The King's Corner

DUE TO HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS MASS AND FAITH FORMATION ON THURSDAY HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

I would like to say that I’m writing to you from sunny 78 degree San Antonio Texas however, I’m sending this out to you from snow-covered East Falmouth.  I’m suppose to be attending 3 days of meetings and training at my company’s headquarters, leaving Monday and returning Thursday night, totally avoiding this winter mess. All packed and ready to go out the door Monday, I went online to get my boarding pass for the Providence to Philly connector flight and discovered it had been canceled.  I called the airline and they found one seat for me out of Logan at 3:30.  So I raced up to Boston and finally made it to Terminal B.  The ticket agent told me that the flight was now delayed 90 minutes and said there was no guarantee I’d get out of Philly.  She was politely suggesting that I cancel my trip but I said that I had to try and to please check my bag.  After clearing security screening I rushed to the nearly abandoned gate, sat down and caught my breath…finally.

DUE TO CONTINUED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS MASS ON WEDNESDAY MORNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Faith of Our Fathers, living still.  That's the old and true hymn.  But if you are listening to Paul to Timothy in today's first reading we should be singing Faith of Our Mothers because he talks to Timothy about his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice. That makes it all real as he talks to Timothy about his mother's faith and his grandmother's faith now past to him. As we gather in prayer this morning, perhaps we can recall women of strong faith in our own lives and pray for them, or pray to them, as we try to pass on the faith to the next generation.

DUE TO BLIZZARD CONDITIONS MASS ON TUESDAY MORNING HAS BEEN CANCELLED!

Homily for The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass In the three year cycle of readings this is the only Sunday we hear from the prophet Jonah. The book of the prophet Jonah is one of the shortest in the bible--its only four chapters long. Basically it is a story-- not an historical story -- but a fictional story that teaches a truth; the truth of God's mercy. It tells the tale of a man named Jonah who is sent by God to preach to the people in a city called Nineveh. The Ninevites were Jonah's enemy.  God said he was going to destroy the town of Nineveh unless the citizens repented and changed their way of living.

Then the righteous will answer him, "lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them, " Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me." Mathew 25:(37-39)

The past few days we’ve been reading from Mark’s Gospel and hearing about the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees about the observance of the law.  We had them picking grains yesterday, and today it’s the healing of the man with a withered hand. The Pharisees would be what we would call absolute absolutism.  In other words, the law has to be followed right to the letter—no ifs, ands, or buts.  The opposite of that would be absolute relativism—meaning nothing is really important enough to observe.  The truth probably rests somewhere in between. St. Ignatius, in his Spiritual Exercises, talks about laws being creatures; they’re not God’s, they’re creatures.  Creatures ought to be used if they help us to become what we are called to be, and they should be ignored if they take us away from what we are called to be.  That would be a principle that makes sense, and might help guide us in this maze that we call life.

In 1993 Jack Lemmon and Walther Matthau starred in the now famous movie called Grumpy Old Men. It is generally held, as suggested in the movie, that as we get older we tend to get "grumpier." I am quite cognizant of this as I stare down the barrel of the ever imminent fifty seventh birthday! Recently I read a book (at least 78% per my iPad - that was enough for me) by someone whom I believe might just meet the "GOM" criteria. The author offered a strong critique of the Catholic Church and every thing that's "wrong" with it. At one point the author wrote: ..." for most young people, as for most adults, the Catholic Church is a quaint, obsolete institution of yesteryear; backward-looking, with authoritarian structures and a strange morality. "I reflect on this comment when I read in the newspaper that six and a half million people showed up to Mass with Pope Francis in the Philippines last week, the greatest gathering of human beings ever

Now and then our families receive invitations to a number of things, like, weddings, baptisms, confirmations, out to dinner, go to the movies and I am sure you can think of many more opportunities to be with your families or friends for special occasions. However, the big question is "Do I go or don't I"?  If it's a family decision, "Do we go or don't we?" The next step is the debate.  Who sent the invitation?  Who will be there?  Do I have to go?  Do I want to go?  After a period of time a decision is made to go or not.  Now the next step is to answer the RSVP.

The story is told about a priest who went to a school for the deaf to give a talk.  There was somebody doing sign language, and he noticed that many times he would point a finger into the palm of his hand.  The priest asked afterward what that sign was, and apparently it’s the sign for Jesus—perhaps indicating the nail mark on his hand. Today in the first reading from Hebrews, we are told that Christ was made perfect obedience through His suffering—the nail mark.  Perhaps we can reflect on the presence of suffering in our own lives.  Having faith in Christ doesn’t take away the suffering, but assures us that He is present in our suffering. In obedience, He took upon himself our suffering and death.

Did you know that there is more than one form of Monsignor? There's even more than two forms - there are three grades. Prior to 1968 there were fourteen but Pope Paul VI reduced it to three. The title of "Monsignor" (translated from french into: my lord) is a title of distinction given by the Pope to certain priests as part of a papal honor recognizing the priest's service to the Church. The first grade is known as Chaplain to His Holiness. This honor can be conferred on priests inside or outside of the Roman Curia. Originally a Chaplain to His Holiness had to give up his title upon the death of the Pope who conferred the title. That no longer is the case. An example of this form of monsignor would be the Rev. Msgr. Gerard O'Connor, pastor of Saint Francis Xavier in Acushnet. The second grade of monsignor is the Prelate of Honor to His Holiness. This grade was historically associated with the chamberlain of the papal court and today can also be conferred

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

I am gathering some information for our Finance Council which meets next week.  Our meetings are not long because of the great financial shape we are in.  Money comes in, money goes out and for the last eight years a healthy amount of money stays with us.   A financial report is given to the parishioners each year.  It is an honest presentation of the past years revenue and expense.  I am so grateful for the generosity of our parishioners. Unlike some pastors, I do not worry if I can pay the bills.  And some pastors can't pay the bills to the diocese which are considerable.  For example, here at CTK, health insurance exceeds $100,000 a year and property insurance is in excess of $62,000.  The Diocese of Fall River is one of the last dioceses, if not the last, not to tax the parishes for the expense of the central administration.  That is amazing.  But there are rumors that a tax is being considered.  I will argue that if a tax is imposed, the diocese must be transparent concernin

Thirty years ago some friends threw me a surprise 39th birthday party.  They said that they did this so I would not suspect anything as I might have when I turned 40.  They were right!!  If you can do the math, you can figure that soon I will be celebrating my 69th birthday.  No surprises, I hope.  At my age, surprises are bad for your health.  It seems like yesterday I was 39.  And I very much doubt I have another 30 years in me to make 99.  When John Paul 2 was alive, Polish pilgrims would often sing a Polish song to him called "Sto Lat".  It is the equivalent of our "For he's a jolly good fellow:.  In the Polish song folks sing "May you live 100 years".  The Pope would often respond:  "Easy to sing, difficult to do".  Willard Scott might disagree.  He never seems to be without folks celebrating 100 years and more. Most likely no Smuckers moment in my future but I am grateful for the great years I have had and look forward to at

We are just reading from the first chapter of Mark, and we are told about a pattern that will exist in Jesus’ life throughout this Gospel and others.  He goes apart to pray.  Here, the apostles seem to interrupt His prayer and want to come back to where He was; He says, “No, we’re going to go to the other villages.” Some commentators say that Jesus discerned that action in prayer. As we hear the Gospel this morning, perhaps we can examine our own prayer life, and how consistent we are in setting aside some time to pray each day.  Not simply here commonly in the Eucharist, but going off to a deserted place to pray. I don’t think it was in the Baltimore Catechism, but somehow it’s ingrained in my head that there are four types of prayer.  It’s the word ACTS—adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, and supplication…it’s burned in my head!  Maybe you and I can somehow find time today to adore, to be sorrowful, to be asking of things, or to be simply thankful for all that we have. Msgr.

I walked into the sacristy today and saw the green vestments laid out for mass.  We have said goodbye to the purple of advent and the white of Christmas time.  Once again we are in Ordinary time.  Ordinary does not mean non special but comes from the latin word for numbers.  These weeks have no special name but are rather described by the number of weeks we have celebrated. We are in the first week of Ordinary time and will remain there until Lent begins in mid February. But when you think of it, the way we respond to our call to be a disciple is in the day to day comings and goings of life.  It is in how we spend our time, how we relate to others, how we respond to the challenges life gives us.  Green it is. Msgr. Daniel Hoye

The shepherds have gone back to their flocks, and the Wise Men have returned to their country by another route, and we as a Church get down to business. We hear in Mark’s Gospel a topical sentence for the entire message of Christ, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” As we look within ourselves, we might be honest as how we need to hear the message that Christ gives us.  When He says to you or to me, “Come, follow me,” as He did to the first disciples, how is He asking us to repent and to believe in the Gospel?

Homily for The Baptism of the Lord Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Yesterday, I went to CatholicTV for a recording of Inter Nos .  Inter Nos is Latin for “between us,” and is hosted by CatholicTV President, Fr. Robert Reed.  In each episode, Fr. Reed has a conversation about faith with a bishop, priest, deacon, or layperson.  Yesterday, it happened to be me! Fr. Reed and I discussed my life as a Catholic.  This included life as a Catholic at home, at our wonderful Parish of Christ the King, and at school— Saint Joseph’s College of Maine .  Christ the King is a wonderful parish, truly like none other, and part of our discussion was why it is such a wonderful place.  I also talked about the challenges that Catholics, particularly young Catholics like myself, face today, as well as much more!  Those are all of the spoilers I can reveal for now…you’ll have to stay tuned for more details! It was truly an incredible experience; one that I will certainly never forget!  Fr. Reed was gracious enough to give a tour of the Cat

As we hear the Gospel from Mark, we might use our imagination and think about being in a boat or the ship of our life.  Maybe like the evening the Apostles are in, life is a little bit rocky; things are uneven.  We hear the voice of Jesus say to me, to you, “Take courage, do not be afraid.” Christ is reassuring us that He is with us, and will calm the sea and give us the ability to be a courageous person—because of the presence of Christ.

I remember when I was a little kid, every now and then my mom would look at me and say, "A penny for your thoughts." I remember times when she said that to me when I was looking out the window and watching the snow falling or when it seemed I was in my own little world and staring into space. At times I would be so entranced with watching the snow fall that it seemed like that I was rising in an invisible elevator, I guess I was mesmerized by the action of the snow falling outside and me being nice and warm inside. I would ask her questions, like, "Is it true there are no two snowflakes alike?  or Are all raindrops the same size?  Why is snow white and when raindrops are falling and the sun is in the right spot we see a rainbow of colors?  Why isn't the snow just as colorful? Mom would not have the answers but would say that some day I just might learn the answers.  She would encourage me to think about different things so that one day I would understand what th

The Christmas Season continues through next Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, but right after we celebrate Epiphany, the Church presents to us the real message that this infant that we celebrate brings.  The readings today have really a double focus—one in a relationship, the other internal introspection. We hear in the Letter of John that “we are to believe in Christ to love one another”—that’s the relationship challenge.  In the Gospel, we hear the basic message that Jesus begins in his preaching—repent, change yourself.  It may be in relationship to others, but it’s really an internal thing—that we have to look at ourselves and make some adjustments in our life. So, the Epiphany or the revelation that we celebrated yesterday urges changes in our life.

Last night at dinner, my family and I were discussing how Christmas was coming to an end.  No more Christmas music on the radio, Christmas trees and decorations in stores and homes have been disposed of or put away, and people are no longer wishing each other a Merry Christmas. Society puts an end to Christmas as soon as the clock strikes midnight on December 26th.  Throughout the month of December, I recall hearing radio commercials saying, “The Christmas music will be over December 26th.”  However, Christmas does not end on December 25th, nor does it come to an end on the Feast of the Epiphany (sometimes known as “Little Christmas” or the twelfth day of Christmas).  Rather, it ends on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which this year falls on Sunday, January 11.  In older traditions, Christmas didn’t end until February 2nd, which is Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (also known as Candle-mas).  This made the Christmas season a total of 40 days. After Christ

Homily for The Epiphany of the Lord Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Readings for todays Homily