A Series on Women in the Bible
(Use
the link below to read the verses.)
[God worked in and through the lives of countless women in the Bible. These women played significant, if not critical roles in the Lord’s plan of Redemption. In this series, we will look at the faithfulness of some of these God fearing women.]
Father Greg Romanski
Greg Romanski and
I grew up about a block apart from each other in Orchard Hills, a subdivision
of St. Louis, Michigan. I have many fond memories of Greg as we were the best
of friends for many years.
That is, until his
junior year of high school when he moved to a Catholic school that was about
thirty-five miles away. It was his first step to becoming a priest. After that,
we visited each other a few times, but otherwise, it has been about fifty
years. I had planned to visit him this summer, until I read that he had passed
away.
By all accounts,
Greg had served the Lord faithfully for decades. Although he had his shortcoming,
and he wasn’t rich or famous; he did touch the lives of countless people, and
loved God. You can’t ask for more than that.
The same seems to
be true of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Her story unfolds like
this.
6 Zechariah
and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s
commandments and regulations. 7 They had no
children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. NLT
On one occasion
when Zachariah was serving as a priest, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and
promised that he, and his wife Elizabeth, would have a child. As unbelievable
as this promise was, it came true.
24 After
this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in
seclusion. 25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she
said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my
disgrace among the people.” NIV
Luke 1 weaves
together the stories of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus, and Elizabeth who gave
birth to John. Both of them were pregnant when the following interaction took
place.
45 Blessed
is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” NIV
Like Elizabeth, we
too will be blessed if we believe that the Lord will fulfill his promises to
us. The promise to always love us; to always be with us; to always be faithful
to His word. Therefore, let us live a lifetime of being faithful; like my
friend Greg.
Copyright
Father Greg and his brother Jim
Rev. Gregory
Romanski, a Catholic priest for 43 years, died on Good Friday, April 10, 2020
in Austin at the age of 71. He was born on February 10, 1949 in Alma, Michigan
to Alex J. and Helen L. Romanski. Rev. Romanski attended Villanova University
and Washington Theology University.
Rev. Romanski was ordained for the Paulist Fathers on May 14, 1977 and served
in parishes in New York City and Greensboro, North Carolina before coming to
Austin in 1989. He was affectionately known as Father Greg by his parishioners.
