Father Dan Kennedy

Fr. Dan is an extraordinary priest who has been blessed with the grace of proclaiming the word of God through his words, his actions, and his most genuine love for God. He has been an inspiration to myself and to countless others, a blessing to all of our lives.

The first time I had the opportunity to get to know him was at a retreat called Gospel Road. This was a retreat with a theme of servant leadership, in which we all shared memories that will last a lifetime. Throughout the retreat you could assuredly find him sleeping under a tree, relaxing by a pool, or painting fences sloppily and getting reprimanded for it by old women… the classic example of a “slacker”, which became his nickname and has been passed on through the parish! But when he celebrated Mass each morning he revealed another side that was inspiring. I remember one of his homilies on the retreat was based on the word Amen. He encouraged us to share in the enthusiasm that he demonstrated.

When we were concluding the retreat we had a “Gong show”, to make the experience even more memorable. In the Gong show, we had a mock confession and I took on Fr. Dan’s role as a priest, hearing his confession as an ordinary man, the entire Gospel Road group laughed. He allowed me to use his vestments, his nametag and his ring, as I heard his “confession.” It was hysterical, as he confessed “sins” which included swearing and sneaking a big screen television to watch the Sox games. But while I was sitting there in his vestments, wearing his ring, and with a nametag around my neck saying “Fr. Dan” it all felt so right and I couldn’t stop reflecting on his words.

He did so much that influenced my life, inspiring me to pray for my personal vocation, and to listen to God, and His will for me in life. He began youth masses, on a monthly basis, and he never failed to fill the chapel. It seems like yesterday when we were shooting hoops in the gym, and sitting at the local diner eating breakfast after an intense snowball fight. That was the kind of priest he was, not only a priest but a friend.

In his last homily, he eloquently said, “We are the interchangeable parts, while Christ is the constant.” We come and go to build up God’s Kingdom on Earth. Eventually, those who live their lives according to Christ will be called to become part of a greater Kingdom, in Heaven.

-George Legner
St. John’s Youth Ministry

To me, Father Dan was much more than a priest. He was in inspiration for the youth, especially for St. John’s youth group. He always had a knack for appealing to us and to children. I remember how he would always call the children to come up to the altar during family masses and give a great homily to those youngsters. I always found it funny when he would wait until the altar was almost full, and then say, “There are still some good seats left.” Another thing about Father Dan that struck me was his habit of making the sign of the cross after his homilies. It was different, but the congregation followed his lead anyway. My favorite homily was his first Christmas. He proclaimed to the St. John’s parishioners that he had never given a Christmas homily. The most memorable part was at the end, when he said, “I am Father Dan Kennedy, and I approve this message.” The main reason for that last statement was the fierce campaigning in December of 2007. Everyone laughed, and then clapped for him afterwards. I miss those feel good moments when I was around him. After he died, I grew much closer to my friends, each of us comforting each other and mourning together. His death has made me want to be a better role model, continuously preaching his last message, “Keep Christ the Constant.”

-Alyssa Trinidad, St. John’s Youth Group

When I originally knew Dan Kennedy from growing up in Needham it was always as an opponent in youth sports, and he was always known as a good player- it’s the only reason I knew of him.

The only reason I would even get to know him later on as an adult was through knowing his sister Anne Marie and a common friend of ours, Chris Liatsis, of Needham. This would make us known to each other, but we still never got to know each other even then in our mid 20’s. Little did either of us know how much we shared a common bond, our love for the church and the inner calling to consider the priesthood. Read the rest of this entry »