The King's Corner

How appropriate it is to talk about love in the weeks following Christmas. In the reading of the gospel for December 31, John starts with the true beginning of Jesus, even before his birth in human form. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn1:1-18) In addition, the first readings for daily Mass in the Octave of Christmas and during the week of Epiphany are taken primarily from the first letter of John, which focuses on love. Probably the most powerful of all the readings is from the fourth chapter of  John’s first letter ,  “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only-begotten Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.”

It’s New Year’s Eve and time to make our resolutions.   Here’s one.   We promise not to paint all Muslims with the tar created by demonic terrorist Islamic cults such as al-Qaida and ISIS.  We promise not to become Islamophopes playing into the hands of terrorists who want us to condemn all Muslims in ways similar to Donald Trump’s call to exclude all Muslims from entering the United States.   We promise to learn the distinction between the orthodox religion of Islam and the cults. I suggest we pay attention to today’s Cape Cod Times Opinion expressed by Dr. Abdul Cader Asmal in his piece “Distinctions between Islam and heretical offshoots.”   Dr. Asmal is past president of the Islamic Center of Boston and the Islamic Council of New England.   His views are great food-for-thought as we cross the threshold into 2016. Deacon David Pierce

Homily for December 26, 2015 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Homily for December 25, 2015 Christmas Vigil Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass Also for your viewing pleasure follow the link to: Photo Gallery ~  2105 Mass on Christmas Eve

Today we hear about babies in wombs – Elizabeth’s and Mary’s.  These are two remarkable women who carried two remarkable men: Jesus and John the Baptist.  John leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when Jesus was near.  With Jesus being near us – just 5 days away – it’s time for all of us to leap with joy because like John, we can sense his presence – his nearness. What’s more life-giving than a woman’s womb.  From the moment a fertilized cell implants; to the developing embryo and then the fetus; to the baby that grows during its relatively brief stay in its mother’s body, the womb is that place of life and safety before the baby leaves and we hear its first cry.   We’ve all had that place in our mother’s womb with Psalm 139 telling us that’s where our relationship with God begins.   It reads: “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works!”  And it is the hope of every father and mother that our children w

Homily for December 19, 2015 Fourth Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

A week ago I bought the IPhone 6S.  On the second day, totally due to my fault, the phone was disabled and had to be reconnected via the I cloud.  Thanks to a media savvy friend, I am up and running again but for almost 48 hours I was isolated from all social media.  While I do not consider myself addicted to the phone, I really missed sending and receiving email and text messages.  When the phone was disabled I could receive calls but there was no outgoing service.Withdrawing from social media is a challenge indeed.  I recall when I was a newly ordained priest in 1972 I shared hospital duty with the other curate (remember those days when there were three priests in a parish???  The pastor never took the hospital duty!!).  Well there were no such things as mobile phones...not even pagers!  If I left the rectory I would have to call the answering service to tell them the telephone number of the place where I would be.  Talk about a different world!!! Monsignor Hoye

For over 25 years I have read a story in place of giving a Christmas homily.  Most people enjoy this but sometimes I get criticized as well.  I am not sure if it's true or not but a parishioner in my former parish swears that she heard a man sitting behind her in church say in a stage whisper:  "What is it with this guy? Every time I come to Church he reads a story." (Remember I only do this at Christmas....get it?)   I have not yet chosen a story for this year.  I better get going.  Any suggestions? Monsignor Hoye

Growing up in our neighborhood, there was a couple that were both blind – the Maynards.  For the life of me I can never remember their first names; they were always “Mr. & Mrs. Maynard.”  They would go around town with guide dogs – two huge shepherds.  They were Catholic, so they had gone to church with us as well with the dogs, and the dogs would sit with them in a particular pew.  But when you went to their house for some reason, they didn’t use the guide dogs, because they knew where everything was and they could just sense what the proper way was (as long as nobody moved it). They came to mind today as I was thinking about the psalm.  “Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths.  Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are my God, my savior.” Sometimes we know precisely what to do; we know where the path of the Lord is – in our house.  But at other times, we’re walking down the street, we’d cross in traffic – we need guidance, we need help, we need assi

On December 8 Pope Francis inaugurated a Jubilee Year of Mercy.  He encouraged us to put mercy ahead of judgment.  During this year we need to thank God for the mercy he extends to us over and over again.  At the same time, we need to extend mercy to others.  That could be a real challenge.  Sometimes people hurt us deeply.  To extend mercy is not to say their actions are okay but that just as God forgives us, we need to do the best we can to let others experience our mercy. Monsignor Hoye

Homily for December 12, 2015 Third Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Homily for December 8, 2015 ~ Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary Readings for today's homily Today we as a church honor Mary for what she did in her life.  In acknowledging how perfect was her response to God's Word we believe that she was free from sin from the first moment of her existence. It is her Immaculate Conception that is the focus of our celebration today. What Mary did better than any human being who ever lived was to cooperate with the gift or the grace that was given her.  She was "full of grace" and "blessed among women". It is our belief that God's grace is offered to each of us in special ways.  Our task is to recognize how much God loves us and encourages us to live our lives in ways consistent with his will. On this feast of Mary, we recognize the fact that Mary--above all others--cooperated perfectly with God's presence within her--with God's grace.  We also need to see this feast

Today, December 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Many think that today’s celebration is about the conception of Jesus, but in reality, it is about Mary’s conception without sin.  It is also the Patronal Feast Day of the United States. Mary has always been a sign of peace to me.  I think of Mary as the gentle, caring, motherly type.  “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” is a favorite hymn of mine, as it is truly a prayer about our “Gentle Mother.” About six or seven years ago, I heard a story relating to the Hail Mary that has never left me.  The story is told about a husband and wife who went shopping at a mall together.  They decided to split up and do their own shopping – as they naturally had different stores they wanted to shop in.  About a half hour later, the woman was walking through the mall and saw EMTs running with a medical bag and a stretcher.  She was always taught to pray a Hail Mary every time that she heard an ambulance/saw EMTs going to a call.

Like most colleges, we are in the “home stretch” here at Saint Joseph’s College.  This coming week is the final week of classes, and final exams begin next Monday.  It is a very stressful time for many, with so many deadlines to be met. This past Friday night, I took a van of students from school to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland for the “Hour of Power.”  Every First Friday of the month, the Diocese of Portland’s young adult ministry puts on the “Hour of Power,” which is some time set aside for Eucharistic Adoration and Reconciliation.  This month, Bishop Robert Deeley, the Bishop of Maine, was the celebrant. It was very moving to see so many young (and not so young) people gather together.  Bishop Deeley led us as we prayed Vespers together.  Following Vespers, there was time for quiet prayer.  The silence I spent with the Lord among the busyness of final exams and the commercialism of the Christmas Season was so peaceful.  So often, people forget that Ad

Homily for December 6, 2015 Second Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass