“Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
I can just imagine Fr. Tony hearing these words from Jesus as he passed from this life early this morning, after two weeks of suffering. For these past two weeks, I often wondered if Fr. Tony was offering his suffering for an end to abortion. My prayer for him lately was that the Lord would give him the strength to endure to the end, and for his petitions to be granted.
We will miss him terribly, and our hearts and prayers go out to his family, especially to his mother Dee. May God surround her with His angels during this difficult time. The funeral will be at St. Teresa of Kolkata parish (St. Catherine of Siena Church) on Thursday at noon. The details are posted HERE.
His last Sunday homily (from Nov. 27th) is posted HERE. In it, he challenges us to make sure to bring it up at family gatherings and Christmas parties that JESUS is the REASON for the season. He said in his homily, “If you can’t do that…then DON’T GO!” In honor of Fr. Tony, I will try to be bolder this year. Maybe we can all be bolder about our faith this year, in honor of him.
Rest in peace Fr. Tony.
We are so sad to hear of Fr Tony’s passing. He grew up in Beechview and taught CCD to my two sons. They spend many time with him before he became a priest. He also baptized our two granddaughters it was such an honor for us that he baptized them. Our sympathy goes out to his mother. We will pray for her everyday. A great loss to her. He loved serving our LORD. He was happy to have found his calling. Our hearts are hurting but know that he is with the LORD. Mary and John Koenig and our entire family. ❤️❤️🙏🙏😥
THANK YOU FATHER TONY! You have been an inspiration to us. We all rejoice in your loving memory and the many Blessings you have graciously bestowed on us. May your Mother in heaven welcome you with open arms. We look forward to when we may see you again. Love you.
Go with God, Father Tony! On to glory! Just yesterday as I was clearing out one of my dresser drawers, I came across a small Christmas card which read “Jesus is the reason for the season” and in it a brief note saying that he missed us very much! He was my oldest son’s confirmation sponsor and gave last rites to my dad, my mom, and my sister. I was pleased to read that he refused the chemo. God calls us all home in His time. Til we meet again, my friend. God’s love and peace.