The King's Corner

Homily March 1, 2015 Second Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Some of you know that I come from a large family---there were nine children, eight boys and one girl.  At last count I have 26 nieces and nephews and 33 great nieces and nephews.  On Christmas eve, most of the family, including some cousins, gathers at one of my brother's house.  Last year over 100 folks were there.   When my mother was alive, all I had to do was call her and she would tell me what was going on with various family members. Now I go on Facebook to trace the comings and goings of the clan.  I am what they call a FB voyeur.  I look but I rarely post anything beyond a "Happy Birthday".  For example, in the past couple of days I learned that one niece went to New Orleans for a vacation. Unfortunately, she was sick most of the time.  Another niece who works in radiology, shared that a patient told her she was the most kind medical person she had ever encountered.  It looks like a nephew has yet another new girlfriend, etc. etc.  It doesn't replace Mom

Boy, like so many others, I wish winter would go.  100 inches of snow in Boston.  Not sure what we have had in Mashpee but whatever it is, it is more than enough.  I know the winter has been tough on lots of folks and this includes parishes.  I think we had storms on five weekends in a row.  That means folks can't come to Church and neither can their "envelopes".  Some people are great and "make up" lost contributions.  And then there is the issue of snow removal.  I don't have the precise amount we have spent but I bet it is more than $20,000.   So there is less money coming in and more money going out.  That is not the way to run a parish.  Don't get me wrong, our folks are more than generous and we have a healthy balance in our checking account.  I don't know what parishes do who live on the edge.  Snow removal is not an option and it is very costly.   We have lots of walks at CTK and some storms have cost over $4,000 just for the

Perhaps during our reflections during this day of Lent, we could focus on Psalm 51 that we prayed in between the two readings.  “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” Somehow the heart has become a symbol of emotion, attitude, or whatever it might be.  Thousands of years ago, it was thought that the heart was the place of all reason and not the brain; it was the heart.  It’s carried over in the centuries where we see it on mugs and t-shirts, “I heart whatever it might be…New York, Mashpee, or Cape Cod.” What the psalm says is that God is not pleased with sacrifices or burnt offerings; what he’s pleased with is a contrite spirit - a humble, contrite heart.  Part of our Lent is to be aware of the presence of sin in our life and to be contrite; to offer contrition and to be assured that no matter what, God is always ready to forgive.

I googled "lent" and was surprised to see that there is "Lent for Dummies".  I guess this is an online version of the popular series "for dummies".  What I found was that the author was really the dummy.  He only focused on the penitential part of lent and even then he was wrong when he said that all the Fridays of lent are fasting days. Not so.  They are days of abstaining from meat.  Only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days when you fast by eating one main meatless meal and two lesser ones.  And when you begin your 60th year you are not required to do even that.  How I wished the author talked not only "taking away" during Lent but also about "adding on".  We should "add on" to our spiritual life during Lent  by prayer, maybe daily mass if that is possible.  We should "add on" by reaching out and caring for others.  I just read a blog that suggested a lenten practice for today as asking someone how they are do

It’s hard to believe from our personal experience, but down in Florida, the Red Sox have started Spring Training.  They will be reviewing the fundamentals of the game, being prepared for the start of the season. I mentioned in my homily over the weekend that the word Lent itself is an ancient English word for “spring.”  Maybe we could hear the call for us to review the fundamentals of our call to discipleship.  The reading from Matthew, which comes during the very first week of Lent, is a summary of the fundamentals.  How you treat the other is how you are treating Christ.

Today's readings remind us that we are not doomed, although many of us struggling with ice dams and never-ending, sharp-pointed  icicles might think otherwise. After the flood, the God says to Noah not to worry.   "...never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood...I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you..."  In the psalm we hear: "...Your ways, O Lord, are love and truth to those who keep your covenant." In our second reading from St. Peter he tells us about baptism that saves us through water.  He tells us that Christ leads us to God.

Homily February 22, 2015 First Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Readings for Today's Homily To watch the entire Mass click The Mass

In October of this year there will be a General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on “The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.” The General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops has requested a broad consultation of the laity.  If you would like to submit comments to the Diocese of Fall River for possible inclusion in a summary of all responses, please click “Responses” . The deadline for responses is March 13, 2015 .Any questions may be posed by clicking Claire McManus , Director of the Office of Faith Formation of the Diocese. She will be creating the summary of the responses.

Another Peanuts cartoon?  Sorry, I cannot resist.  The snow is still falling, softly and peacefully.   Such tranquility.  We need another broom. As Jesus once said (I think), “Good things..."   So, let's be patient and not give up.   The sun will come out tomorrow, or perhaps on Ash Wednesday.  Believe!  And don't forget your ashes. Deacon David Pierce

Monkey see, monkey do.  This expression was first heard in the early 1920s, and we still use it today, especially with children.  It’s about mimicking with little to no concern about the consequences of our actions.  It’s blind-folded imitation.  We do it because they did it.  We buy it because they bought it.  We pass on the gossip because we heard it. Today’s second reading from St. Paul is about imitation but with good purpose and with our knowing the consequence of what we do.  Writing about 2,000 years ago, Paul gives us his heartfelt, timely, and timeless advice about the right kind of imitation.   He says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”  In other words, imitate Christ.  And this makes complete sense because Jesus never said, “Worship me.”   He said, “Follow me…Be not afraid…Do what I do…Be thankful… Forgive... See my face in the faces of others…Love God” 

The Blizzard and a message about Mass from Msgr. Hoye

Homily February 14, 2015 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

I presided at a burial at the National Cemetery yesterday. It was cold! I had visited Bob a few times in the hospital and had recently given him Communion. I had met some of the family in the hospital but several others were not able to make it until the funeral. One of the people I saw at the grave site was a girl who I had known some twenty years ago. I remember her well because she was always vibrant and full of live and helped serving at Mass every week. Her mother also helped me with the Confirmation class. I almost didn't recognize her until she spoke to me and said “Hi Deacon Beckel” and I knew immediately who she was and surprisingly remembered her name. She had a papoose draped around her front in the bitterly cold weather. It was her daughter. We talked for a few minutes and would have liked to talk much longer and catch up on the years since we had seen each other but the cold prevented that. She also had to show off her newborn daughter to her cousins who she probabl

Happy Valentine’s Day!   Roses are red, and violets are blue, on Valentine’s Day, we all love You!   Today is about love.  1 John 4:7-21 (God’s Love and Christian Life) perhaps says it best: “…Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also love one another.  No one has ever seen God.  Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us and God’s love is brought to perfection in us…God is love…” So, love somebody, whoever they are!  Deacon David Pierce

The snow has fallen (and fallen...and fallen…) so here we are watching the icicles form off our roofs topped with mounds of snow (and ice).   And today the sun is shining!  Finally.    It’s a perfect day (Friday the 13th) to enjoy the beauty of our Cape Cod landscapes and the sunshine against the backdrop of Christ the King. But, oh.  Snow and blizzard conditions are expected for Saturday and into Sunday.   Hmmm.   I think I’ll find my corgi, Mary Lou (under the bed, not on the dog house).  Time to go chase rabbits (ok, some squirrels).  Good luck everyone.   See you Sunday, if all goes well.   I'm sure it will!   Hope springs eternal.   So, where is spring?  Just a few short weeks away.  All right, about a month. Deacon David Pierce

Valentine’s Day is this Saturday, and many of us are thinking (especially us men): “It's just another day.”  On the contrary, it’s a very special day.  Yes, it’s man and woman-made, but it serves a purpose.  We are to remind ourselves of the importance of the loved ones in our lives.  For married couples, who have more than a few years under our belts (quite typical of Christ the King parishioners), routine and familiarity may have made us forget what drew us to our mate many years ago.  How about those early years when everything was so new, challenging, and exciting?!  It’s time to remember, reflect, and recharge. There’s a song that should help.  Jesus would approve, and why not?   Carrie Underwood first became famous with her “Jesus Take the Wheel” smash hit.   The song is called “Remind Me” she sings with Brad Paisley.   Find it on youtube.  Deacon David Pierce

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He was a man who grew up as an orphan with no religion, fathered a child out of wedlock, lived a depraved, drunken, womanizing life, and yet he is considered a modern day saint. He became a beatnik peace activist, an anti-war and civil-rights crusader, and embraced Buddhism and Hinduism because he was interested in what each said about the depth of the human experience, and yet he is one of the most influential Catholic writers of the 20th century. After he became a monk and a hermit, he fell deeply in love with a nursing student half his age who he wrote poems to reflecting on their relationship, and yet he inspires hope in our ability to change. He was accidentally electrocuted in Thailand by a faulty fan as he emerged from a bathtub when he was 53. Thomas Merton would have been 100 on January 31st. Thomas Merton was a prolific and popular writer whose books inspired millions of people. I remember reading No Man Is An Island as an assignment in college. The book inspired me at

Homily February 8, 2015 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Good grief!  Our first reading from the Book of Job is quite a downer (7:1-4, 6-7).  Then again, many of us likely share his sleepless nights and deep depression clearly expressed as: “So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me.  If in bed I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.  My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle; they come to an end without hope…”   Job is brokenhearted, and our responsorial psalm is a salve.  “Praise the LORD, who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds…The LORD sustains the lowly; the wicked he casts to the ground.”  However, Job and many of us may disagree because the LORD often seems absent with the wicked walking around and smiling broadly, much to our dismay and the pleasure of their accompanying demons.  Job certainly was plagued by demons and even more so by Satan to test his resolve and faith.

According to today’s reading from Hebrews, we are to: “Obey your leaders and defer to them, for they keep watch over you and will have to give an account…”  St. Paul wrote this foolishness!? Actually, he did not.  According to Marcus Borg in his wonderfully written book “Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written” (2012):  “We do not know who wrote it.  In the 200s, an early Christian theologian named Origen said that its author ‘was known only to God.’  In the centuries since, there have been guesses.  Around the year 400, Augustine and Jerome suggested it was written by Paul, and thus it has sometimes been called the 14th letter of Paul…” Back then, following the leader(s) made sense to those wanting communities to accept a certain theology.  For example, according to Borg, “For Hebrews, Jesus is not only the great high priest, but also the sacrifice.  What he sacrificed was his life.  Moreover, his sacrifice rendered temple sacrifice unnecessa

Today’s reading from Hebrews begins with one of the best pieces of advice ever given:  “Let brotherly love continue.  Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.”      Another gem is: “Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body.” This advice is especially worth mentioning because in two months the Permanent Diaconate’s Aspirancy Program begins anew in New Bedford when twice a week until the end of May many men believing they have been “called” to be a deacon will gather to be “introduced to a deeper knowledge of theology, of spirituality, and of the ministry of the deacon.” 

Unclean spirits and demons – we hear so much about them and how Jesus and then the 12 apostles drove them out of people, according to today’s Gospel reading (Mark 6:7-13).   The meaning of all this scary talk is made clearer when we remember what Jesus did earlier, according to Mark.  In the preceding chapter of Mark we read about Jesus’ healing of the Gerasene demoniac who “dwelled among the tombs” and who had an “unclean spirit.”   Jesus asked his name, and the demoniac replied, “Legion is my name.  There are many of us.”   It has been suggested that “Legion” is used because it ties uncleanliness (hearts turned away from God) and demon-like behavior to the Roman Legionnaires who prowled the countryside and the cities, especially Jerusalem. Mark wrote his gospel around 70 A.D.   In 66 A.D. the Jews revolted against Roman rule.   The consequence: in 70 A.D. the legions re-conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the temple – an unimaginable event for 1st century Jews such a

Mighty deeds for a mighty king?   Today’s reading from Mark describes Jesus returning to his “native place, accompanied by his disciples.  He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished.  They said, ‘Where did this man get all this?  What kind of wisdom has been given him?  What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!  Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary…” Of course, Jesus was not a king, notwithstanding the fact that we all worship at Christ the King.  He was a carpenter, son of Mary and Joseph.  Nevertheless, he did “mighty deeds,” many of which we know very well.  Some of his mightiest deeds were healing the lowly, welcoming the outcasts, and defending the poor despite the outcries and complaints from those in power and who felt threatened.  Another would be his sacrifice on the cross.

Today’s readings are about touch and faith.   In our Gospel reading from Mark we hear of the synagogue official named Jairus who fell at Jesus’ feet and pleaded with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death.  Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.”    Jesus took the 12-year old by the hand and said to her, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”  And, she did.  Jesus had said to her father, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” We hear of the suffering woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.   She touched Jesus’ clothes and was cured:  “Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.”    Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” How many of us have faith in the ones we love that their embraces, their kisses – their touch – will make us well?  When we are hurting and crying; when we feel lost and alone and we reach out to touch and hold their hands or cry on their shou

Will he see his shadow?  Our Lord’s?   No, Punxsutawney Phil’s.   Please Phil, don’t see your shadow.  Enough snow already!   Today is Groundhog Day when Phil comes out of his burrow on Gobbler’s Knob in Pennsylvania.   The President of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's Inner Circle holds Phil up to the sky.   Phil’s job: predict the weather for the rest of the winter.   No shadow means an early spring; otherwise, six more weeks of cold and snow.    Phil is “presented” to the citizens and thousands of his followers around the world (crazy) as part of this annual tradition of a fun and funny event during winter’s peak.   He gives us an odd sort of hope that the light and warmth of spring are near.

4:30 Mass & Children's Homilies for The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass Children's Homily