Click here to read Fr. Vien Nguyen’s full homily.
Click here to view photos from the funeral.
“He was a holy priest, a friend… and a pretty good golfer!”
Originally from Minneapolis, MN, Fr. Thomas Lind, SCJ, died just days before his 92nd birthday. He was a member of the Sacred Heart Community in Pinellas Park, FL. Nearly ten years earlier he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Fr. Tom did his seminary studies at Sacred Heart Monastery (now Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology). He professed his first vows with the Priests of the Sacred Heart (Dehonians) in 1951 and was ordained in 1958.
His first full-time assignment was back where he started: assisting at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Ste. Marie, IL, from 1960-64. From there, he went to St. Joseph’s Indian School, where he served for 17 years. He would later return to South Dakota for a short-term assignment on the Cheyenne River Reservation from 1999-2000.
For nine years (1980-89) he was pastor of St. James Church in Corinth, MS. After two years at Christ the Redeemer parish in Houston, he returned to Mississippi, where he assisted with pastoral ministry from 2000-16. Since 2016, he had been a member of the SCJ retirement community in Pinellas Park.
“He was a very sweet man,” are the words that so many used to describe Fr. Tom upon learning of his death.
“I enjoyed his company and his homilies,” wrote another.
“He was a holy priest, a friend… and a pretty good golfer!” said another.
In his homily, Fr. Vien reflected on a phrase displayed prominently in Fr. Tom’s room: “Do what is right, seek what is good, walk humbly before the Lord,” from the prophet Micah.
“Doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God are not separate from each other; rather, they are interconnected,” said Fr. Vien.” They form the essence of God’s heart. Tom, I believe that having the words of the prophet Micah on your wall was not for decoration. Instead, they served as a reminder of what you wanted to achieve in your religious life as a Dehonian…
“May we too follow the footsteps of Fr Leo John Dehon and have the courage to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. We hope that we too one day will be invited to the glorious banquet held on Mount Zion, never to be separated from God’s love, and be blessed for living the Beatitudes.”
Click here to read Fr. Vien’s full homily.
Click here to view photos from the funeral.
