It is easy for us to lose track of the setting of the stories in the Gospel. Today’s Gospel is set just days before Palm Sunday. The excitement that will lead to our Lord’s triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, and the dramatic shift that will lead to His execution and death, are already starting to build. […]
Read more "The Sycamore Tree of Folly"“I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.” These words from St. Paul […]
Read more "The Confidence of Repentance"Sometimes, God seems not to answer our prayers. We have all had times in our lives when we have prayed fervently and persistently and God seems not to respond. It could be the death of a loved one, sickness, loss of a job, a miscarriage, or many other situations. This can lead to a crisis […]
Read more "Being persistent and confident in prayer"“Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” What is it that makes this one leper thankful, while the others take our Lord’s healing for granted? The key to understanding this passage is in one simple word, “foreigner.” The leper who […]
Read more "Trembling and Giving Thanks"As last Sunday was the first Sunday for our new pastor (Father Tom Shoemaker), I did not preach at Sunday Masses.
Read more "No sermon last Sunday (10-2)"We showed the video for the 30th Annual Bishop’s Appeal on Sunday, so I did not write or deliver a sermon.
Read more "No Sermon 9/18"“If you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire.” These words were written by St. Catherine of Siena, a 14th Century mystic from Italy, and are a fitting response to the words of our Lord in today’s Gospel: “I have come to set the world on fire, and how I […]
Read more "Setting the World on Fire"“I ain’t never seen a hearse with a luggage rack.” The words of this country song, even if not expressed with the grammatical cohesion that one could desire for the English language, ring true. Our earthly possessions are good for just that, for our life on earth, and that alone. At the end of our […]
Read more "Building Bigger Barns: The dangers of greed"As we gaze upon the Most Holy Eucharist, the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, these words from Our Lord’s last discourse to His Apostles before His Passion in the Gospel according to St. John have a particular significance. When we look upon the Eucharist, exposed in the monstrance under […]
Read more "The Eucharist as a sign of God’s Mercy"Beaten. Stripped naked. Left for dead on the side of the road. The road to Jericho was a dangerous road, plagued with robbers, thieves, and violent men. Anyone who travelled it would have considered the possibility of winding up in such a state, but our traveler from today’s Gospel must have thought it would never […]
Read more "Christ is the Good Samaritan"
Father Gregerson 