Fr. Greg

Stewardship with St. Joseph - Sharing - September 19, 2021

One of the first lessons in life we often have to learn is about sharing. As children, we are told by parents to share our toys, food, and attention. One of the best sharers I know is our own Fr. Francis. One story about his legendary sharing is last year on my birthday someone dropped off a birthday cake at the rectory. I was not around at the time. But Fr. Francis, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to eat a piece of it and then give it away to someone else. What a sharer!

The Tiles - August 29, 2021

This weekend is the last weekend for our Prince of Peace Welcome Back Tile Project. Thank you to all who participated by glueing your tile on the board and including your prayers and blessings. If you didn’t yet get your tile glued on, it is never too late. We can still make it happen. You might notice that we didn’t finish the mosaic. But we did get 898 tiles out of 2600, which is almost 35%. Rather than look at the mosaic as half-empty, we should look at it half-full! But, the missing tiles just remind us that there is work to be done.

Predatory Lending Reform - August 22, 2021

While I was a pastor in Topeka, I was involved in an ecumenical group of churches who were working on justice issues to help those in the area who were in different forms of poverty or struggles. One issue came up that sometimes those who struggling to get by financially would need help paying a bill—rent, medical, car repair, etc.—and having nowhere else to go, they would get a loan from a payday loan. Unfortunately, such loans become debt traps. Unscrupulous lenders (who are largely unregulated) charge exorbitant fees in which can require borrowers to pay 390% APR.

Assumption(s) - August 15, 2021

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation, which conveniently for us falls on a Sunday this year. On this feast we recall that at the end of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s life she was taken up into heaven body and soul. The word “assumption” is based off a Latin word meaning, “the action of being taken up or received.” Mary was taken up by God and received into heaven body and soul. 
 

The Olympics and Food - August 8, 2021

This Sunday is the closing ceremony of the 2020 Olympics. It was amazing to watch the athletes compete and to see the greatest feats of strength, endurance, speed, and agility across many events. The athletes train for years, dedicate their lives to their sport, and everything they do often including eating and sleeping revolve around their pursuit of excellence in their sport. There are several places in scripture where analogies are made between athletes and living the Christian life. The most classic verses are probably these from St. Paul:

Come and Rest a While - July 18, 2021

We live in an increasingly busy world. We are sold products that offer more convenient solutions to things that were not even that inconvenient in the first place. We work and rush around to such a great extent that many people find it difficult to stop and truly rest when their schedule does clear up. Despite all the time saving devices that we have in the modern world, people seem to be having an increasingly difficult time enjoying true leisure. We fear silence and stillness, and so we fill up even our free time with activities and plans.

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