The King's Corner

Homily for November 29, 2015 First Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Some say that this reading from Daniel about words being written on the wall is the origin of our saying, “handwriting on the wall.”  If you take that image of handwriting on the wall and hear the Gospel of Luke talking about persecution – that it’s going to happen to the early Christian community.  What might be written on the wall are the words of the song and the novel, “ I Never Promised You a Rose Garden .” Jesus’ prophets face difficulties of persecution and betrayal, but in the end, He promises that He remains with them.  “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.  By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Maybe if we’re going through a difficult time – the pain is real, the challenge is real, but the promise is real as well.  Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. Monsignor Daniel Hoye

Click for the homily from our Mass of Thanksgiving  click to watch the entire Mass

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Homily for November 22, 2015 The Solemnity Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

On Sunday, November 22, we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King, the namesake for our parish. Our parish was formed 31 years ago in 1984 on this feast day and our Church was dedicated five years later on this date in 1989. It is appropriate that Thanksgiving is also celebrated during the same week since we have much to be thankful for. Our parish is vibrant and alive! Just look at all the ministries we have and the number of people that participate in them. I recently replaced Deacon Lemay as the Spiritual Director of the St. Vincent DePaul Society. I was amazed with the number of volunteers who were members; over 280people serving in the Food Pantry and Thrift Shop. I know some churches in Falmouth that don’t have that many in their entire congregation. What a blessing! At the risk of leaving someone out, here are a few ministries that are active in our parish: Catholic Women’s Club, Knights of Columbus, Respect Life Ministry, Faith Formation Teachers and Mentors, 50+ Club,

This happens to be National Bible Week so I thought I’d share some thoughts on my experience in studying the bible. I go to a Bible Study at the Falmouth Hospital every Thursday during lunch for an hour. I enjoy going to it but it often lasts too long and I don’t like taking time away from visiting the patients. The group has grown to have an average of twelve people attending. They consist of doctors, nurses, chaplains, and others from outside the hospital who have been invited to attend. It was started and run by one of the surgeons who happens to be a very traditional Protestant (whatever that means). Since one normally thinks that Catholics don’t read the bible you would think most of the people would be Protestant, but actually at over half of them are Catholic which I think is interesting. I just read an article on Crux called “ Why don’t Catholics read the Bible ?” In it, he claims that is a fallacy but Protestants and Catholics do use the bible in different ways. Evangelical

This morning I gave a homily to the First Communion group at the 8:30 Mass. I hadn’t been at that Mass for a long time since I am normally at the 5:30 on Sunday afternoon. I miss alternating with the other Masses so it was nice to see the kids coming up around the altar. I sort of liked it. I only wish I had read the readings for the day before I volunteered to fill at the Mass. The readings are sort of dark and foreboding about the end of times. The first letter from Daniel talks about “a time unsurpassed in distress,” and says many will awake from the dust of the earth and shall live in “an everlasting horror and disgrace.” The Gospel says “the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky.” These are all subjects you really don’t want to talk about to a bunch of second graders.

Homily for November 15, 2015 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily   To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

The wish of a child; the longing for lost ones.  God knows they are happy, and we believe the same.   Deacon David Pierce

Along with the new movie “Spotlight” profiling the Boston Globe’s 2002 investigation of clergy abuse and cover up by church hierarchy – a movie for which Roman Catholic Church leaders have provided talking points highlighting progress we have made in preventing and responding to sexual abuse of children by clergy – we’re now faced with another embarrassing event.     Although very far from the seriousness of abuse, this new yet not very surprising event makes it clear that Pope Francis, who is praised for his vision of the church (especially by the poor and the disenfranchised and certainly by the vast majority of Catholics), is embattled and being resisted from within by those still focused on power, prestige, privilege, and money.  Yesterday's Boston Globe explains in an article entitled "Pope calls on church to shun power."   The Associated Press article begins: "Pope Francis insisted Tuesday that the Catholic Church shun all temptations of power, prest

Today is Veterans Day.   We remember those alive or dead, permanently wounded or healed – the many men and women who have risked or given their lives for our country.  Most have not willingly died but were willing to risk everything for what they held dear – liberty and defense of freedom for ourselves and others.   Many men and women have been volunteers signing up for one or a few tours of duty – some as careers.    In years gone by, such as during the heinous Vietnam War, many young men just out of High School were drafted and forced to serve and then deal with the horrors of combat and serious injury - seen and unseen.  Many families dealt with unspeakable losses.   Personally, I have no real clue about those horrors because I never experienced them.   But I know many who have and now these veterans continue to return from the Middle Eastern deserts and cities where wars are fought from building to building and from street to street.  The movies American Sniper (2014) and Th

I recently attended a business meeting in St. Augustine, Florida.   Having a banquet at the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park, the organization to which I belong – the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission – found its members close to the shore on a nearby marsh.   With the Park being in darkness with hardly a light anywhere (poor planning by the organizers), I wandered alone down a long pier suspended over the water.   In the distance was a large cross lit for all to see. I didn’t experience any loss of years and aging bringing me back to when I was 18 (heaven forbid), even though I was somewhere near the fountain.  However, I did experience what a cross – be it a crucifix or a simple cross of wood – always is supposed to do.  It reminded me of the presence of Jesus, and even though I was alone in the darkness, Christ was with me.  In the silence of the evening with fish stirring the waters below, I could almost hear Christ say: “Peace I leave with you; m

Outside of one’s parish church, it’s unusual to observe the anniversary of the dedication of a church.  But today, we pause and reflect on the importance of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.  It really is the Pope’s cathedral – not St. Peter’s – it’s St. John.  It dates back to the 4th Century – not the original building, it was burnt, destroyed, and rebuilt. If you ever go to Rome, there’s a magnificent baptistery right next to the Church.  When I was in Rome on sabbatical, we had a priest instructing us on the importance of liturgy and also architecture.  He was really enthused about the baptistery, and he had one of those laser things showing us.  He got halfway up and said the rest is all medieval, don’t worry about it. I read a story about John Lateran that I had not heard before.  When St. Francis of Assisi was trying to get a movement recognized by the Church, he went to Rome and was not received very well by some power at be that thought it was much too radical the way he

A new movie highlights the importance of science in solving difficult and seemingly unsolvable problems.   That movie is "The Martian" starring Matt Damon of "The Bourne Identity" and "The Departed" fame. Science is front and center in this movie with science applications never more evident than with the crew of the spaceship dealing with a Mars expedition mishap for Damon and his shipmates.   When faced with isolation on Mars and with only his wits to save himself for a hoped-for rescue, he turns to a wooden crucifix for help.   He needed the wood of the cross to survive.  Jesus saves. Apart from the crucifix and what Damon did with it (and what he said when he held it up in front of his face), his exploits based on his creativity, ingenuity, and his own astronaut-honed skills and intelligence make one appreciate that there is far more to life and enjoyment than asinine TV reality shows.   Deacon David Pierce

Saturday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time November 7, 2015 Thinking about the message in Luke’s Gospel I’m reminded of a series of commercials that ran in the 1980s for a certain Lite beer based around that jingle, “Who says you can’t have it all?” The TV spots showed a certain demographic we called “yuppies” back then, who supposedly did have it all.  Like the guy at work in a pinstripe suit and later in the same day, jamming with his rock n roll band. One of the challenges of our time IS that desire to have it all.  We want to be people of faith and, at the same time, want to be part of the values of our culture.  Serving God is irreconcilable with earthly wealth; we can't have it both ways.  We can't serve two masters.  Jesus teaches that placing HIM at the center of our lives is the way to eternal happiness.  Today, each of us can ask ourselves if the Lord is the true center of our lives. What possessions, or status, or dream is standing in the way of our

I read recently that some cultures have the tradition of talking about three deaths that we all undergo.  The first death is when the person dies; stops breathing.  The second death is when they’re buried in the ground.  The third death is when no one on earth remembers them. That’s not the Catholic tradition, because we have a feast like today that we remember all the dead.  We may not know their names, but we pray for them.  We believe that our prayers are effective in helping them finalize the process in being united with the Lord. When I was a child, I can recall being encouraged to pray for the most abandoned souls in purgatory.  Maybe that’s what we can do today as well as we gather to commemorate the dead.  We pray not that their death is final, but that their unification with Christ is achieved. Monsignor Daniel Hoye