Funeral held for slain priest

 “My goal is just to bring Jesus and his love and joy to people in whatever form it takes; to let everyone know that God loves us all,” Deacon Otis Young Jr. told the Clarion Herald in 2001 before his priestly ordination for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

And, during the 21 years of his priesthood, Father Young lived these words.

Father Young, who retired in July as pastor of St. Peter Church in Covington, and retired St. Peter pastoral associate Ruth Prats were murdered and their bodies were found burned Nov. 28 on Gibson Street in Covington.

The horrific crime stunned the archdiocese, especially the close-knit northshore Catholic community. Parishioners and friends filled St. Peter Church and the 500 chairs set up outside the church for Father Young’s Funeral Mass on Dec. 5.

Prats’ funeral was held Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. at St. Peter Church.

At Father Young’s Funeral Mass Dec. 5, Deacon Dennis Adams read the Gospel from St. John about Jesus weeping for and then resurrecting his friend Lazarus from the dead.

Father Daniel Brouillette, who began working with Father Young at St. Peter’s in 2012 before succeeding him as pastor, was the homilist and asked those present to reflect on the exhortation given by bishops to priests and deacons at their ordination: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you now are. Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach.
 

“Otis was a simple priest who had a fierce desire to live out his priesthood for the sanctification of others.” 

Father Daniel Brouillette

St. Peter Church

“Father Otis Young heard these words spoken to him more than 21 years ago, and he relied on the grace of God to embrace them and to put them into practice during his diaconate and throughout his priesthood.”

Father Brouillette mentioned the prayer service on Nov. 28 where 1,000 gathered at St. Peter to do what they do best – pray before the Eucharist, only knowing that Father Young and Prats had disappeared.

“It was a nightmare, and we were all powerless to overcome that ordeal,” he said. “This community was in a dark place when we pondered that question of ‘where are they?’

“By the time we came together as a community of faith last Monday night, Otis’ and Ruth’s great tribulation was already complete. But the question remained, ‘Where are they?’ … Jesus Christ, the light of the world was with them, and he wept. Christ weeping was not a sign of powerlessness. Jesus wept because his children were innocent, and they were in pain beyond comprehension. Jesus wept because his children should never have experienced a death such as they did. But, the tears of Christ rained down the grace upon Otis and Ruth to endure all of their torture and sufferings. ‘My grace is sufficient for you,’ the Lord whispered to Otis. ‘You are my beloved priest. I am providing for you.’ ”

Father Brouillette asked the question out loud, “ ‘Lord, what are you trying to tell me here?’ 

Keep my commandments and remain in my life. Father Otis tried hard to keep the commandments … in a beautiful way.

“Otis was a simple priest who had a fierce desire to live out his priesthood for the sanctification of others,” Father Brouillette said. “He was a priest who portrayed a deep faith. Otis was frequently quiet in prayer.”

Father Brouillette said Father Young’s faithfulness to prayer was evident when he searched his room for his breviary after the murder: A ribbon indicated it was marked to the readings on the day he died.
“He also was a holy confessor and recognized that next to the celebration of the Eucharist, offering Christ’s mercy to the faithful … was the most important part of his life and priesthood,” Father Brouillette said. “He scheduled many extra hours of confessions every week. These extra periods of confession have changed the spiritual life of this parish, and we are all the better for it.

 “If Otis could speak aloud to us today, he would tell his brother priests to recommit ourselves to the promises we made at our ordination.

He used to say all the time, ‘You can’t give what you ain’t got.’ Fidelity to a life of prayer is of utmost importance … carve time out of your busy schedules to spend time with Christ.”

He mentioned Father Young’s devotion to the rosary, evident in the way he prayed to the Blessed Mother or preached about her and his wearing of the brown scapular. Without repeating the horrific manner of Father Young’s and Prats’ deaths, Father Brouillette held up the brown scapular that Father Young never took off as the only visible remains of the priest.

“Lord, what are you trying to teach me here? Where was the Lord when Otis was suffering that brutal death? The Lord was here. … It is my fervent prayer that Otis heard our Lord say, ‘Well done my good and faithful servant; with you I am well pleased. Come and enter the kingdom of heaven. Welcome home. Fear not, son.’ ”

He prayed that all those who mourn Father Young’s death might say with great resolve that the Lord provides for them and their needs, and say “Yes, Lord, I believe.”

At the Funeral Mass, Archbishop Gregory Aymond called Father Young “a man of faith and integrity” and a devoted shepherd who accompanied his flock “in the good times and in the challenges and struggles.”