In 2012, Deacon Robert Kaminski went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his daughter, Janice. He had experienced health issues several years earlier, which led him to wonder about what legacy would he leave behind. He’s been a chemical engineer, a local union president, a supervisor, a plant manager, a vice president of manufacturing/operations, a division president, a CEO and a business owner. These roles left his family financially comfortable, but he wondered if any of that really mattered in the ultimate scheme of life?
After praying about it, he realized that being a husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather of his extended family were all part of his legacies. What he truly desired as his legacy was his most valuable and precious gift: The precious gift of his faith; his relationship with Jesus Christ and the love of His people who are the Church.
So, sharing his faith and his efforts to love God by serving His people — especially those in need and hurting — all those are Deacon Kaminski’s legacy gifts to his family. It is these gifts that turned into Peace, Love & All Good Things: Grampa’s Greatest Gift. This book contains some of his homilies that he preached during his 18 years as a deacon in the Catholic Church at St. Mary’s Parish in Mokena, Illinois.
Deacon Kaminski then published Peace, Love & All Good Things: Grampa’s Greatest Gift and gave them as gifts to his immediate family for them to grow in faith. He also wanted his family to share them with future generations.
He also decided to self-publish the book and to make it available for other people to grow in faith, as well. So it is available in ebook and paperback form on various book-selling sites, such as Amazon.com.
To Buy Deacon Kaminski’s Book, Click Here
Deacon Kaminski and his wife, Mary Ann
An Excerpt from Deacon Kaminski’s book,
Peace, Love & All Good Things: Grampa’s Greatest Gift
JESUS IS THE EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE
In today's Scripture, Moses reminds His people of all God has done for them – water from a rock, miraculous food, guidance through a vast harsh desert and freedom from slavery. On this solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, the Church reminds us that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the food of eternal life. Our culture tells us we should hunger for other things: wealth, power, the biggest and best of everything.
However, our deepest hunger is for union with God and one another, satisfied in our communion. “The Lord fed His people with the finest wheat and honey, their hunger is satisfied” (Entrance antiphon). All hungers – physical, emotional, social and spiritual – tend to blend together and weigh on our hearts. We see hungry hearts all around – in our church, community, and nation. Those mourning the loss of a loved one; those in need of a job or worried about finances; those desperately seeking wise counsel; those fighting to curb an addiction or are angry and bitter, unforgiven and unforgiving; or those in poor health, unhappy in a relationship, unsure of commitments and hard on themselves.
Also, opinion polls tell us we are greatly worried about personal and national security. We are anxious about war and yearn for peace. We highly value our freedoms and are fearful they are threatened from without and within. We are conflicted about the life issues: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, marriage, poverty, and health care. We are unnerved and fearful of the other nations, races, religions, and immigrants. These are the hungry people Jesus desires to feed, not with a temporary fix, rather with a source of everlasting sustenance found in Eucharist and the change of heart that only Jesus can bring about, if we allow Him to. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving; this miracle is offered daily as an opportunity to recall/retell all we are thankful for.
My dear people of God, today in our Mass, Jesus comes to me and you! Jesus is the Eucharistic miracle. As Catholics, the Eucharist is not just a memorial. We are not only asked to pray and profess our beliefs, but also to partake in the Body and Blood of Christ. We believe the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ. This sacrament nourishes our faith for life's journey. We are invited to be members of Christ's body, forgiven and reconciled through God's mercy, called to be witnesses of His Love and grace and commissioned for service to one another. Just as God is always and continues to be the God who saves, Jesus is always the Living Bread feeding our hungers. Christ lives; we can share everlasting life with Him by uniting ourselves with His body and blood. St. Paul declares that “partaking” of the cup and loaf involves us in the realities of Christ's life. In partaking, we participate in the body of Christ (nailed to a cross) and in the blood of Christ (poured out for us). This participation, however, comes with a price. Let’s not be naive about what we are getting into when we come to the Eucharistic table. What the world rejected once, it continues to reject. United in Christ, we cannot escape crosses, sacrifice and service.
What can we do as Catholic faithful to offset the hunger, fear, dread and paranoia that continue to grow in our world? Jesus’ proposal is on the table. He offers Himself as the Bread of Life given for the life of the world. Without Christ, only death; with Christ, life now and forever.
The table of the Lord is where death and life embrace and where common elements of bread and wine become sacred realities (the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ), where sins are forgiven and hope made possible. The cup of blessing holds the Blood of Christ. Our partaking in this cup is an acceptance that we will need to die to certain things in order to live for others. The bread we eat is a partaking in the Body of Christ, broken before it can be shared. We know what we receive in Eucharist. What are we willing to risk and offer?
Jesus says our very lives are at stake. As we incorporate the Body and Blood of Christ in our lives, we are incorporated into the saving activity of Jesus, blessed and broken for all. Will we allow this miracle sacrament, the source and summit of Christ's saving action, to be an empty remembering, or will we allow it to be a consecration and changing of our lives? Jesus offers the solution. He does not force us to accept. Do we accept this “Christ-life” offering, or do we, like many in the crowds of Jesus’ day, turn away from Jesus and look for another solution? My sisters and brothers, I urge you to take Jesus into your hearts. Let Him feed your hungers and then take Christ to feed others by your love and service.
To Buy Deacon Kaminski’s Book, Click Here
Some Audio Samples of Deacon Kaminski’s Homilies
Aug. 16, 2015 Homily
Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58
June 21, 2015 Homily
Job 38:1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43