“You Need More Dynamite” — Sermon for the II Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXIV

Compared to some of his other colorful invectives, John the Baptist seems pretty tame today. Scratch the surface, though, and he really isn’t. John is showing us an important truth about Christ’s coming. “With John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit begins the restoration to man of the divine likeness, prefiguring what he would achieve with and in Christ. John‘s […]

“The Most Marian Time of the Year” — Sermon for the I Sunday of Advent, A.D. MMXXIV

“The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and Judah.” Advent is the most Marian time of the year. Now, more than at any other time, we turn to the one who expected the coming of the Savior with the greatest longing […]

“The Wounded and Victorious King” — Sermon for the Solemnity of Christ the King, A.D. MMXXIV

In Solemnitate D.N.J.C. Regis, B 24 November, A.D. MMXXIV We could not pick two more contrasting images of Christ as King. We see the Son of Man, the divine Messiah, coming on the clouds, receiving “dominion, glory, and kingship.” And then we see the humble Christ being interrogated by Pilate, insisting “my kingdom does […]

“The Meaning of Death and the Hope of Resurrection” — Sermon for the XXXIII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

Each Sunday and solemnity, we profess in the Nicene Creed that we believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. What does this mean? Of course, we know that we are professing faith in the Resurrection of Christ, that after three days in the tomb He rose […]

“The Sources of Freedom” — Sermon for the XXXII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

“Beware of the scribes … They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.” The prophet Elijah seems to deserve the harsh condemnation given by our Lord to the scribes today. What is he doing if not literally devouring the house of a widow, […]

“Loving Your Neighbor in a Time of Civil Strife” — Sermon for the XXXI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” For most of us, loving God is the easy part – it’s the other people who present the real problem. But it’s more […]

“Our Country As Well as Theirs” — Sermon for the Solemnity of All Saints, A.D. MMXXIV

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome is the Pantheon, visited by over six millions of people each year. At nearly two thousand years old, it is the best-preserved ancient Roman structure, and is still the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world. During the Middle Ages, when engineers had forgotten how to […]

“Enacting a Drama of Love” — Sermon for the XXX Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

“But he kept calling out all the more, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’” We hear today the prayer of a man desperately in need of the Lord, who calls out over and over, “have pity on me!” Bartimaeus is not afraid to be repetitive in prayer, to ask over and over again […]

“Lending Your Flesh to Christ” — Sermon for the XXIX Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

On February 5th, 2006, Fr. Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary priest in eastern Turkey, was kneeling and praying in his church when a young man entered, shouted, “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is the greatest”), and shot him dead. His murderer, though convicted, he was released after serving only ten years of his sentence after a […]

“Taking the Right Risk” — Sermon for the XXVIII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXIV

“There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.” We encounter today another teaching that defies the logic of […]

Father Gregerson

my homilies and other musings