Archbishop of Agaña, Guam, former Detroit auxiliary remembered for missionary zeal, love of Scripture and a deep trust in God
DETROIT — On June 9, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament was filled with bishops, priests and parishioners from the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Archdiocese of Agaña, Guam, who prayed for the repose of the soul of Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes, a pastor willing to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel.
Archbishop Byrnes, a former Detroit auxiliary bishop and the former archbishop of Agaña who died May 30 at the age of 66, was remembered during his funeral as an obedient servant of Jesus Christ who made the people around him want to draw closer to God.
“I was ordained with the archbishop,” said Fr. John Riccardo, who delivered the homily at the funeral Mass, which was celebrated by Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger and concelebrated by dozens of priests and bishops. “When I was young, I thought I knew a lot. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize I don’t know much. But I do know one thing: God hates death. And where you and I are powerless to watch it take hold of those we love, He’s not.”
As the Mass began, Archbishop Weisenburger offered his condolences to Archbishop Byrnes' family members, who were seated in the front pews of the cathedral.
“Before we formally begin, allow me to express a very brief word of sympathy to the archbishop’s brother, his family, his extended family, his brother priests, many of whom he formed, and his many friends who are gathered here,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “I also want to express a special welcome to Archbishop Ryan Jimenez, archbishop of Agaña, who has succeeded Archbishop Byrnes in that archdiocese, and Bishop Romy Convocar, who served as the archbishop’s vicar general and rector of the cathedral before becoming bishop himself. Bishop, Archbishop, your presence here is great blessing for us.”
“We have lost someone dearly beloved to us, but as Scripture teaches, our grief is not like that of the pagans,” Archbishop Weisenburger continued. “May we be comforted by the promises made to Michael at his baptism.”
In his homily, Fr. Riccardo said he was surprised and honored to have been chosen by Archbishop Byrnes to preach at his funeral, noting he was ordained with the archbishop on May 25, 1996, at the very same cathedral where the funeral was taking place.
“As priests, we pick our readers, we pick our music, and we pick who we want to preach,” said Fr. Riccardo, executive director of the ACTS XXIX apostolate. “So if you are surprised I’m here, you can only imagine me. There are lots of people here who know the archbishop in much more profound ways than I have. We all have our own stories — that is what (the funeral visitation) is for, that’s what after this celebration is for, that is what the days ahead are for, to recap all the ways God touched our lives through this extraordinary man.”
Fr. Riccardo began with a story about St. Anthony of the Desert, a third-century Christian monk from Egypt and one of the earliest monastics of the Church. Three men would frequently visit St. Anthony, Fr. Riccardo said, and while two of the men would constantly ask questions, the third never spoke.
When St. Anthony asked why, the third man said being in the presence of St. Anthony was edifying enough for him.
Fr. Riccardo said the same could be said about Archbishop Byrnes.
“Whether we knew him from Catholic Central (High School) or the University of Michigan, or the Servants of the Word or Sacred Heart Major Seminary, or St. Joan of Arc or Presentation/Our Lady of Victory Parish, or from Guam, Mike made us want to be better men,” Fr. Riccardo said. “Last night, looking at him in the casket, it was enough to see him. He made me strong, and he roused me to be great.”
Fr. Riccardo said much can be gleaned from Archbishop Byrnes' selection of readings for his funeral Mass, which included passages from the Book of Wisdom, St. Paul's letter to the Philippians and the Gospel of St. Matthew.
“As I am praying for Archbishop Byrnes, reflecting on these readings that he has chosen, I hear him saying, ‘John, I picked the Scriptures, preach the Scriptures,’” Fr. Riccardo said. “This is a man who loved the Word of God. It was like water for him; it was essential. He soaked in it, found strength in it. I would frequently hear him say, ‘All I need is a Bible, a missal, a little bread and some wine.‘ Maybe the Church would be better off if that’s all we had.”
The Scripture readings ranged from King David's great proclamation, "The Lord is my shepherd, whom shall I fear?", to Paul's teaching that all righteousness comes from the Lord. The Gospel was the Parable of the Talents, in which the master's servants increase that which they were given, to the reply, "Well done, good and faithful servants."
Fr. Riccardo said the Scripture passages all carry the theme of putting a tremendous amount of faith in God to carry out a task at hand.
It is a fitting parallel to Archbishop Byrnes' own life, Fr. Riccardo said.
“He picked the readings, but didn’t say why,” Fr. Riccardo said. “But from what I gather, it’s this: First, give God the pen of your life. Life often doesn’t work the way we thought it would. Assignments, sickness, losses, on and on. But God’s in control, and He knows what He’s doing. It’s not for us to know the plan; it’s just for us to let Him write the story of our lives.”
Fr. Riccardo also invoked St. Joan of Arc, patron of the parish where Archbishop Byrnes served as an associate pastor from 1996-99, and where he spent his final years until he died on May 30, St. Joan of Arc’s feast day.
Fr. Riccardo likened St. Joan of Arc’s story to that of Archbishop Byrnes’ time leading the Archdiocese of Agaña, a Church that was in great distress upon his arrival.
St. Joan of Arc's determination and obedience to God led her to take part in a "resistance movement" in France, Fr. Riccardo noted, “so it could come back under its proper leadership.”
“Mike was fond of thinking of the Church in that way," Fr. Riccardo said. "We need to remember, as disciples of Jesus, we have no human enemy. The only enemy is Satan and his minions, and the weapons that we use are love and character and mercy and kindness and truth and beauty.
“He was eager to mobilize the Church, both here and in Agaña,” Fr. Riccardo continued. “And especially the laity, whom he saw as something like a new religious order: Men and women loaded with gifts, waiting for marching orders.”
Archbishop Byrnes was eager to remind everyone that while the Church's mission is to evangelize, "it's not enough to proclaim the Gospel," Fr. Riccardo said.
"There's also the work of re-creation," Fr. Riccardo said. "And that's the mission: to not just proclaim the Gospel, but to allow the Gospel to penetrate and perfect every dimension of human life: sports, health care, law, education, entertainment, you name it. And that's your task."
All of Archbishop Byrnes’ life is a lesson that to believe in Jesus Christ is to acknowledge that death has been defeated, forever, Fr. Riccardo said, and to live a life proclaiming Christ’s kingdom is the greatest life anyone could live.
“If you had been there on the Friday we call ‘Good,’ we would have thought it was a waste,” Fr. Riccardo said. “And we would have been wrong because the Cross redeemed the world. So our crosses, joined to Jesus’, help in the redemption of the world.”
Archbishop Byrnes’ life and witness to the Gospel was fulfilling a call from God to be great in proclaiming the saving message of Jesus Christ, Fr. Riccardo said.
“Brothers and sisters, we do not know how much time we have. It might be decades, it might be weeks," Fr. Riccardo said. "Whatever time we have left, let’s be great. Let’s be the kind of men and women who will say to us, ‘It’s just enough to see you. You make me strong. You remind me who Jesus is. You encourage me to have hope, to trust him, to bank my life on him, to surrender to him day in and day out, and to live my life with joy, even when I’m sharing in the Cross.'”
Following the final commendation, which was accompanied by the singing of a traditional Irish blessing, “May the Road Rise to Meet You,” Archbishop Byrnes' casket was moved down the center aisle of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, beginning its final journey to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, where the archbishop was to be buried next to his mother, Marie.
Pat Byrnes, Archbishop Byrnes’ brother, said it was fitting so many of the faithful from both Detroit and Agaña were on hand to say their last farewell to his brother.
“That’s just the way he’s always been, always drawing people to him,” Pat Byrnes told Detroit Catholic. “I want people to remember Mike as the guy who, if you knew him a little, you knew him through and through.”
In reflecting on his brother's life as a missionary and doing what God asked of him, Pat said he and his brother got their willpower from their mother from an early age.
“Mike wasn’t a man of pomp and circumstance. He was a man of action," Pat Brynes said. "On the tombstone he’ll share with our mother, there will be an inscription from the Gospel, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
