Fr. Greg saved their relationship – and married them!

When I had a late lunch at Johnny Rockets with the ‘new priest’ at GWU, I
had no idea I was talking to one of the most important people I’d meet in
my life. It was a few months after I graduated in 2009, and shortly before
I was to leave for the Army, so I was not anticipating making a great
personal investment in this relationship. Very quickly, however, Fr Greg
made an immediate impression as a man of uncommon joy, mirth, and zeal for
the Lord, and assumed a place in my life that only family and the closest
of friends could occupy.

An incident a few months later plunged me into one of the worst emotional
and spiritual places I had ever been in, and almost ended my relationship
with my girlfriend. I was unable to talk about it with anyone, except for
Fr Greg. This is a man who, from the start, built trust and a genuine sense
of being cared for as few people can do. I brought all my anger and sadness
to him, and he took it all in, and gave me Christ. He admonished me for my
sins that contributed to the situation, and taught me to forgive those of
others; I grew so much that Summer and Fall because of this one man’s love
and understanding. I have never met a priest who cares as much about
enkindling the faith in others, or created as genuinely spiritual and
deeply moving an environment as the newman center itself or the many social
and faith-building events he has led. He pours himself out for others in
such self-sacrificing love that I wish more husbands and wives showed each
other.

Because of him, I was able to leave for Basic Training with a peace I’d
never felt before, a clear sense of purpose, and a stronger relationship
with my girlfriend than ever. When we got married in 2012, he came all the
way down to Georgia to celebrate at our wedding. That day, and both of our
lives, would have been very different without him. Through him, I have
experienced the love of an older brother, and that of Jesus Christ. Beyond
all the superlatives – and he is easy to write about in such terms -, Fr
Greg is the model of one who knows what the Lord requires of him; only to
do the right, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with God.