GregCast Diakonia

First, on behalf of all of my family… My wife Karen, my Mom Terry, my children and my grandchildren. Merry (Almost) Christmas! Now, that greeting might have just caused the purists in the pews to shutter a bit, because it’s not Christmas yet… So let me add Happy 4th Week of Advent to all, and let me begin with the Good News: On a night in the desert, over 2000 years ago, a child was born to us fulfilling all that had been promised by God, setting up all that God’s love would do for his people. In a sense, this might be best summed up in a familiar phrase: “Every day can be Christmas!” The Good News today, as we approach Christmas of 2021, is the same yesterday, today and forever. With God’s grace always at work, Christ can be born, and reborn again in the hearts of all of us! When I say “reborn”, I guess in this context I mean that WE can understand him in a whole NEW way, with a whole new purpose… Day after day, month after month, and year after year on our life’s journey, Jesus is wa

Homily 11-21-21 Each week in our Penitential Rite, we hear “You are seated at the right hand of the Father, to intercede for us,” and we respond “Lord have mercy” In our Creed we state that Jesus “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” Welcome to The Feast of Christ the King! I will freely admit that I am the first one to offer homilies in the spirit of trying to glean helpful advice on how our scriptures call us to some level of change or some notion of learning what it means to be a disciple; and I suppose that should be the case each time we gather. But today it’s not about what we’re called to do or be… No. today is about who the Lord is… Our King! Today is about his kingdom, and the table that has been prepared to welcome us all home. This month began with our recognizing his Saints, and the souls of all the faithfully departed represented here on these ca

Homily (10-31-21) We have a great high priest, and He is Lord! He is Savior! He is our strength! Happy All Hallows’ Eve! As we approach the beginning of the last month of our liturgical year, I’d like to break open today’s readings via the Psalm: “I love you, Lord, my strength.” The lives of the Saints are usually shared with at least these two qualities in mind… Love & Strength. But they achieved their Sainthood not just because they possessed these qualities… No, they lived lives that allowed the love and strength of Christ to flow through them! Take the story of any Saint and you’ll see how and when they fell in love with the Lord, and how that helped them to love others. Look at the life of any Saint, and you’ll see the strength that they possessed that helped them endure the various challenges that came their way, and how the strength of the Lord flowed through them, and empowered them far beyond their expectations! Finally, reflect on the Martyrs and you’ll see the ultimate

There’s a little secret I want to share with you, and I am only speaking for myself. When I prepare a Homily I usually begin a process that starts on Monday or Tuesday. I read the readings, I pray for some inspiration, I read the readings a few more times, and I pray a little more. Every now and then, I’ll also check on one of my favorite websites out there for reflections on the Sunday Readings. It’s called the Sunday Website at St. Louis University. This allows me a chance to focus and truly reflect on the readings. This week I came across a reflection called “The Power of Powerlessness” by Fr. Ron Rolheiser. He’s a priest serving with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. He’s an author, speaker and is recently retired from his role as President of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, and is currently serving on the faculty there. His reflection hit the mark for me… So much so that I’d like to share a part of it with you now, as I think it focuses on a key challenge th

8-29-21 Today, we are called to be doers of God’s Word… To follow his law of love… To live in his Truth for all to see! On August 29th each year we remember the beheading of our Patron, St. John the Baptist! I can think of no better example to begin with today than he - A doer of God’s Word, and one who lived in the Truth for all to see! He has two Feast Days. One for his birth and one for his martyrdom. In his birth we celebrate that, as Jesus put it, no greater man has been born of a woman. Today, let us try to understand the courage that one needs to live out their commitment to this faith of ours! So let us look to our Patron Saint for example as Jesus calls us to authenticity. But let us all also be courageous enough to grapple with Christ’s warning to us, for no one (or nothing) from outside ourselves is to blame for our sinfulness. It’s something that possesses us from the inside, affecting us deep within, slowly taking hold, but leaving our outer shell intact so no one can see

First, I would like to thank all of you for your support and prayers over this past year. That is right. One year!  The last time I was able to preach was August 16, 2020, and in that year since I’ve been blessed by God through the hands of a great surgeon, my loving family & friends, a few wonderful physical therapists, and the prayers and support of you, my parish family. So the good news is that God indeed is good all the time, and all the time God is good! The other good news for you, is that, these days, Deacon Greg can’t stand for too long… So I’d better get right to it! Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, arguably one of the most interesting parts of our Catholic Teaching. Why? The Catechism offers that Mary, the Blessed Mother, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more