The King's Corner

With Pope Francis now making daily headlines, there's so much text to read.   It's all great stuff and very enjoyable.    Applause and praise are heard everywhere, so it seems.  This cartoon seems to boil it all down to a simple fact. Deacon David Pierce

Recently my wife and I spotted (actually, she did) a photo in a book highlighting weddings on Nantucket – one of our favorite places to visit.   It had the lyrics of a Van Morrison song written in script on a large door panel above the knob. Entitled “Have I Told You Lately,” I was reminded of all the weddings at which I’ve presided this summer.   Wonderful young men and women full of love for each other and about to become “one flesh,” caused me to wonder: will they beat the odds and remain together after many years?  I’ll now use these lyrics in many of the homilies I will give at future weddings and suggest husband and wife find a door panel on which to write:

Readings for today's Homily Today's gospel reminds us of the need to balance two things: (1) the impact of external forces --especially other people—on the moral choices we make and (2) the personal responsibility we each must take for our own moral choices. One the one hand, Jesus acknowledges the effect one person can have on another in choosing right or wrong.  He expresses it in the negative "It would be better if anyone who leads astray one of these little ones to be plunged in the sea with a great millstone fastened around his neck." Yes, we can help lead others to sin.  Conversely however, we can help others to live lives of virtue. My example, or lack thereof; my encouragement, or lack thereof, my speaking up or being silent all play a role in what the other does. To be sure, peer pressure plays an important role with human beings at all stages in our lives.  Perhaps it is most noticeable during adolescence when we are trying to clarify our own

Homily for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ September 12, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Pope Francis has recently made some changes in how annulments are processed.  Canon lawyers like myself are still studying the new norms. One time consuming step has been eliminated.  Up to now, once a tribunal gave a positive decision, it was automatically sent to another tribunal for a review.  Now if both parties agree with the first decision, no further review is needed, Another thing is that the bishop can make a decision for clear cases for annulment.  I am not sure how this will be done in a practical manner but I am sure the kinks will be worked out. The Pope also wishes the annulment process to be free of charge.  So do I.  I have kept the practice of my predecessor and tell folks that Christ the King parish will pay any expenses associated with the annulment process.  I hope our Diocese will eliminate the very very modest fees we have. If you want to know more about the possibility of an annulment of a previous marriage talk to your pastor.

Enjoy Live Streaming brought to you by the USCCB of Pope Francis visit to the United States Tuesday, September 22 – Sunday September 27 click for  Schedule of Events  or if you miss an event  Video on Demand

In a recent interview, Pope Francis told the story of dealing with a Franciscan priest who thought he may have "forgiven too much" in the sacrament of confession.  Needless to say, Pope Francis emphasized the mercy of God which has no bounds. It got me to thinking that I hope that I am a merciful confessor.  To the best of my memory I have never raised my voice during a confession.  Well, maybe once when dealing with an overly scrupulous person who had a set formula or list of sins to confess.  If something was skipped or even mispronounced, the penitent would start all over again.  After about the tenth time, I raised my voice to tell the person to stop! More than once I have  had a penitent  tell me that they had done something really awful and did not know if God would forgive.  I always assure him/her that God is always willing to forgive.  I also tell them an old story about what God does with our sins after they are forgiven.  He throws them to the middle of a big

Yesterday we had the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and today we have the Marian Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.  One of the sorrows of Mary is listed in the Gospel today; being at the foot of the cross.  The very first sorrow is the Flight into Egypt. As I was praying about this, I couldn't help but think of the images we are seeing over and over again of those who are fleeing, those who are refugees.  The paper today is full of images of those going onshore in the Greek islands or those who are walking along the railroad tracks trying to get from Hungary into Europe. I just can't imagine the sorrow that they are undergoing. Can you imagine your family fleeing the country with just what you have on your back and trying to get to a better place?  Perhaps as we observe this memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, we could just pray the Hail Mary for their intentions; that they may find peace and safety and happiness. Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Bl

As I am writing this, there is a change in the air.  You can feel the fall-like shift.  Weather reports say it will be warm again at the end of the week.  A priest friend of mine is depending on this return to warmer temperatures so he can make a few more visits to the beach. Here on Cape Cod you notice the difference in traffic.   Lots of our summer visitors have returned home and we can reclaim our roads.  It is nice to have them visit for the summer but it is nice to wish them safe travels home.  While I am not of those to stand on the overpass and wave good bye to the cars headed for the bridges, it is nice to have shorter lines at the supermarket, more parking spaces, etc. Of course there is a downside to this shift for the parish.  Collections will tend to go down and in February they will flatten out.  Christ the King does not have anything to worry about when it comes to financial support from our parishioners.  They are very generous.  But you do notice the difference wh

Homily for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ September 12, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Today marks the fourteenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, a day that will never leave the minds of Americans all over the country.  It was a day that changed our world forever; the changes are still felt fourteen years later. Everybody remembers where they were that day when they heard the news.  For me, I was in first grade and I was sitting on the rug of the classroom when my teacher told us that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center.  I can even remember the clothes that I had on and which kids were sitting next to me.  One classmate of mine stated that he thought his grandfather was on that plane (he was confused and fortunately that ended up not being the case).  My six-year-old self tried to wrap my head around all that had been described to me.  “How could somebody do this?  Why would somebody want to kill others?”  I had a hard time understanding that there was evil in the world.  It hit home in many ways, as my father did (and still does

Courage, one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, is so valuable on this journey of life.  Just the other night on ABC, we heard Pope Francis tell the young girl to “Be courageous!”  Bishop da Cunha also touched upon this in his homily at Christ the King on Sunday.  If you haven’t watched the ABC special, I highly recommend it! During the special, Pope Francis spoke to a single mother of two girls, saying, “I want to tell you one thing; I know it’s not easy to be a single mother.  I know that people can sometimes look askance at you.  But I’ll tell you one thing, you’re a brave woman, because you were capable of bringing these two daughters into the world…” “…God will reward you for that; He does reward you for that.  Don’t be ashamed, hold your head high…” After hearing this, I realize that courage is needed very often in our lives—more than we realize ourselves!  We need courage to overcome sadness, grief, illness, or injury.  I recall the courage my grandmother had going throug

Since the last time I posted on this blog, I have moved back to Saint Joseph’s College of Maine for RA Training and my Junior Year.  I must say, things are going well here in “Monks Country” as we call it (the Monks are our school mascot).  Although it was my second time going through training, I still learned a lot and felt the motivation to do even better at my job as an RA.  Our freshman class gives me lots of hope—hope for the future of our Church and society.  Oh, and classes are going well, too!  I do miss my family of faith at Christ the King very much and pray for you always. Today, many students (and teachers!) throughout the country go back to school.  Perhaps as we go about this day and the days ahead, we can keep them in our prayers.  It’s an exciting yet nerve-wracking time for students, teachers, and parents, and we should support them with our prayers. St. Thomas Aquinas is the patron saint of students and all universities.  May we invoke his intercession as we emba

Homily for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ September 6, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass