The King's Corner

To our surprise, on the day of New Year’s Eve we read in 1 John (2:18-21): “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared…”   Eeeeee!   This certainly gives us something else to ponder just before the ball falls in New York City’s Times Square.  1 John was written more than a few years ago (probably 100 A.D.).  The use of “antichrist” raises the obvious question: “Who was the antichrist?”  But wait, this John said there were many antichrists.  Most historical scholars believe that this John, writing for his 1st century community, was combating an unorthodox belief that Jesus seemed and appeared to be human, but he was really divine and not really human.   Those who believed this were "antichrists" according to First John. Today’s first reading is but a small piece of 1 John, and taken out of context it sounds like some “evil one” is coming with many similar “evil ones” already being with us.  

Readings for todays Homily I don’t know if it’s by coincidence or if it’s a trick that whoever picks the readings for the day has done, but we have in the first reading from John, “Children, it is the last hour.”  In our culture, we treat this day as the “last hour.”  In a sense, we just turn the page of life to a New Year - 2015. Perhaps as we gather for prayer this morning, we might give thanks to God for the blessings we have received during this past year, and also be grateful to turn the page - to say goodbye to all of the bad things that happened this year. As John tells it, this is the last hour. Msgr. Daniel Hoye

Pope Francis recently had something to say about theology – actually, theologians.   Theology is defined as the study of religious faith, practice and experience, or said another way and more specific to the word “theology,” it’s the study of God and God’s relation to the world.   Now that’s an assignment!   Theology is not without controversy.  Notable and prominent theologians have been disciplined by the Vatican for their positions and writings.   Hans Kung and Charles Curran are two notable examples.   Theology journals don’t escape notice either.  In 2011 the National Catholic Reporter had an article entitled “Vatican pressures theology journal.”  That journal was Theological Studies.   The NCR report read: “In a move some theologians say undermines the credibility of the leading English-language Catholic theological journal, the Vatican has pressured it to publish a scholarly essay on marriage, unedited and without undergoing normal peer review…The Vatican aim is to weed

Readings for Todays Homily Yesterday it was Simeon in the temple; today it’s the prophetess, Anna, in the temple – presu   She speaks of wonderful things about this child Jesus who was presented in the temple. We are in the sixth day of our celebration of Christmas.  In the Alleluia verse, we heard “A holy day has dawned upon us.  Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.  Today a great light has come upon the earth.” May you and I focus today, once again, on the light that has come to overcome the darkness, the light that has come to save us from our sins.

Pope Francis was profiled on "60 Minutes" on Sunday.  Quite a guy!   He's down-to-earth, and that makes sense: "Our Father...thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."  Here's where it's at: when and where we show God's mercy: on earth in the here, not the hereafter.  Speaking of mercy, I came across the following Catholic News Service December 16 article by Carol Glatz entitled, "Pope: Hypocrites stick to rules, harsh judgment, and ignore God’s mercy."   Here is what she wrote. VATICAN CITY - Never condemn others, but if temptation strikes, then condemn yourself because there is bound to be something deserving judgment, Pope Francis said.  May “our hearts be simple, bright with the truth that (the Lord) gives us and that way we can be loving, forgiving, understanding toward others, with a heart wide open to others and merciful,” the pope said Dec. 15 at his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae where he li

In our culture, we tend to front-load holidays.  If it's not just after, its before Thanksgiving that we start talking about Christmas.  Once Christmas comes then that's the end of it. The Church takes a different approach; it pauses and reflects on a Feast for several days, if not weeks, after.  At Easter we have 50 days of pondering what it meant.  At Christmas we have the Octave, eight days, of thinking and reflecting on what we have celebrated.  And then it goes a few days longer - the Christmas Season goes until the Baptism of the Lord, January 11th this year. Today we have in Luke's Gospel Simeon, who had been promised he would see the Lord, he would see the Christ, before his death.  We have in this translation "Lord, now let your servant go in peace"; that he has captured this significant moment in the life of faith. In the church the final prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours, (Night Prayer or Compline), in Latin was always known as Nunc dimittis, N

Homily for The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

In last Tuesday’s Boston Globe we found a front-page article entitled: “Pope decries ‘spiritual diseases’ in Vatican.”   Extensive coverage of the Pope’s Christmas address to the Cardinals and Superiors of the Roman Curia reported by John Allen began with “…the pontiff on Monday delivered a blistering critique of arrogance, careerism, gossip, and division in the Vatican.”   Vatican critics must have relished the Pope’s comments.  However, a read of the full text of the address provides a far better understanding of Pope Francis’ intent.  He made sensible and appropriate remarks: “It is good to think of the Roman Curia as a small model of the Church, namely, as a ‘body’ that seeks seriously and daily to be more alive, healthier, more harmonious and more united in itself and with Christ.” “In reality, the Roman Curia is a complex body, made up of many Dicasteries, Councils, Offices, Tribunals, Commissions and of numerous elements that do not all have the same task, but are coordina

Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard Schneider read by Msgr. Daniel Hoye click for Christmas Photo's   and Our Christmas Concert

Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.  When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.  You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be  saved” (Matthew 10:17-22).  I’ve always wondered why Matthew would have Jesus say these very troubling things.  Why would family members betray each other and send loved ones to their death?   Children will put to death their parents?!   How does that fit with the Commandments, especially number six: “honor your father and m

Today is Christmas when we focus on little children, Christmas trees, presents, and of course, on the baby Jesus in the manger, although in our Gospel reading there is no story of the birth of Jesus.  The Gospel of John doesn’t have one (John 1:1-18).  Instead, he focuses on Jesus the Christ as the Word of God.  John’s horizon is well beyond the manger.  It’s on creation – the beginning. Before I get to the Word of God, here’s a story that connects us back to the sort of behavior Jesus might have had as a little boy.  After all, he was a baby and before he became an adult, he had to be a boy with boy-like behavior.  Can we imagine that? Once upon a time there was a family that had three young boys: Mark, Andrew, and Paul.  Years ago their Mom and Dad gave each boy an angel ornament for the Christmas tree.  That began a yearly contest by the boys to see who could hang their angel the highest in the tree.  It had something to do with what boy was the tallest from one year to the ne

We wait for the baby – for the infant.   Do we wait for a sweet face and imagine the tender scene at the manager with Mary and Joseph, the angels, and all the animals?  Do we think a bit deeper and remember why he came?  And, how do we wait? Father Richard Rohr in his 1989 Catholic Update contribution “Christmas Watch: What are we waiting for?” gives us an answer to the latter question.  He said: “We have to wait for the coming of Jesus in the manner of poor people, of people in touch with their inner emptiness and hunger.  To use the words of the Magnificat [See Monsignor’s Tuesday homily], God fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty’ (Luke 1:53).”  “That’s why Jesus said he came to preach the Gospel to the poor, because poor people – like the shepherds at Bethlehem, like the poor among us today – are in a unique position to hear the Good News, because they know they need it…It was Jesus’ Christmas gift to us to show us the way to God.  He taught us to pr

Readings for today's Homily

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.  According to the famous song with this title:  “It's the most wonderful time of the year.  With the kids jingle belling, and everyone telling you, ‘Be of good cheer,’ it's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting and caroling out in the snow.  There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas long, long ago.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.  There'll be much mistletoeing, and hearts will be glowing, when loved ones are near.  It's the most wonderful time of the year.” It’s a wonderful time for the above reasons, but the song misses the core reason: the incarnation.  For many there is no Christ in Christmas.  There is no Christ in their lives, so why remember the reason for the season.   The words of our carols are not really heard, or if heard, they have no meaning.  Still, this song sneaks into our psyche that which bri

  Readings for today’s homily

For those really wanting to bring their Catholic faith to life, I highly recommend Father William O’Malley’s 2011 book of the same name: “The Wow Factor.”  This is the 20th book in his long series of thought-provoking texts such as “Help My Unbelief” (2008) and “Redemptive Suffering” (1997).  For example, regarding Jesus having “atoned for our faults and made satisfaction for our sins to the Father,” O’Malley says, “…I believe on the solidest scholarship that the story of Adam and Eve is a symbolic fiction, that it tells in a parabolic (“curve-ball”) way the undeniable truth that human beings, even in the most ideal situation, will find a way to screw it up…It is unconscionable that God – who apparently knew what he [she] was doing – could create us free and imperfect, then punish us for using freedom imperfectly…”  O’Malley emphasizes that he doesn’t reject the atonement theory (Jesus’ expiatory sacrifice to atone for the moral faults of the human race).  He just has “enormous d

A shoeshine boy was plying his trade at North Station next to the Boston Garden.  A silver medal danced at his neck as he slapped his shine cloth, again and again, across a man’s shoes. “Sonny” said the man curiously, “what’s the hardware around your neck?” The boy replied, “It’s a medal of the mother of Jesus.” “Why her medal?” the man asked.  “She’s no different from your mother.” “Could be,” said the boy, “but there’s a real big difference between her son and me.” The boy was right. There is a big difference between Jesus and us.  Then again, don’t we all try to shrink that difference especially at this time of the year when we prepare for the incarnation – the Word, Jesus, becoming flesh and one of us.   And about that man getting his shoes shined. Was he right?  Was Mary no different from our mothers?  Our Gospel reading seems to say she was different.  After all, none of our mothers had a long conversation with the Angel Gabriel about their pregnancies, although… every o

Homily for The Second Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Readings for today's Homily

A gift for all of you, sort of...we've rebuilt the back end of our website and now have some new features we hope you'll appreciate. The biggest change you'll see is that you never have to leave the site to view our other social media. Within the site, in the left hand navigation we now have our Blog-The King's Corner , Facebook , Twitter , and a Video Gallery which houses our YouTube channel with current and archived video's. Also new to the site will be the way the Photo Gallery works. Once in the gallery when you click the photo album you want to view, it will go right into the thumbnails of that album for quicker viewing. (*note-when you get to the bottom there may be more than 1 page, click the next number or right arrow) You will also have the option to view the album as a slideshow , which shows the photos in a larger size. That option will be just above the thumbnails. (*note- the first time you look at an album in slideshow it wil

Readings for today's Homily

Readings for today's Homily

Homily for The Third Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

The Marian Medal was first presented by Bishop Connolly in 1968. The medal is given in recognition of the dedication and service of parishioners, throughout the diocese, to the Church and to the their individual parish. One individual, a man or woman, is recommended  by the pastor of each parish annually. This year, on November 23rd, the medals were blessed and presented by Bishop Da Cunha during a ceremony of mid-afternoon prayer, Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction held at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. The Medal is made of sterling silver. It is embossed with a Miraculous medal on one side and the Fall River diocesan coat of arms on the other. This year's Christ The King Recipient was the very well known Bill Kelley. For over twenty years Bill has served the parish and the Church as a eucharistic minister, a grand knight, an usher, an altar server, a sacristan and in a host of  other ministries. Also, for many years Bill has been active in collecting scrap metal w

The numbers of young men entering the seminary have dwindled over the last years but it appears that that might be about to change. Father Robert Barron, one of the greatest role models for young men discerning a vocation to the priesthood, explores what the true calling is all about. What has the Catholic priesthood and basketball got in common? More than you might think. Follow the link below to learn more. If you are discerning a vocation to the priesthood (and I know at least two reading this are!) perhaps it's time to move to the next level and meet with the vocations director of your diocese. In the case of this diocese, The Diocese of Fall River, Father Kevin Cook or Father Jay Mello can be reached at 508 675 1311.

Homily  Readings for today's Homily

Homily for The Second Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

This time of the year reminds me of the old sacristy I used to sit in as an altar boy some years ago waiting for Mass to start. There was nothing to do… we just sat there and waited in almost silence with the only disruption being the cadence kept by the ticking from the big old sacristy clock. At this time of advent we are doing something similar: we are waiting, waiting for the arrival of Jesus. But unlike those “slothful” altar boys of yesteryear, there is much that we can do. Jesus tells us today that the harvest is abundant but the laborers few. We are the laborers, we are the workers, we are the ones called to step up to the plate and carry the message of Christ to those who need to hear it. In a literal sense you don’t have to do exactly as Jesus asks: you don't have to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers or drive out demons - unless, of course, you have some experience in these fields. But we can reach out to someone in need, we can visit a neighbor that never

I have a friend who is an expert in preparing for a dinner party.  The table is set the day before and all the food is ready to be cooked or simply reheated before the guests arrive.  He is able to enjoy his company and not be a prisoner of the kitchen.  Preparation is key.  And so is preparing for the Lord's coming at Christmas and his coming at the end of time. This Sunday we hear from the one who prepared for the coming of the Lord, John the Baptist.  His words are captured in one of the songs from Godspell.  Can't you hear the horn blowing and the words of the song  PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD?  How are we preparing to welcome Christ into our lives?  How are we helping to make the mercy and love of Christ real for our brothers and sisters. Monsignor Daniel F. Hoye

Amazon is an amazing internet site.  You can buy just about anything there.  Recently I had the good fortune of visiting the "original" Amazon as in the river in South America.  I went on a cruise with some friends so I slept in air conditioned comfort but we did venture out in smaller boats and canoes for an up close and personal look at fascinating wild life and scenery.  For one thing, I had never seen pink dolphins before.  What is  amazing is that there are virtually no roads along the river.  Everyone travels by boat.  They have small boats that hold about 75 people and the top deck has hammocks hanging from the ceiling.  The average trip takes two days and one night and during the night you sleep in the hammock. Not very comfortable if you ask me!  It is great to travel but always great to be back home and back into the rhythm of  parish life.  No more pink dolphins just one pink candle in our advent wreath! Monsignor Daniel F. Hoye

In a sense, Advent is akin to wearing bifocal glasses.  There’s looking down, we have the near event—the close event—of Christmas.  But a different part of Advent is looking to the distance, to the second coming of Christ.  The readings that are selected for the first part of Advent really are the top of the lens—looking forward to the second coming of Christ.  One of the rich images that we have in scripture is that at the end of time it will be like a giant banquet—a banquet on the Holy Mountain. Most of us have just lived through a banquet that we call Thanksgiving.  There is a certain coming together and a joy with being with family.  Isaiah and Matthew today both speak about being fed.  “Being fed with delicious food on this Holy Mountain,” Isaiah says.  In Matthew, we have the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  We as Catholics have the Eucharist as our daily meal. It really has us celebrating with Christ until He comes again. It’s the bifocal nature of Advent.

 If you want to see the faces of innocence check out the photos from this year's Christmas Pageant posted on this blog.  Unfortunately, there were some audio difficulties which made it impossible to post the video.   So you won't  be able to see the shepherds who were "dueling" with their staffs and the young angel who made several round trips to her mother in the audience.   Someplace I have a photo of me in a pageant we put on when I was in the first or second grade.  The costumes for the boys were bathrobes!!  It was a long time ago but I can remember it like it was yesterday.  Now I might not remember what I had for breakfast today but I can go back about sixty years  and remember "closing" imaginary windows so Mary and Joseph could go to Bethlehem to be counted.  I guess it was/is an effective way of telling the love story that is Christmas. Monsignor Daniel F. Hoye

I just returned to college after a great Thanksgiving break at home.  I was able to spend time with friends and family, catch up with some of my Christ the King family, enjoy some home cooking, and serve a few Masses.  It was so great to be back!  I now have just 10 days left until I return home for a month of Christmas break!  But, during those 10 days, there’s a lot to do—classes, homework, studying for exams, packing (perhaps my least favorite), two nights of RA duty, and a floor program and meeting to run.  This next week and a half is a period of waiting and anticipation to go home, just like Advent. Advent is a season of hope and waiting.  We await with hope the birth of our Savior on Christmas, as well as His second coming.  In order to prepare ourselves, we have to “Ready the Way.”  One of these ways is the way to our hearts.  I like to prepare my heart through Daily Mass, prayer, and most especially, the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  It truly helps me to understand the

Whenever the President of the United States gives a speech or has a press conference, hanging on the podium is the presidential seal .  I read that the seal has an eagle and one talon he has a bunch of arrows, and the other talon a bunch of olive branches.  The arrows would speak of war; the olive branches would speak of peace.  Apparently in an earlier version, the eagle is looking at arrows; President Truman ordered that it be reversed that the eagle would look at the olive branches—to show a desire always for peace. We’re just beginning the Advent season, which will speak often times about the quest for peace.  In the first reading today, it’s a reading from Isaiah, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.” Maybe as we begin our Advent season, we can pray for peace  How we might be at war with ourselves or with another person.  These weeks of Advent urge us to seek peace.