1920-2014
Words of Remembrance for Brother Martin O’Connell, FSC
Given by Brother Dominic Viggiani, FSC
August 14, 2014
Mass of Christian Burial
La Salle Manor, Scarborough, Ontario CANADA
We want to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus. God will bring them with him . . . So we shall stay with the Lord forever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another—the words of St. Paul to the Christian community at Thessalonika. Then, as now, as believers, we take great comfort in these words as we mourn the passing of Brother Martin O’Connell.
William James O’Connell was born on Palm Sunday, March 28, 1920 in the City of Kingston, Ontario. In 1938, at the age of eighteen, William entered the Novitiate of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Aurora, where thereafter he would be called Brother Martin.
Even a quick glance at Brother Martin’s tour of duty tells us that he labored in the vineyard of the Lord in almost every location where the legacy District of Toronto had a presence. Toronto, Quebec City, London, Pembroke, Windsor, Yorktown, Montreal, St. Vincent Island, and Scarborough would be places where Brother Martin exercised his commitment to the human and Christian education of youth, or as a director, administrator, and in the leadership of the District. Indeed, he had both a long and varied life as a Brother.
There are three words which I associate with Brother Martin: Service, Humility, and Fidelity.
Over the course of more than seventy-five years of religious life as a De La Salle Brother, Brother Martin was teacher, coach, principal, director, bursar, administrator, Auxiliary Visitor, and Visitor. I suppose it is safe to say that there was no position he didn’t occupy and no service he wasn’t prepared to give. Let us make no mistake that Brother Martin gave himself fully and faithfully to whatever he was asked to do for others. It seems to me that we can readily apply the axiom—“the best of men are those who are useful to others”—to Brother Martin.
I first joined the Brothers during Brother Martin’s tenure as Visitor. In the several discussions I recall having had with him, I was impressed by his keen and engaging intellect. He was not afraid to express his views. However, what struck me most was his friendliness and his evident humility. I have no idea if this humility came naturally to him, or if it was more the fruit of so many years of trying to live out his religious consecration with seriousness and resolve. Perhaps it was a bit of both. Whatever the case, I think it is fair to state that Brother Martin, in this regard, was a genuine example of what it means to be a spiritual son of John Baptist de La Salle. In the end, real humility, such as was lived by Our Founder, is the awareness that we are not called upon to do all the good that is possible, but only that which we can do.
Some ten years ago or so, when our respective roles were reversed, and I would come to this community to hear the reddition of the Brothers, Brother Martin was always eager to meet and chat. I remember one meeting with him in particular which has never left me. Now in his eighties, Brother Martin expressed some of the struggles and challenges he faced with old age and the on-set of poorer health. Although apprehensive about the possibility of suffering and the inevitability of death which he shared with striking honesty, he spoke most passionately about his family and his religious family. His greatest concern after all these many years as a religious was to know that he had used his talents to the best of his ability to the honor of his mother and father and the glory of God. He expressed his anxieties and his doubts. But these were the doubts and anxieties of a man prepared to leave them in the hands of a merciful God. It is true, I believe that Brother Martin underestimated the good he had in fact done, and his extraordinary fidelity to be of service to others.
The Church in her wisdom allows us to reflect on the life of the deceased not so much to praise the deeds of the one who has died, but to recall the fragility of life and to draw us closer to one another, and ultimately to the One who saves us from death so that we might live with Him for all eternity. Death reminds us all of the need to be forgiven. Our dead have gone to meet their Creator, their Redeemer, and their Judge. And so we pray for our dear Brother Martin that Our Lord will look upon him with favor, tenderness and mercy. We pray, too, that Our Lord will reward him for the many acts of service; for his willingness to put the needs of others before his own in a true spirit of humility, and for so many years of fidelity to the Church and to the Institute.
I know that Brother Martin would want me to acknowledge all the staff of La Salle Manor—past and present—for the attention and care they gave him over the years. Thank you so much.
Finally, on behalf of the Brothers and the Sisters here, I extend my deepest condolences to Brother Martin’s family.
Now as we bid our farewell to Brother Martin and lay his remains to rest, we go in the assurance that if we have pleased God in this life, we should not be displeased with death since it comes from the hand of the same Master. May he rest in peace.
Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of Br. Martin O’Connell, FSC
Born William James O’Connell in Kingston, Ontario, CANADA, on March 28, 1920
Entered the Aurora Novitiate on September 4, 1938
Received the Religious Habit and Name, Brother Martin, on November 20, 1938
Pronounced Perpetual Vows in Aurora, Ontario, CANADA on August 24, 1945
Br. Martin died at Providence Health Care in Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA, on August 10, 2014
FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Viewing from 2:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Prayer Service at 7:00 pm
La Salle Manor
61 Fairfax Crescent
Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA M1L 1Z7
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 am
La Salle Manor
61 Fairfax Crescent
Scarborough, Ontario, CANADA M1L 1Z7
Burial at Holy Cross Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario CANADA
SUFFRAGES FOR OUR DECEASED BROTHER MARTIN
District: 100 masses
La Salle Manor community: 30 masses
Each community in the District: 1 mass
Brother Martin passed away peacefully during the afternoon at Providence Health Care. May he rest in peace.
Assignments
1940-1942
studies
Toronto, Ontario
University of Toronto
1942-1943
prefect
Toronto, Ontario
De La Salle “Oaklands”, University of Toronto
1943-1947
teacher
Quebec City, Quebec
St. Patrick High School
1947-1948
teacher
Toronto, Ontario
De La Salle “Oaklands”
1948-1952
teacher
London, Ontario
De La Salle High School
1952-1957
teacher and director (‘54-‘57)
Quebec City, Quebec
St. Patrick High School
1957-1960
director
Scarborough, Ontario
Christian Brothers Center Juniorate
1960-1961
second novitiate
Rome, ITALY
Generalate
1961-1963
teacher and director
Pembroke, Ontario
St. Columbia High School
1963-1964
director
Scarborough, Ontario
Christian Brothers Center Scholasticate
1964-1965
director
Windsor, Ontario
La Salle Hall
1965-1967
director
Yorktown, Saskatchewan
St. Joseph’s College
1967-1973
teacher and director (‘69-‘73)
Montreal, Quebec
D’Arcy McGee High School
1973-1977
auxiliary visitor
Toronto, Ontario
O’Connor House
1977-1983
visitor
Toronto, Ontario
O’Connor House
1983-1984
faculty
Yorktown, Saskatchewan
St. Joseph College
1984-1985
director
St. Vincent, WEST INDIES
St. Martin’s Senior School
1985-1989
bursar (’85-’87); administrator (’87-’89)
Scarborough, Ontario
La Salle Manor
1989-1992
bursar and administrator of La Salle Manor
Toronto, Ontario
O’Connor House
1992-1999
administrator
Scarborough, Ontario
La Salle Manor
1999-2014
resident
Scarborough, Ontario
La Salle Manor
2014-2014
resident
Scarborough, Ontario
Providence Health Care