Yesterday, we gathered at the same church where our friend and mentor, Fr. Don Pantle was baptized, received first communion, was confirmed, said his first mass as a newly ordained priest and this weekend was laid to rest. He touched the lives of thousands of students at the University of Scranton over some 30 years through his unique ministry of food, cards and Eucharist which was brilliant, was Jesuit, and was incarnational. A few years ago Don asked that I would preach the homily at his funeral and was honored and humbled to have fulfilled my commitment to him. So take a few minutes and listen to why I feel Don made such a difference – and still does – in so many lives.

1. 2 September 2017 Funeral Mass – G. Donald Pantle, S.J. Scranton, PA
It was seven years ago many of us were gathered right here, in this beautiful Church to
celebrate Don’s 50th
anniversary as a priest. For it is the same church where Don was baptized,
made his first communion, was confirmed and celebrated his first mass – and now on this day –
we gather with our love, our tears, our admiration and our gratitude for this great man as we
mourn his death and celebrate his life.
The gospel I chose is the well-known story of the Road to Emmaus. I feel it is Luke’s
quintessential story of processing the loss of a loved one through hospitality, companionship,
and table ministry. For in the Gospel Christ reveals himself in the telling of stories, the sharing
of a meal and the breaking of the bread. His identity hidden at first, Jesus meets these travelers
who are running away from Jerusalem, upset over the death of the one they loved. I would say
that they felt like many of us feel today about the death of our beloved Don – for they were
confused, angry, heart-broken, worried and unsure of where their future will take them. But the
risen Christ knows all this and connects with them, walks with them, and begins to nourish their
minds with stories from scripture. He joins them for a meal and they are nourished physically
and…then finally, in the breaking of the bread, they are nourished spiritually.
During my sophomore year at the University in 1979, I was invited, along with 2 other students,
to go up to Chapman Lake to celebrate the birthday of Fr. Ed Gannon, a beloved Jesuit at the
University then. At that time, Chapman Lake wasn’t even being used as a retreat center, so I
had no idea where it even was! But we found our way and joined in a dinner that included a
who’s who of Scranton Jesuits – names like Panuska, Hill, Masterson, Krieger, and others who
were gathered around the table. And cooking and serving the meal was this relatively quiet
Jesuit by the name of Fr. Pantle. Having recently arrived on sabbatical and living at the Jesuit
house on the Lake, he had offered to prepare and serve the birthday meal. Well, as the night
came to a close, this Jesuit, who I had never met before, invited my friends and me to come to
the Lake that following weekend to enjoy more of his cooking…enjoy more of the Lake and
enjoy each other’s company. And so it was, on that brisk fall night, with Don’s simple invitation
to three students to come back to the Lake to tell stories, share a meal and to break bread –
that his ministry at the University first began.
So, indeed, throughout that winter and the following spring, a few of us would go up on some
weekends – and after a day of fun (and some studying) we learned how to prepare these
incredible meals we had never eaten before – Bockwurst, Bratwurst, Liver sausage, Kielbasa,
potato pancakes and of course – Spätzle. After dinner, the tables would be cleared and he
taught us this card game called Pinochle… all I knew, at that time, was two things: it consisted
of deck of only 48 cards which did not seem to go in a logical order…and that Pantle had played
this game for a very long time and was very, very good at it! Then after a few hours of cards,
the tables would be cleared again and out would come the candles, the bread, the wine and he
would say mass. And without us students knowing what was happening, Don was simply
following the model given to us by Christ on the road to Emmaus – as he fed our bodies, our
minds, our hearts and our souls.
1 Deacon Jim Knipper

2. It was the following year that the University hired him full time as a professor, counselor and
was given the task to make Chapman Lake a true retreat center (15 years later he would cut the
ribbon on the new Retreat Center). A few years after coming onto campus, the University then
they gave him the Fayette House to establish as the Spanish House – where for some 25 years,
using his kitchen table – he was able to minister to so many students who came through the
University…using his modus operandi of ministry which never really changed: Food, cards and
Eucharist. And while some of his peers may have dismissed him as a simple country priest who
gave out candy, cooked meals and played cards…his ministry was actually quite brilliant. And
this is how it flowed:
First the food – and Don served not just any food – it was the food of his family, the food of his
heritage, the food of many cultures. And while he was cooking and serving, he was telling you
about the family recipe…and sharing with you the family stories that sit behind the meal, and
with this reminiscing, the breaking open of mutual stories took place and conversation ensued.
And his home and frig were always open and stocked and available to all who needed it. There
was never any hesitation for Don to physically nourish those who entered his life. For some, the
meal received was a nice respite, for some it was an organized party celebrating something in
their life and, and over the years, for some grads, it was food for them to eat when their own
frigs and wallets were completely bare.
After the meal, came the cards – for we all know wherever Pantle was, a deck of Pinochle cards
were always close by. For those of you who play pinochle, there was no wonder why Don has
such a large smile in the picture we used on social media these past few weeks. For if your
looked closely, the picture was taken after he laid down a run and 100 Aces! When Don hit the
campus in 1980 – it took only a year before many of the tables in the cafeteria had Pinochle
games being played morning, noon and night. But not only was the game being played, and
strategy being learned and minds and memories being stretched…but students were engaged
and interacting with each other – they were sharing with each – they were feeding each other.
But just like the first night I ever stay up at Chapman Lake some 38 years ago – after you have
had your fill of incredible food, wrapped with personal stories and dialogue….after you have sat
holding onto a series of bad hands and have witnessed Pantle take another trick, another hand,
another game – the real reason you have gathered comes to fruition as the table is reset for
mass.
It was the time that all present gathered around the table…and we prayed and we were present
and we witnessed this incredible gift that we so often take for granted – when bread is broken…
wine is poured…and they become the body and blood of Christ. Where the table that served us
food, the table where cards were laid is the same table around which we prayed and we
nourished our souls.
It was at the Last Supper when Christ told his disciples to “Do this and remember me” – which is
what Don did for 57 years as a priest. He gathered every one of us at some point in our lives –
most often when we needed it the most - and he made us feel like family. He shared his stories,
shared his food, shared his counsel, shared his life and shared his love of the risen Christ. He
2 Deacon Jim Knipper

3. gathered us to his table to laugh, to cry, to confess, to sing, to dance, to eat, to play, and to
pray.
But why? In preparing my thoughts for today I asked myself that question – why? Don could
have spent his years teaching and travelling and saying masses at the local parish on
Sundays….but why the tireless effort to be connected to all of us and so many more students,
family and friends? Some could say that it was his ‘calling’ or that it was he was his passion –
and those answers would not be wrong. But I dug through all my notes from his retreats along
with articles he clipped and sent me over the years and a common thread emerged - which
seems to be the deep motivation for how and why Don led his life:
For what appears time and time again in his writings is this: “Since God is present in all of us –
the best way to know God is through others. For Christ meets you where you are – through
others – which leads to transformation for you and for the one you are with.”
It is Brilliant – it is Jesuit – It is incarnational! See what Don was doing all that time? Not only
was he opening our eyes up to God – but he was experiencing God through every encounter he
had with us! Being filled with compassion and engaging with us in our lives, he was living and
praying and encountering God.
For just as Christ entered into the chaos of those travelling on the road to Emmaus, Don
entered the chaos in each of our lives - whether we are sister, niece, nephew, cousin, uncle,
rector, president, student, faculty, alumni or friend…and he walked with all of us, prayed with us,
kicked us in the ass when we needed it, but most importantly he taught us how to love.
One of the best alumni quotes I saw on social media this past week said this: “Of the many gifts
he gave me, maybe the best is that he taught me that it was OK to tell my friends that I love
them and to give them a hug.” You see, for Don, it was always about love – love for God and
love for all of us – and he showed that to us through food, cards and Eucharist. He, indeed,
was forming “men [and women] for others…men and woman who will love not only for
themselves but for God.”
But in Don’s final years, he experienced first-hand the scripture passage from John 21:18 when
Jesus tells Peter:
“Amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you
wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress
you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
For after some 25 years of running the Spanish House his rector, at the time, moved Don to the
Jesuit residence on Campus so that his health could be better monitored. Don was
devastated…he did not want to leave the connection he had to the students…he didn’t want to
walk away from his kitchen table. But after the move, it only took a short time for him to realize
that there was a reason and a need for him to be with his fellow Jesuits and to minister to and
care for them, which allowed him to find God in a place where he never wanted to go.
3 Deacon Jim Knipper

4. Then a few years later the Jesuits decided that Don would be best served by moving him to the
retirement home in Maryland. There was no way Don wanted to leave his home and family in
Scranton, but again after a short time he saw a new way to love and he was soon on the phone
telling me about how he is helping the “old priests!” But I reminded him that he was an old
priest! Nonetheless, he pushed the wheelchairs and prayed with his fellow retirees and was
getting a car ride with the president of Loyola High School so that he could spend time with the
students there…allowing him to see God in the faces of old and young alike.
In his final years he was reminded, more times than he wanted, that all of us are often taken to
places we rather not go….but that we need to have the faith to let go so that our eyes are
opened on how to see God through others.
In closing – it is said that if you meet one Jesuit – you have only met one Jesuit – for they are all
different. And indeed, there will never be another one like Padre Don. So we gather this
morning filled with love and gratitude in our hearts and souls for Don’s life, wisdom and grace.
But it does not end with just thankfulness. Remember how the Gospel ends? After their eyes
were opened, the travelers stopped running – for they were nourished, they were fed, they were
blessed – and they took those gifts received and went back to their homes, back to their
workplaces – as changed people – sharing all that they had learned and all that they received
and sharing the good news of Christ with others.
There have been so many posts on social media this past week of how Padre Don touched so
many lives….stories of how many of us would not be here today if it weren’t for what he did for
us. We all have our Pantle stories of how we were blessed by his table ministry – how he found
God in us, and in turn - we found God in him.
Which means you and I have a choice as we go forward from here. We can shed a tear, share
a story and head back home to life as usual. Or we can leave here recommitted to take all that
Don gave us and to make changes in our life and the lives of those we meet each day. It may
mean coming to a reconciliation within your family…it may mean going to a place you do not
want to go. Or…it may just mean making the time to gather family and friends around your
table…and to make a meal of bratwurst, spaetzli and doughnuts. Then deal a hand of pinochle
and then continue to share with each other stories about Don…and then tell your stories and
then listen to the stories of others…and then just watch what happens in your life when you
follow in the steps of the man we loved so much - our brother, our Onkie, our Pads, our mentor,
our friend - and follow his grace-filled lead by opening your eyes and your heart to the love of
the one who now holds Don in his arms – that of Jesus the Christ, our risen Lord.
4 Deacon Jim Knipper