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Memorial
for Bro. Walter Oberster, SM - R.I.P Jan 11, 2006 Dear Christine, Donna, Tom and Mike and your families, dear members of the Marianist Family, religious and lay, and dear friends of Bro. Walter. May the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, When Bro. Walter told us he chose to go to a hospice program rather than pursue further aggressive chemotherapy, we knew he was opting to prepare himself for his final journey to God. But none of us expected he would die so quickly. Life and death remain such a mystery. Thank God that, no matter what happens to us, we remain always in the hands of God. Walter knew his end was near. He fought it for awhile – he was going to take a week in Florida; he was going to go to this meeting or that appointment, then realized he was too sick to do any of these things. The last two months especially he suffered a lot of pain. Two days before he died, I asked him if he was afraid. He said “No”. He was at peace. I asked him for one of his favorite Scripture passages. Without hesitation, he replied: “The gifts you have received, freely share.” I asked, “Is this a word you have tried to live by?” He said: “Yes”. For me, the word that sums up the meaning of Bro. Walter’s life is FAMILY. He received great blessings through his family, both his natural family and his religious family, and he really shared these graces with all of us. Like every one of us, Walter gradually developed in appreciation of his role in God’s Plan. Through baptism he was called to live in union with Jesus Christ in the one Family of God. Just as we also are called by God to be part of His Family, Walter was family-oriented from his very beginning. How he loved his own family! Your pictures graced his walls. Each day before we began morning prayer and Eucharist, Walter would quietly pray through his lists, (there were many pages). Your intentions and needs were part of his daily prayer of the faithful. This gift of intercessory prayer, he received and freely shared. He loved to come to your birthday parties and First Communion, Confirmation, anniversary celebrations, and family reunions. How he prided himself on your accomplishments: (One was a retired policeman, another an actor, etc.). He shared your joys and your needs with us, his Marianist community. God’s call led him to consecrate himself to Mary in the Marianist Family. Mary is the mother of Jesus and our mother. His vocation to be a Marianist Brother was very significant to him. Two years ago, Walter celebrated his golden jubilee as a Marianist. How often in his prayer journal he talks with Mary and tells her how happy he is to be a Marianist. How he wants to be her missionary, to give himself completely to her. Now his prayer is fulfilled. He had much to do in the development of the project “Lest we forget”. With Ray McCracken, he interviewed older Marianists so that we would have an audio history of their memories, after they died. I had asked him, “Were you ever interviewed? He said “No”. I was so happy when Christine told me Ray had interviewed him on the day before he died. He has persevered till the end and now lives with Jesus and Mary, and all his family and fellow brothers, all the members of the Family of Mary who have preceded him into glory. Wanting to be a missionary of Mary is why he also grew in his particular call to help families. Walter received this insight and grace gradually but consistently. He guided students as guidance counselor for 25 years at Chaminade H. S., Mineola and St. James H.S, in Chester, Pa. For so many years he helped in the Cape May Family Retreat program. Lately, his experience as a spiritual director made him realize the crucial place that family holds in a person’s life. If God had called him to the Family of Mary, then God also called him to help support families. Walter took his consecration to God through Mary very seriously. Everything he could do to further the Family of God by developing lay Marianist groups became his untiring goal. In Florida he worked with the charismatic community. At Cape May Walter touched so many lives and remained faithful to those whose lives he touched. I received a call when he was in the hospital; the young woman said.” I have known him since I was a little girl.” In Philadelphia with Linda Zappacosta and Sr. Laura Leming, he helped in the formation of Maranatha, a lay Marianist community. At the Center for Marianist Spirituality and Community, he enlisted many lay persons to work in developing faith communities. In New Jersey and Long Island, he helped groups develop parish family retreats, modeled on the Cape May Program, so that the kingdom of God might be hastened through renewed family life. He continued to work with the Marianist Associates and the Sodality of our Lady of the Pillar, but he also began new communities of faith, especially Cor Maria and Marianists for the Long Island Family Experience, dedicated to Family Retreats. Even at St. John’s, he befriended and encouraged many of the staff, who called to offer their sorrow at his passing. There are so many names I could mention. He always kept in touch with those whom God sent into his life. If he was your friend, he was your friend for life. We will miss him in our Marianist community in Rockaway. He took an active role in our life together. Walter was very interested in everything that pertained to Marianist Life and Works: the coming General Chapter, the development of the Marianist Spirit throughout the world, our Province growth, especially in regard to vocations. But, here in Rockaway, we were the family God had given him. He was a vital part of our community. We will miss his insights, his dedication, his prayerfulness, his concern and care for each of us. He gave his life to Jesus through Mary. Now we trust Jesus and His Mother will shower on him God’s great love and mercy. In the name of the family and our Marianist community we thank you all for coming. In a special way we thank Fr. Dunne at St Camillus for allowing us to celebrate Walter’s life and death here. We thank the Sisters and staff at Maria Regina Residence for their kindness to Bro. Walter these last days of his life. We also offer a prayer of gratitude to the many doctors, nurses and staffs that ministered to Walter these past years. He really appreciated their efforts. Walter wanted us all to be very happy with his death. In a note in which he gave some directions in the event he died he wrote simply: Please celebrate my union with the Trinity and serve pasta. God bless you. Amen.
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