GregCast Diakonia

The Holy Family is so easy to honor, and yet so difficult to imitate. On the face of it, and with our sometimes flawed attempts and efforts, trying to be parents and children, like Jesus, Mary, and Joseph seems utterly just too unique to model.  In fact, it’s difficult not to think of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as living in a perfectly peaceful life, in holy isolation... But we forget two things. First, no family in first-century Palestine lived disconnected from their network of relatives, and second, that life was lived as part of the larger family of Israel's covenant life with God.  Covenant as in Abraham, Sarah, and their decedents (as many as the stars in the sky.)  The Israelite family life was considered an expression of covenant life. What does that mean?  While a contact is an exchange of goods and services, a convent is an exchange of persons, where an oath is sworn, and the people are changed.  Marriage is that kind of covenant relationship, and the community around

[First, I offered our thanks and prayers for all of our Veterans on the occasion of Veterans Day, then proceeded with the Sunday Homily…] I wonder if we could assume the role of Elijah for a moment. We continue to wander through our lives, doing our best to proclaim the Truth of the Lord. We continue to share his message as we journey towards that mountain. God continues to provide for us. Before the excerpt in today’s First Reading from the First Book of King’s, God sends food to Elijah, as ravens bring him bread and meat. He prepares a Widow to welcome him, giving him what he needs from what little she has. Like the Prophet, our wanderings include many good days, and many days through our own deserts. In these past few weeks our country has had shootings with many killed in a Synagogue and in a Country & Western Bar. This weekend, many are dead and thousands are displaced from wildfires ravaging towns in Southern California. Closer to home, we face the reality of our own

Good thing Jesus wasn't literal… or was he? We are all sinners, a Church full of cripples…  That’s one major reason why we come: Sick people need a physician. If we’re learning anything from the recent abuse crisis… We’re seeing that some of the Church’s Leadership i's very responsible because of their actions and inaction, and they need to follow the advice of the Gospel, for there is a need of some major, and even radical changes, which includes REMOVING certain parts that negatively effect the overall body! If we’ve learned anything from this past week in our world… It seems 100% certain that Sin and the effects of sinful action do not disappear with time. And it would seem that one should attempt to better themselves to avoid sin in the first place, or at least deal with it sooner rather than later, beginning with reconciliation and repentance. Finally, if we’re listening to the message of today’s Word… we hear that the Spirit can come down upon ALL, and doing the

The first reading from the Prophet Isaiah provides a perfect summary statement, especially as he utilizes an Old Testament Prophet rule stating that when you begin a statement with the phrase, “Thus says the Lord,” everyone is supposed to listen! “Thus says the LORD: Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you. ” Apparently, it’s Birthday weekend. On September 8th, the Church celebrated the birthday of the Blessed Mother. That same day, I had the pleasure of joining family as we gathered to celebrate my wife Karen’s Grandmother’s 95th Birthday, and later that night, I joined together with friends to celebrate the 50th Birthday of a dear friend! Wow… Where does the time go? Twenty-one years ago today, my wife Karen and I were up this way with our two-year old daughter Michelle celebrating my Dad’s 59th Birthday. Michelle picked out the perfect Mickey Mouse candle for the

A Forward... Today's Mass combined the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great and the celebration of Labor Day in our nation.  We look to the purpose and blessing of the work of the People of God, called to be disciples for the Lord.  For what it's worth, Pope St. Gregory the Great was the first add the title of "servant" to the Papacy and the Clergy.  Please allow yourself to apply these talking points to not only the work we are called to do, but also the work of the Church-at-large, especially as it faces its next, and most crucial challenge to respond to the Lord's call for purification and renewal. The Scripture references are taken from the readings at today's Mass , as well as some of the readings called for in the celebration of the Mass for Human Labor WE WERE MADE TO WORK! (Genesis 2: 15) The Lord God took the man, and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. God gave US the Church to cultivate and grow! WE FOLLOW IN THE STEP

This summer, I've had the pleasure of joining in on some wonderful gatherings with our young adult Catholic Community. Combined with a Catholic College Ministry that really took off last year, our own Betsy Lashley has helped call our young people into not only a high school ministry, but also guide them to a very real opportunity to continue their faith journey into and beyond their college and young adult years. The gathering for the 21-35's this summer is called Good News and Cold Brews, and we’ve been meeting on the second Thursdays of the month. Like the title, the gathering is a combination of faith sharing (Good News) in a relaxed environment at a local bar (Cold Brews). You may have heard of a program in other cities called Theology on Tap... It’s a lot like that. Anyway, this past Thursday, our Diocese’s newest priest, Fr. Jonathan Howell, spoke about his vocation, and he likened it to the journey that brought Moses out of the desert as a simple stuttering shep

This Sunday’s Readings:  http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072918.cfm A simple review of the Summer’s Homilies on Discipleship... Disciples are forgiven and MUST FORGIVE! Disciples should always remain OPEN & WILLING to do God’s will! Disciples should are called to be Prophets… They SPEAK & TRUST in the Lord! Today… Disciples must FEED the world with CHRIST…  Sharing HUMILITY, GENTLENESS & LOVE until all have their fill! From the Prophet: ”For thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” *Notice that in the face of doubt, the Prophet is sure and confident in the promise of God! From the Psalm: “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.” *Notice the faith of the people, as they give thanks to Lord, look to the Lord, and act justly with the Lord, who is near to them, satisfying their every desire! From St. Paul: “I urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gent

A familiar theme that you’ll hear repeated in today’s readings notes how we “keep our eyes fixed on the Lord.” With that in mind, I’d first like to thank all who attended our First Friday Adoration this weekend, and those who will avail themselves to daily visits to the Chapel for quiet prayer. Whether its daily prayer before the Tabernacle, Exposition on Wednesday’s at 5:00pm, the Holy Hour on First Saturdays, or our monthly First Fridays, I encourage you to take the time to pray with us on a regular basis! I’ve been offering this Summer that this a time for us to learn about Discipleship, and to consider accepting the challenge to do what Jesus would do, on a regular basis, each day of our lives. While it’s fair to agree that this challenge might be very difficult, I continue to propose that the things we do on a regular basis can indeed be what Jesus needs it to be… An openness and a willingness to simply TRUST seems to be a key ingredient in today’s readings. Today’s Gospel

Last month I offered that Summer was a time for us to learn about Discipleship, and to consider accepting the challenge to do what Jesus would do, and a regular basis, each day of our lives. While it’s fair to agree that this challenge might be very difficult, demanding a lot of life-changing effort and prayer; I’d like to propose that the things we do on a regular basis can indeed be what Jesus needs it to be, without much effort at all… An openness and a willingness to simply ask seem to be the key ingredients that today’s readings offer. I’m certainly guilty of overthinking things from time to time, and quite frankly I’ll admit to presenting the Gospel in quite the dramatic fashion. But today, I should just allow the obvious to make the point. In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians and us that we already “know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for [our] sake he became poor, so that by his poverty [we] might become rich. Not t

The Purpose of a Summer Vacation (not just for students) is to close out the good (or bad) year... It’s all behind you. Relax, recharge and re-focus. And with respect to Church and the Word here at Mass, continue to study Discipleship. That is, we need to pay attention to the words and actions of The Master each week, because as a disciple, we really do need to do what Jesus does... I guess we can change the bracelet to read DWJD. Anyway, bear with me... The other day, and this won’t surprise many of you, I had a thought about just how simple life can be. Take the microwave oven, the car, and the Internet for example… You push the button or turn the key, and IT JUST WORKS! Now I understand that a lot of complicated parts and processes need to be in place and working, in order to make this happen, but if you’re like me, I choose to humbly accept all of it with thanksgiving and simply benefit from its reality! I also know that we owe a great debt to the Lord in creating the live

Homily – April 29, 2018 (Fifth Sunday Easter - B) Well... The new Avengers movie is out, and like the 18 before it, its a movie packed with subtle clues as to what’s really going on with the Batman and all the gang. What... Batman is not an Avenger? I guess I’ve got a few movies to watch or comic books to read, don’t I?   Anyway, I think it’s fair to say that there's a certain fascination in our story-telling with ongoing trilogies and subtle back stories. Movies that revolve around cracking that secret code, or figuring out the mysterious riddle of it all, sometimes also have shifty and powerful entities spending a lot of time hiding various treasures, so that when they are discovered, they offer cryptic clues that are to be deciphered and put together, under a special light of course, revealing the fantastic truths and messages, that when viewed in a mirror, would spell out secret phrases like, "purple elephants do indeed fly south for the winter," sending us of

Jesus... I Trust in You! Lord Jesus, we trust in you, as you are our giver of mercy and our font of life. Loving Lord, continue to be our healer, our teacher, our Savior and our friend... Lord Jesus, we trust in you. May all that we are remain in your hands! AMEN (Inspired by the song “Jesus, I Trust in You” by Sarah Hart and Angus McDonell -  https://youtu.be/i3barNdlCNI ) On behalf of Fr. Brian, Fr. Thomas, and All the Staff… HAPPY EASTER! Speaking of the Staff, I’ll be honest and tell you that our bi-weekly Staff Meeting often falls on the Thursday before I write these homilies. We always begin our meetings with a discussion on that week’s upcoming Gospel, which always seems to offer me some inspiration and guidance as I attempt to get some thoughts together… I am always grateful for the help of the Spirit shared through the hearts and words of my friends in Christ. This week was no different, as we looked to the Gospel, and the Apostle Thomas. One fellow staffer offered

On top of Mardi Gras and the Opening of the Winter Olympics, there are two other celebrations that coincide today… It is World Day of the Sick and World Marriage Day. I know some of you are saying that only the Church, in its infinite wisdom, would have the sense of humor to combine the two, but I would offer that maybe they do indeed coincide in the marriage vow, promising to love and serve one another “in sickness and in health!” We could take the obvious route here and do what Jesus said NOT to do... Celebrate the healing miracle of the man with leprosy, run through the town bragging about how our God is an awesome God, because look what he has done for us... But there’s an Elephant in the room, that we’re understandably afraid of in the readings today, as we must ask ourselves, “who are the unclean, and why are we afraid to touch them?” The wound of leprosy kept the leper isolated from society. In our world today we have special places for refugees or the worst of prisoners. No

Last week I went to Chicago to participate in a leadership summit sponsored by FOCUS, The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and while there’s so much I can share, I’d like to open up the most crucial part of the week for myself… The question, as I read it on the workshop handout Wednesday morning, stated, “Which category would you place yourself in?” The choices were simple: Jesus is NOT part of my life, Jesus is PART of my life, Jesus is the CENTER of my life. Now my response, like I imagine yours might be, gave me pause… “Oh no… Is HE? Is he the CENTER of my life?” Honestly my friends, that question is what we all grapple with at every step of our journey. So, like you, I asked myself how? How can I make Jesus more central in my daily life? Start by reflecting on your own life’s story, because God works through each of us, and the thing we know best is how He’s done (or not) that in our daily lives. Ultimately, it is through the sharing of this story that other may und