Father Kevin Wojciechowski (left) and Emma Geis interview Bishop Robert Gruss at St. Agnes Church in Freeland on Feb. 2, 2022.
On a snowy Feb. 2 in Freeland, Bishop Robert Gruss made a guest appearance on a relatively new online audio program (podcast) produced by young adults from the Diocese of Saginaw. With humor, co-host Father Kevin Wojciechowski began the program by introducing the "mystery guest" on the show who "loves to ride horses and Harleys, loves to scuba dive and he also has a dog named Coco."
During the interview, Bishop Gruss shared personal stories about his faith journey, the importance of the Eucharist and much more. After being asked about the Eucharist, Bishop Gruss shared, "The Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus has given us. There is no greater gift. So, if we fall in love with the Eucharist, we will fall in love with Jesus. If we fall in love with Jesus, we’ll never go without the Eucharist."
Each episode of the "Cause for Joy" podcast aims to be thoughtful, funny and, of course, joyful as the hosts and guests explore the Catholic faith and individuals’ lived experience of how Christ works in their lives. In this episode, Bishop Gruss shares about an encounter he recently had at his brother's funeral, how God answered a prayer when Bishop Gruss was a young adult and more.
“Overall, the topics we discuss all point to having a joyful Eucharistic witness,” said Emma Geis, who founded the podcast and also helps to produce, direct and write. “The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, and we desire nothing else than to point people to Jesus through the beauty of the Blessed Trinity and Holy Mother Church.”
“One of the many things I’ve come to appreciate about this podcast, from the perspective of a priest, is that it was initiated by a young lay woman and is made up of a crew of mostly young lay men and women,” Father Kevin said. “I hope young lay men and women listeners in our Diocese can be inspired by that model and realize they too have the potential for initiating similar efforts within our Diocese.”
You can listen to this episode using the player below. Additional information including contact information and episodes of the podcast can be found here.
You can learn about the team that produces the podcast here.
A story about the Cause for Joy podcast will also be shared in an upcoming issue of FAITH Saginaw, the magazine of the Diocese of Saginaw.
Bishop Robert Gruss discusses how to bring our families together and back to Church
On Feb. 4, 2022, Bishop Robert Gruss gave the following presentation as part of First Friday at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw.