple and a priest trying to live the very Gospel he preached. Father Kunkel showed us the way to salvation by travelling that road himself. For him and for us it is Christ who is “the way, the truth and the life.”
What we knew and what we now celebrate is that his faith was real. Whether he was preaching, teaching, counseling, visiting parishioners, tending to the sick and the dying, or working with engaged and married couples – in all of this and more, we sensed how deeply he was invested in what he was doing. Without histrionics or drama, he was deeply and personally engaged in his own relationship with the Lord and in his relationship with all of us. That is why we trusted him, loved him, and followed his leadership. And how he loved being your pastor! Every year, after reaching the age of retirement, he sent me a letter asking he if he could serve as your pastor for an additional year. It was a request that I granted year over year, humbly and happily.
Accompanied by the Good Shepherd
Father Anthony Henry Kunkel went home to the Lord “with his boots on” (as the saying goes). He labored in the Lord’s vineyard as long as he possibly could do so. Last week, when he was taken to York Hospital, he fully expected to return. A day or so into his hospitalization, I spoke by phone with Father Henry. He told me he was making progress and looked forward to coming home. No doubt, he meant St. Mary’s. But the Lord had other plans.
Our beloved pastor and brother journeyed into eternity the way he lived. Always the steady and faithful disciple, he departed this life quietly; he slipped into eternity. As he undertook that final journey, the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, was at his side. With his crook and his staff, the Lord guided him through the dark valley of death. The Good Shepherd led our shepherd and priest towards the heavenly liturgy, where the table is always set, and the feast is unimaginably joyful.
We will miss our good and faithful priest. He made an indelible imprint on our lives. Father Henry, we thank you with all our hearts. May you rest in the peace of Christ.