The King's Corner

Many years ago in my Coast Guard life, while stationed in Hawaii, my family and I met an Army Chaplain by the name of Fr. Mac. Fr. Mac was a type who would use visual aids in order to get a point across.  Once a year he would have the community celebrate what he called "TRASH SUNDAY".    What made me think of this, is of course the Holy Father's Encyclical Letter LAUDATO SI'. The way we celebrated this event was we came into the chapel and we had to wade through papers, bottles and cans and other trash in order to get to our pews. The lesson for the day involved, care for the environment.  We learned to be aware of the carelessness of discarding bottles and cans and other debris from our cars or beaches, or public ways. With the celebration of September 1st as being "the World Day of Prayer for the Care of creation" I think it is fitting to be reminded again to discard trash in an appropriate way. To be aware, and act. Just a couple of suggestions may be t

Paul went to Thessalonia in about the year 50, and he stayed for almost 2 years before moving on to Corinth.  When he’s in Corinth, he hears that the Thessalonians have missed some of his teaching.  They thought that anybody who believed in Christ would be alive until His second coming – which was thought to be imminent.  The reading that we have today tries to correct that. “We don’t want you to be unaware about those who have fallen asleep.”  In other words, he is saying they will rise as well.  This reading is often proclaimed at a funeral Mass; I always like to focus on the sentence “We don’t want you to be unaware so that you may not grieve like the rest who have no hope.” We grieve, we’re sorrowful, and death affects us—but we have hope.  Maybe that’s what we need to hear this morning.  That in the face of death, you and I as believers can have hope in life. Monsignor Daniel Hoye

Homily for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 29, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Psalm 139 New International Version 1 You have searched me, Lord,     and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I stand;     you perceive my thoughts from afar. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?     Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;     if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. When I was young, I had this big fear of God. I was always afraid that God could see into my heart and could read my every thought. After all, I was always taught that God is all seeing and all knowing. I used to try and hide from him to see if that feeling of fear would go away. I’d go into my room and close the door to see if I could escape Him there – I’d even hide under the covers. No! He could see me there. I just knew it. He could see through walls and even under blankets. Wherever I went, He was always there. That was scary. This week, Psalm 139 was used for two days in a row in the readings. Yesterday I got a book marke

We all know the saying you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. And that seems to be what Paul is getting at when he says " Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you, not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves" Perhaps we are being invited today to be gentle with others. Gentle with others who need our compassion and understanding and maybe our forgiveness. We were gentle among you.

Back in the 80's there was a popular TV show called Cheers, a place where everybody knows your name.   The poor Saint that we celebrate today can't say that about himself; not everybody knows his name.  In Matthew, Mark and Luke, he's known as Bartholomew.  But in John's gospel, the one we heard from today, he's called Nathaniel.   Scholars don't quite have an explanation, but they say it is because in the story in the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, Phillip brings Bartholomew to Jesus, and here we have, in John's Gospel, Phillip bringing Nathaniel to Jesus. Nathaniel is one of the few people that Jesus pays a great compliment to.  He compliments his cousin John that nobody else was born of a woman greater than John.  In this section of the gospel He says of Nathaniel “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”  High praise from Jesus! Then Jesus says I knew you; I saw you under the fig tree.  Nathaniel is amazed at this

“You got to be kidding me. Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Talk about prejudging, let alone being prejudice about a faction of people, namely anyone who comes from Nazareth. That is the first response of Nathaniel, also known as Bartholomew in the synoptic Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and Luke, when Philip tells Nathaniel that they had found the one the prophets had talked about – Jesus. Today we celebrate the feast day of Nathaniel/Bartholomew. Nathaniel, like all of us, receives the “call” to come and follow Jesus. In Baptism we are all called but we may not always understand what that means until later in life when the power of the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. I thought I was called to the priesthood when I was young. I loved reading about the saints, especially the missionaries, the ones who went and spread the word of God to many distant places. I also liked the idea of helping those people to a better life. Alas, God had other plans for me, like being married and havi

Homily for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 23, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass .

Weddings are a beautiful thing.   Today my “youngest” son weds.   At 35 years, I’d say it’s about time.  Then again, one has to find the right woman, and he finally did.   I found mine at age 18. Long ago a Teddy Bear was his most prized possession.   Now it’s a young woman although she’s far from being a possession.  Nevertheless, they will belong to each other. August 22 truly will be a time to rejoice for my family and hers!   I hope my wife and I can master those Greek dances.

Today we hear Jesus say, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”   How often have we heard this command?   Quite often and perhaps so much so that it has lost some of its meaning or emphasis. It's a bit difficult to comply with what Jesus wants of us because there’s no touching involved.  We cannot physically touch God, and we certainly better not touch our neighbors except for those friendly hand-shakes, pats on the back, and high-five’s.  Touching is so very important.   Consider a recent article in the magazine “Scientific American Mind” entitled The Social Power of Touch: A long-overlooked system of nerves that respond to gentle strokes may be crucial to our ability to form connections with one another.   The cover-title is: Wired for Touch: New discoveries about the sense that binds us to others.

In today’s Gospel reading we hear of an oath sworn to God.  “ The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.  He passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and through Mizpah-Gilead as well, and from there he went on to the Ammonites. Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. “If you deliver the Ammonites into my power,” he said, “whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites shall belong to the LORD.  I shall offer him up as a burnt offering.” He wins, and who is first to meet him when he returns?  His daughter, his only child, is the one.   After two months away to mourn, she returns and willingly gives her life keeping her father’s vow to God. [Oops, Jephthah said, "I shall offer him up as a burnt offering."  Loophole!  Jephthah should have said, "Sorry God, my daughter is not a 'he.' No burning today."] Just goes to show: be careful what we promise or vow!  Therefore, as a deacon who witnesses marriages, I often won

My homily on Sunday used a fable from Aesop.  Here’s another one calling our attention to friendship. Two friends were traveling together.  As they went down a country road, they met a large bear.  One of the friends quickly climbed a tree and hid himself in the branches; the other man who was slower afoot, lay down and pretended to be dead – for bears it is said, will not touch a dead creature.  The bear ambled up and sniffed around the man’s head, but the man held his breath and after a while the bear took himself off. 

"On Care For Our Common Home (Laudato Si)" is Pope Francis’ latest encyclical letter.  I hope it continues to raise awareness of the plight of our planet Earth.   It appears the Pope won’t let it fade from view.   He intends to keep it front and center, as he should and as he must. Thomas Aquinas once said: “All things love God.  All things are united according to friendship to each other and to God.”  Now that’s wisdom!  Can we relate to it?  If we can subscribe to that belief, then we come closer to becoming Christian mystics with love for the earth and our bodies. Helping us better understand this point is writer Matthew Fox who identified the Aquinas quote and built upon it.  He said in his 2011 book "Christian Mystics:" “Given the state of the world, it would seem this is a rather naïve teaching – that all things love another – from a brilliant but naïve pre-modern thinker [Aquinas].  Or is this the mystic’s way of recognizing what science today calls the

A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good.  If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”  He asked him, “Which ones?”

Refer to Sunday Reading Do you remember when you received your "First Holy Communion"?  I remember how all my relatives and our neighbors had something to say to me or gave me a special gift.  Most of all I remember the anticipation of receiving the precious body of Christ.  There was an excitement that was shared by my school mates, the nuns who taught us and it seemed like everyone was happy for me and felt a real joy.  At dinner that day, my mom made a bread pudding with raisins and cinnamon.  NOW that was a party, in one day I had received two kinds of soul food.  Two kinds of bread.

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 15, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

A special blessing at Christ the King Parish was given in word and song to Matthew Laird as he begins his discernment at St. John's Seminary , Boston MA. Please keep Matt in your prayers.

Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 8, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

SUMMER  CATHOLIC  REFLECTIONS 2015 Speakers Series Bishop Lynch will reflect on the pontificates of Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis. Three very different styles but serving the one Church.

We are so lucky to live on Cape Cod.  Most of us are only a few minutes from a beach.  I remember living in DC for fourteen years.  You had to drive an hour or two to get to the ocean.  A beach can have a calming effect, especially when the weather cooperates.  I invite you today to give thanks to God for the gift of our environment here on the Cape.   Pope Francis offered a prayer in his recent encyclical, Laudato Si:   ""All powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.  You embrace with tenderness all that exists.  Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty...."   And I might add, give thanks for all that we have. Monsignor Hoye

The word for today is “persistence.”  It’s the persistence of the Canaanite that ended up with her daughter being cured; she went back to the Lord again and again and again. Perhaps you and I can be persistent in our prayers – in the prayers we have.  Perhaps for another; in this case in Matthew’s Gospel she is praying for her daughter.  Maybe also for ourselves – that we be persistent in trying to change our behavior, our actions, or our habits. The Lord listens and answers our prayers. Monsignor Daniel Hoye

Today is the Memorial of St. John Vianney, the patron of diocesan priests.  Please ask him to help young men to consider a vocation to priesthood.  Studies show that young men oftentimes begin to consider the priesthood when someone asks them if they ever thought of becoming a priest.  I recall the nuns in grammar school doing just that on a regular basis.  It has been noted on this blog before that Christ the King is celebrating one of its own going to the Seminary in a few weeks.  That does not mean he will automatically be ordained in six years but it does mean he will continue to discern whether or not he feels called to priesthood.  Please say a prayer for Matt Laird as he takes this important step in his life. Monsignor Hoye

Several artists have given us renditions of the scene from Matthew’s Gospel.  The disciples in the boat with the storm raging – maybe something like we had this morning; then Peter getting out of the boat and walking toward Jesus on the water. Several commentators suggest that this is a rich passage of prayer – when we think of the storms that take place in our own lives, we are being tossed about by different challenges or situations.  Peter doesn’t ask for the storm to be taken away, but that he come to Jesus. You and I can think of the storms in our lives and start to go toward Christ.  We only are in danger when we take our lives off of Him and sense the danger we are in.  The Lord doesn’t take away the storm necessarily but assures us of His presence; that He will be with us to overcome the dangers or the challenges in our life. Monsignor Daniel Hoye

Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ August 2, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

I once heard August referred to as “one long Sunday night.”  The reasoning behind this is that summer is (sadly) winding down.  While August can be seen as an “ending,” we should really look at it as a beginning, too. This month, summer is ending, many tourists are leaving, and at the end, temperatures begin to drop.  It is also a beginning as many 18 year olds move away from home for the first time to begin college, some to boarding (high) school, some to grad school, and many (like yours truly) move back to college.  All students and teachers start a new year of school.  August is also my birthday month...the beginning of yet another year. Perhaps as these beginnings grow closer, we can look at them with the glass half full approach.  Yes, August is the end of the relaxing summer vacation (and weather!) for many, but it is also a beginning.  When one door opens, another door closes. I would like to make a request for all reading this blog – to pray for all of those who will b