Father Michael Burke, 92, entered into eternal life on Sunday, Aug. 21. He served at Most Precious Blood Parish in Corpus Christi for 11 years and afterwards he helped out at other parishes in the Diocese of Corpus Christi.
"I now see clearly that my life has been a succession of graces and blessings that began even before I was born," Father Burke told a friend the year before he passed away. His musings over a long life were read at his funeral on Aug. 23.
His parents were both faithful Catholics. His mother was a daily communicant so his father bought a home just on the other side of the street where their church was located.
"I was literally brought up in the shadow of the church and used to go to daily Mass with her," Father Burke reminisced. "A saintly old pastor encouraged my Dad to let me become an altar boy. I already had a number of priests and nuns in my family tree and could now get to know a number of outside priests by being called upon to serve in their Masses."
Living on Patrick Street in St. Patrick's Parish, he chose St. Patrick to be his favorite saint. The fact that St. Patrick was a priest, a monk at night, and a missionary for the rest of the day impressed the young Father Burke. He chose a missionary seminary when he answered God's call.
His first assignment as a priest was in the Dominican Republic in the days of the Dictator Rafael Trujillo. A priest from his order had been shot and wounded as a warning not to speak too much about social justice. About the same time, the local archbishop had to advise a bishop from Boston to return home for his own safety.
While serving in Santo Domingo for three years he renewed his desire to try the monastic way of life. After completing the required six years in the Dominican Republic, his superior allowed him to look for a monastery. After a lot of praying and thinking about this for a year, Father Burke received permission and a letter of recommendation to the Superior of the New Camaldocese Hermitage, just being opened in California.
At that time, after living for 10 years as a monk, it was possible to quality to live as a hermit. Father Burke had completed a year and a half as a hermit when the Second Vatican Council came along.
"My congregation was one of those that suffered many changes and the hermitages were discontinued," Father Burke recalled. "Just at that time, my Society received a letter from Mexico. A community of hermitic nuns had just opened up a hermitage there and were in need of a chaplain. So, I accepted and served in that capacity for a year and a half. But, by that time, I discovered that I could only remain in Mexico as a social worker so I left."
On his return from Mexico, Father Burke came north through Laredo and soon discovered Corpus Christi. By that time, the Benedictines who used to be in Corpus Christi had suffered from a great loss of vocations and had to relocate. Father Burke was assigned as Chaplain to the Poor Clare Monastery, but not much later they went to Brenham, Texas. Bishop Thomas Drury then assigned Father Burke as the assistant to Msgr. William Kinlough at Most Precious Blood Parish.
"For a long time, I had been convinced that priests should be allowed to follow the formula given by Jesus himself - to go 'in two's'," Father Burke said. "So, there should be two priests in every rectory even if that means that each priest be responsible for a different parish, while one would be saying Mass and the other could be hearing confessions."
While the pastor remains occupied with the administration of the parish, Father Burke pointed out, the other priest could take care of visiting the sick in hospitals or at home.
After his time at Most Precious Blood, Father Burke began to help out at other parishes in the diocese. "In this way, I got to notice the many different ways in which parishioners respond to their pastors. But, in every parish, the main needs of the people were met primarily by the providential hand of God; the word of God; and the Sacraments, especially the Blessed Eucharist."