Journey to Emmaus in Contemporary Scenes — Week 7

Health issues that triggered a crisis in faith became an Emmaus moment, Deacon Ken Greene tells Fr. Ron Will, CPPS, in this last installment of our Easter video series, Journey to Emmaus in Contemporary Scenes.

Ken Greene, a deacon of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese who serves at St. Monica Parish in Kansas City, Missouri, tells the story of a personal crisis in faith he had recently in the midst of a serious health scare that caused him to lose some of his vision and his car was taken away for a year.

“I became rather despondent over all this,” Deacon Ken said. “I stopped trusting in God, not believing that he would take care of me.”

For 16 months he was depressed. He stopped going to church. After several months, a concerned social worker intervened, persuaded him to enter counseling. “The counseling challenged my thinking regarding my faith, challenged my lack of trust and belief in God,” Deacon Ken told Fr. Ron.

“I had a lot of self-doubts,” he said, “but after several visits with her, I began to see myself in a more positive light. I gradually returned to church and was about to practice my ministry as a deacon.”

The first Sunday back as a deacon after this long hiatus, “I preached on God’s mercy. It was Mercy Sunday. Preparing and preaching that message helped me come to an understanding of the relationship I have with God,” he said. “It helped me appreciate that God does love me and that he has always loved me.”

Drawing on his personal experiences of ministry, Fr. Ron talked about times when people have been moved by homilies he’s preached or prayers he’s led. While he didn’t see these as extraordinary, some individuals found them profound, life-changing even.

“I was shocked really that they were able to remind me of what I had said six months before. Then later, as I reflected on this, I realized that someone besides me was working during that Mass, and my heart burned within me, burned with gratitude for God’s presence working through me.”

“I realized,” he said, “that God’s presence was unfolding in my presence.”

Watch this video and then share it with friends. Don’t miss any of this seven-part series. Register here to receive an email when each new video is posted to either our website or on YouTube.

All the videos in this series are here: Easter Season 2021: The Emmaus Journey.

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