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Fr Francis Dobson: Funeral Readings and Homily 16th January 2018

First Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:14 – 5:1 (Lectionary vol 3, page 867-8, number 9)

We know that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.

That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.

For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens.

Gospel: John 12:23-28 (Lectionary vol 3, page 886-7, number 16)

Jesus said to his disciples:

'Now the hour has come

for the Son of Man to be glorified.

I tell you, most solemnly,

unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,

it remains only a single grain;

but if it dies,

it yields a rich harvest.

Anyone who loves his life loses it;

anyone who hates his life in this world

will keep it for the eternal life.

If a man serves me, he must follow me,

wherever I am, my servant will be there too.

If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.

Now my soul is troubled.

What shall I say:

Father, save me from this hour?

But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.

Father, glorify your name! 'A voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.'

That passage from St John’s Gospel that we have just listened to comes after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (the Palm Sunday Gospel) and just before the Last Supper. It is clear that Jesus is fully aware of his impending death, that he accepts it, and that far from being a tragedy, it is truly the moment of his glorification. And it is significant that this short discourse takes place in the context of an approach from some foreigners, Greeks, who had approached the apostle Philip with the request, “Sir, we should like to see Jesus”.

“Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain;

2. if it dies, it yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it; anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.” That was part of the message that Jesus gave Philip and Andrew to hand on to the Greeks. Those Greeks were “outsiders” to the Jews, people at the margins, just as they were originally to Paul. And yet those outsiders turn out to be the fertile ground into which the seed that was sown begins to grow and produce a harvest. And Jesus’s message was not just for that occasion, it would be true for all time.

When Fr Francis received the diagnosis that his prostate cancer had spread and was attacking his bones, and that there was no cure, his reaction was that it was a great grace. It was a grace because he saw that he had been given the time to prepare himself for death. Fr Francis was facing the final challenge: to hand over his life into the hands of the Lord; to lose his life just as Jesus had lost his; and to look forward beyond death to eternal life. Like many others before him, Francis held firm to his faith and to his commitment to others, to service, to the Mass and to prayer. His experience recalled the reading from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, as we heard, “That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day.”

That is why Fr Francis continued to come to Sunday Mass until very recently, why he wanted always to join with the monks for the Divine Office, and why right up to the end, he did his best to continue to promote FACE-FAW. One of the tasks he was working on right to the end was to write a history of FACE-FAW, which I hope will be published in the Ampleforth Journal later this year. Like Jesus himself, and like Paul, Fr Francis was always concerned for the outsider, for those at the margins.

Fr Francis also wrote an account of his own life which appeared in the last issue of the Diary. He was born in Newark in 1939 and was a life-long supporter of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. He came to Gilling in 1947, at the age of 8, and then from age 13 was in St Dunstan’s House.

After leaving the school he trained as a chartered accountant and eventually went to work for Price Waterhouse in London and then in Johannesburg. He joined the monastery in 1967 with Fr Christopher, the sub-Prior, and two others who did not persevere. He took solemn vows in 1971 and from 1970 to 1972 studied at St Benet’s Hall and Plater College, taking a diploma in Social Studies. From 1972 to 2007 he taught Politics, Religious Studies, History and General Studies, and also helped with the Junior House scouts.

He was ordained deacon in 1975 and priest the following year. Then the next year he spent doing pastoral work on two of our parishes: first at Knaresborough and then at Leyland (six months in each) before returning to the Abbey to resume teaching and to run the stationery shop. He used to be the regular stand-in for all the housemasters. And then for the last twenty-five years he was one of the house chaplains, beginning with St Aidan’s and going on to include St Dunstan’s, St Edward’s and St Cuthbert’s, where he was until just a year ago.

Fr Francis was himself greatly influenced by pilgrimage, and had made over 80 pilgrimages to Lourdes and 20 to Medjugorje. In 1989 he was made a Titular member of the Hospitalité de Notre Dame de Lourdes, and in July 2009 the Bishop of Lourdes and Tarbes appointed him an Honorary Chaplain of the Lourdes Grotto.

Fr Francis managed to combine teaching and acting as chaplain with a bewildering array of other jobs: Assistant Novice Master , Business Manager of the Ampleforth Journal, in charge of boys going to Lourdes, Assistant leader and Chaplain to the Duke of Edinburgh Award activities, leading various expeditions including to the Lake District, Master in charge of School Shop; he was in charge of preparation for Confirmation, he co‑ordinated 19 Medjugorge pilgrimages, he was Chaplain to the school Infirmary, assistant Head of the Religious Studies department (what is now called Christian Theology), Vice President of the staff Common Room, Second Guest Master, the organiser of Headmaster’s Lectures, Honorary Secretary of the Ampleforth Society, he coached 3rd XI cricket, and most memorably he was the coordinator of Ampleforth FACE-FAW (Friendship and Aid to Central & Eastern Europe and Friendship and Aid to the World).

For a long time Fr Francis occupied the small classroom right at the top of the clocktower, but eventually he moved to the new Bamford Centre when it was built. One of my brethren told me that he was one of those showing parties round on the day of the grand opening. He says “I knew my way around the science departments but had never ventured downstairs to Economics and Politics. I was able to say to my group, when we got to what was clearly Francis's classroom: ‘This is Fr Francis's room: as you can see it has his three icons on the wall: a crucifix, a television set on which to view Party Political Broadcasts and catch the latest news, and a shelf full of Wisden.’” Even right at the end, he was quite capable of having his computer showing the live feed from Medjugorie or Walsingham and simultaneously the TV showing the latest disasters from the Test Match from Australia.

We have received messages of thanks and support from many organisations helped by FACE-FAW, including those in Romania and in Africa. Over the years countless students have been inspired to do something helpful in their gap year by working with FACE-FAW partners. Helping Mary’s Meals feed schoolchildren in the poorest countries was one of the organisations that inspired Fr Francis, and his enthusiasm was infectious.

When it came to the end, Fr Francis faced his death with great courage and without fuss. That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t afraid. Nor does it mean that he was not aware of his failings and of his sins. He would certainly want to insist that you all pray for him, imploring the Lord for a merciful judgement.

We loved him but we have to admit that we were sometimes frustrated by him: the way he would start a conversation half-way through. His driving was frankly terrifying, his singing was hopeless, his homilies could be mystifying, and he could be awkward and clumsy in public. And yet we all know that deep down Francis was a man committed to Christ and to his Blessed Mother, he was dedicated to caring for the poor, and he was always looking for new and better ways to spread the Gospel, especially among the students here at Ampleforth.

Writing about his illness in the Ampleforth Diary, he stated: “On 14th June 2016, I learnt of illness; a stunning uncertainty, fear and beautiful grace, that I had nothing and could be at Peace. Actually, it is to … no longer seek to be important, to have nothing but the gifts of the Lord.” He loved Jesus, and may the Lord have mercy on him and welcome him into eternal life. May he rest in peace.