Rev. Thomas A. Hagendorf, O.Praem.'s Funeral Mass Homily

As I reflected on the Gospel reading from St. John, I could not help but ponder the words of Jesus: “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” The words reminded me of Umberto Eco’s description of the Aedificium in his popular novel, “The Name of the Rose.”

The ground floor of that building contained the kitchen. Above that was the refectory. The floor above that was the scriptorium. And the top floors contained the library. Just how many floors we do not know because this chilling mystery novel presents the abbey’s library as a great labyrinth. A sign, the old monk Alinardo says, “a sign of the labyrinth of the world. You enter and you do not know where you will come out.”

I have spent many hours researching and reading in the Notre Dame University Library, the Ashmolian in Oxford, the British Library in London… and even Tom’s library at Archmere Academy.

Many times in the libraries… I did not know just which floor to enter… or if I would find my way back out of the stacks.

Not so with Father Tom’s library. Tom spent countless hours in the Archmere library, …organizing the holdings …and rendering service to students and faculty. He alone knew all of its secrets.

I think we all know the importance of a library. I believe what Umberto Eco’s abbot says of the labyrinthine library can be said of all great libraries (and I quote): “A monastery (and certainly this applies to a school or a rectory today)…A monastery without a library is like a city without buildings, …is like a fortress without soldiers,…is like a kitchen without utensils. It iike a table without food, a garden without herbs, a meadow without flowers, a tree without leaves.”

Sure sounds like a Hagendorf creation, doesn’t it?

We all know how essential a library is to a building. Helena Raskob, the wife of the builder of the Archmere estate that became Archmere Academy, once wrote: “A library is a room to nourish the soul.”

The one thing I find equally as important as the holdings of a library… is the knowledge, expertise and help of their librarians. Father Tom was just such a person.

He loved history…foreign and domestic.He loved art…especially about the places he travelled to.He loved the latest books on theology…especially the theologians of the Second Vatican Council and those concerned with the environment and the lives of everyday people.And he loved cook books…I believe he had one of every kind published… plus all of the cooking magazines on the market.

“You see, Brother William,” the abbot of Baskerville said, “only the librarian knows where to find what you want and where to replace them.

He alone is responsible for their safekeeping. Only the librarian knows what secrets… what truths or falsehoods… each volume contains.”

This surely was true of Uncle Father Tom, as his nieces and nephews called him.

I believe one of the most important personal volumes in God’s celestial library, for us gathered here today… is the one labeled: “The Story of Father Tom Hagendorf’s Life.” It is a volume that we as a Norbertine religious community… and you as family and friends have access to that no one else has.

As a reminder, I ask you today to keep that special book of Tom’s life well preserved. I say this because all too easily we neglect that story. We fail in our task of keeping that story accessible and alive.

And so I ask you to tell and re-tell the Story of Tom’s Life often.

The stories of his generosity and kindness… of his “being there when you needed him.”The stories about his parties and his recipes…and how he tweaked them to make them his own!The stories about the “women” in his life…especially those who got under his skin!The stories about “the 10%”…those with the minority opinion on anything… who were 90% of the problem.The stories about his latest diet and the new exercise plan he had…but never put into practice.The stories about his new wardrobe…about being the “hunk” he never realized he was!The stories about his Archmere soccer team that didn’t score for half-a-season because he hadn’t gotten that far in the coach’s manual!The stories about his giving up Martinis… and then pouring himself another.The stories about his latest technological gadget…(his “toys” as we called them) …gadgets that he claimed “kept his mind active”…and everyone else “on line”… be it EMail or iPhone or iPad or Skype.The stories about his willingness to give you anything…knowing full well that it meant he could “up-grade” with a newer model…or a larger size!

And if Father Cuccia was here… we could go on and on.There’s no end to Tom’s stories.

Remembering is an important aspect of all of our lives. Remembering recalls for us who we are, where we come from...the deeds that have made us who and what we are…and the importance of other people in our lives.

And so I encourage you today to keep Father Tom’s story alive:

May Tom’s generous and kind soul live on forever.