Reflection on the life of Brother Martin Zatsick, T.O.R.

Reflection on the life of Brother Martin Zatsick, T.O.R.

Memorial Service – Thursday, July 25, 2024

Ss. Cosmas & Damian, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

On behalf of our Franciscan Community, I am honored and privileged to deliver these remarks on behalf of an individual whom I considered my very dear friend and confidant of many years, Bro. Martin Zatsick, TOR, follower of Jesus Christ, Faithful servant of Francis, excellent role model, and, above all, a friend and mentor to all.

I thank Msgr. Joseph and the Ss. Cosmas & Damian community of faith for allowing me to be present this morning, to express sympathy and prayerful consideration to his family and friends on behalf of our dearly beloved Bro Marty.  Those here present this morning are but a very small number of those individuals whose lives Bro. Marty has touched over some 75-plus years of faithful service to the Almighty who will forever remember and mourn his passing.  As I read all the messages of sympathy and condolences, I know that Bro. Marty would be honored by your outpouring but a little miffed and amused by all the fuss that has occurred over the last several weeks.

The faith that our brother Marty handed us teaches that life does not end with the passing of a loved one – but is changed into another life, eternal life.  We truly believe that this is the case this morning.

It is also our belief that Bro. Marty is with the chosen elect in heaven, with his parents, George and Ann Rose, and his brother-in-law David experiencing eternal peace which he so richly deserves: “Come you blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom that is prepared for you.”

I cannot help but recall the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi (my favorite saint) who asked the Lord, “Make me a channel of your peace.  Where there’s despair in life, let me bring hope.  Where there is darkness, only light, and where there’s sadness, ever joy.” 

St. Francis embraced these paradoxes because he believed that all of life’s challenges are manifestations of God’s great and mysterious will.  

Maybe that’s why he personalized everything around him, referring to Brother Sun and Sister Moon, Brother Fire, and Sister Water.

He even referred to death as Sister Death, for as difficult as it is, that too is part of the plan, a time when God finally calls us home to a new and everlasting relationship with him.  “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

One of the great German Theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, once referred to death as the “highest of feasts on the way to eternal freedom.”  Death is indeed a feast of freedom.  It breaks the chains that bind us to this earth and allows us to go to God.  When we die, we are free of earth’s cares, pains, and sufferings.  Our spirit will live forever, free to see more clearly, free to love more deeply. 

Now, Sister Death has come to guide Bro. Marty home.  On this occasion, I would like you to join me in remembering our brother, who through the Lord’s grace and generosity, taught us much as he walked with him for some 75 + years.

Over the years, Bro. Marty would have many titles:

Some would call him Bro. Marty, others, Coach, and, still others, Brother.  All would call him a servant of God and an excellent example of what it means to be a follower of the Almighty.  This was a person who embraced the gospel as his way of life and lived it every day.  These traits are very much evident in the length and depth of his biographical profile.

Bro. Martin J. Zatsick entered the Franciscan Order on August 26, 1967, and professed solemn vows in 1972. For the next ten years, he served our community in several of our institutions in Pennsylvania and the formation community in Toronto, Canada.  After his time in Canada, Bro. Marty felt a call to share his ministry in the province’s foreign missions in Brazil and South Africa.  After four years, and on his return to the United States, Bro. Marty accepted a long-term assignment at Saint Mark Church in Lake Andes, South Dakota, where he ministered to the Native American Indians for 16 years.  He continued his ministry of helping others when he was assigned as Director of the Dorothy Day Center at Saint Francis University and finally as Local Minister at Queen of Peace Friary in Pittsburgh.  

Bro. Marty’s lasting and endearing impact, on so many individuals in so many ways, is demonstrated in the sheer # and variety of remembrances, that were posted to the various social media message boards in the last few weeks.  These tributes to our beloved Bro. Marty are a real testimony to his long-lasting legacy, one that truly made a positive and enduring impact on everyone he encountered, in or out of the country or the classroom of life.  He was truly a man for all seasons.

Allow me to share a few of the tributes:

Read from testimonials.

Twista:  

My mornings got a little dimmer.  My loving pen pal, Bro. Marty, was a kind, loving, giving, and beautiful soul.  I will miss our morning talks.

Tony:

Godspeed, Bro. Marty.  You were a great cook, coach, teacher, and friend.

Jonelle:

Bro. Marty was everything a person could want in a friend and more.  We spent hours/days/weeks patrolling the streets of Lake Andes, South Dakota together.  I will never forget the amount of goodness that Our Lord and Savior packed into this friend of ours.  

Mary Ann:

Bro. Marty was a special person in my life.  It is rare to find such a kind person with such great presence and peace.  

Brooke:

Bro. Marty was my neighbor in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh.  He helped me in some of my darkest days.  He always sent encouraging words every day to me and was such a beacon of light in such a heavy world.  Rest in Peace, my dear friend.  

Gary:

I cannot tell you how sorry I am to learn of Bro. Marty’s passing.  But his picture seems to say it all.  A smile that is now looking on the face of God.  Surely God is smiling back too.  Welcome home, Bro. Marty, enter into the joy of Our God.  

Blandin:

May the angels welcome him into paradise, and I hope the martyrs don’t hurt each other by pushing to the front of the line to greet him.  Unlike me, who hopefully will be able to sneak into the 11th gate, the front door will be open for Bro. Marty.  

John:

A true Franciscan in every way, shape, and form.

I don’t think that any one of the testimonials shared this morning is the reason why so many individuals, over the last one-half century plus had such great admiration, respect, and love for Bro. Marty.  It was a combination of all of these, a treasure stored up over 75 plus years of perseverance in example and service of what makes a good Christian, what constitutes a loving person, and what it meant to be Bro. Marty.

In the words of Paul to Timothy, Bro Marty fought the good fight, he kept the faith, he finished the race… he kept his lamp burning, actively waiting for the return of the Master by pouring out his life in the hope of leading others to God.

We will all miss Bro. Marty and what he represented.

Along with our Franciscan family and the Ss. Cosmas & Damian Faith community, his sister Catherine and brother Ed, his nieces, grandniece, and great-grandnephew, and numerous relatives and friends, I will miss Bro. Marty dearly.  I looked forward to speaking with him in Loretto, or whenever I visited Pittsburgh, our conversations were always enjoyable and animated.

The community of faith will certainly miss an educational role model that spanned 75-plus years.

The many and varied communities where he ministered will miss a consummate leader.

All those who interacted with Bro. Marty will miss a talented and gifted individual and mentor.

All those gathered this evening, and the larger faith community will miss a great friend and confidant who truly enjoyed life every minute, every hour, and every day with a touch of class, as only the good Bro. Marty could do.

And the heavenly community will certainly welcome him home and say with one voice:

COME YE BLESSED OF MY FATHER INTO THE KINGDOM, WHICH YOU SO RICHLY DEVERVE.

WELCOME HOME, BRO. MARTY, WELCOME HOME.