Today we begin one of Holy Mother Church’s most ancient observances, the solemn fast of Lent. The ashes that we receive are a relic of the ancient order of penitents. Before the sacrament of confession because widely available in the Middle Ages, it was only possible to receive forgiveness for one’s sins after Baptism once […]
Read more "The Ancient Order of Penitents — Sermon for Ash Wednesday, A.D. MMXXV"“Love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back … Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” To lend expecting nothing back is a contradiction. If you lend without expecting anything back, you are not lending; you are giving. Why, then, does the Lord say to lend expecting nothing […]
Read more "“Lending Expecting Nothing Back” — Sermon for the VII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” When was the last time you leaped for joy? Not just when was the last time you were really happy, but when was the last time you actually were so thrilled, so elated, that you were jumping up and […]
Read more "The Road to Heaven — Sermon for the VI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"You have probably felt like St. Peter at times. Completely exhausted, having given it your all, frustrated with yourself and everyone because everything you do just seems to be a flop. And then someone asks you to do more, or to try again. For Peter, it’s an even crazier ask when Christ tells […]
Read more "“Christ Is In the Boat” — Homily for the V Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXV"Does following Jesus really mean going to church? This is a question posed to us consistently by the world around us. Can’t I love my neighbor as myself and love God, and even pray to Him and read the Bible, just as well at home on Sunday morning as I can at church? And […]
Read more "“The Worship of Sacrifice” — Sermon for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, A.D. MMXXV"Two weeks ago, we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and we saw the great mystery that is Christian Baptism – not only that Baptism removes the power of the Evil One and forgives original sin, but that it makes the Christian a new creation. Starting at Baptism, Christ’s very life […]
Read more "“Passionately Loving the World” — Sermon for the III Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"If you’ve ever picked up the bar tab for a wedding reception, you know it can be a significant commitment. But I bet no one here has had to pay for 180 gallons of very good wine – that’s 75 cases or 900 bottles. For common wine usually served at big parties, that would […]
Read more "“Purified and Filled with Joy: The healing of Marriage” — Sermon for the II Sunday through the Year, C, A.D. MMXXV"Each year, through the Church’s different celebrations, we live the entire earthly life of our Lord. Actually, we really do so in a matter of five months between Christmas and the Ascension. After Christmas, we fast-forwarded to when He was 12 years old for the finding in the Temple, then we rewound again for […]
Read more "“God’s Beloved Sons” — Sermon for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, A.D. MMXXV"Herod had no right to be king. Celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord, we usually focus on the three magi, but we also need to understand the figure of Herod. Herod comes from a family of aristocratic Edomites who converted to Judaism 50 years before, most likely out of political opportunism. After his family jockeyed […]
Read more "“Glad of Another Death” — Sermon for the Epiphany of the Lord, A.D. MMXXV"The world had grown old. “Unknown ages from the time when God created the heavens and the earth … Several thousand years after the flood … Twenty–one centuries from the [first covenant with] Abraham and Sarah; thirteen centuries after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt … one thousand years from the […]
Read more "“The True Thrill of Hope” — Sermon for the Nativity of the Lord, A.D. MMXXIV"
Father Gregerson 