The King's Corner

Homily for January 31, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

This week is Catholic Schools Week across America.  It’s a week set aside by NCEA (National Catholic Education Association) to celebrate Catholic education.  This year’s theme is “Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service,” and Catholic schools all over celebrate this week. I recall my time attending Catholic middle school and Catholic high school.  We had the Bishop celebrate Mass for all of the Cape Cod Catholic Schools, dress down days, dodge ball tournaments, quiz bowl tournaments, ice cream socials, and much more.  All of it was to recognize and appreciate the importance and value of Catholic Education. I have attended Catholic school for 10 years now (yikes…time flies).  It has been a blessing to be able to share and learn about my faith in an educational setting.  I credit it with “forming” me spiritually, academically, socially, and emotionally.  The three schools I have attended – St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School, St. John Paul II High School, a

(The Creche inside the Holy Child Jesus Church) This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel down to Washington D.C. with the residents of Saint John’s Seminary to participate in the annual March for Life. The march, held for the forty-third time this year, commemorates the anniversary of the controversial Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion in 1973. By attending the march, Catholic pilgrims and other defenders of life aim to act as “the voice of the voiceless” and witnesses of the dignity of all human life. The ultimate goal of the display is to raise awareness of the sanctity of life and to culminate in the end of legalized abortion. This was my sixth consecutive time attending this event and I count myself as truly blessed to have been able to be present at this demonstration so many times. Of course, it would be preferable if I didn’t have to keep traveling down to the nation’s capital each year, since each successive march marks yet another year of legal abo

(A picture I took at Kennebunkport Beach) Everybody needs a little silence now and then.  In today’s society where our attention is constantly fought for by a number of varied distractions such as cell phones, news stations and other social media outlets, silence has become a rare commodity. Thus, after a very busy first semester at Saint John’s Seminary, it was good to spend a week in silence before beginning the next phase of my discernment journey. The need for occasional periods of silence is something which Saint John’s Seminary readily recognizes, and for this reason all seminarians are annually required to attend a silent week-long retreat before the start of the spring semester. While seminarians are expected to remain silent during the retreat, mere outward silence is not the end goal. The outward silence, i.e. not talking, is meant to foster an environment in which one can create the inner silence necessary for deep prayer with the Lord.  This year’s retreat was he

Homily for January 24, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Homily for January 17, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

We’ve all heard the expression:  "You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear."  It’s an expression that can be used to put someone down or to give up on that person.  Let’s say a student won’t study, won’t do homework, and is getting failing grades.  Is that student a sow’s ear that can never excel to be a silk purse?  Of course not.  All that student really needs is motivation, encouragement, love, and a good teacher or mentor, then we get a silk purse.   This expression is a simple metaphor about never giving up on those who perhaps have given up on themselves.  We can all relate to this, especially parents and certainly teachers.  We all have hidden, God-given potential.  We just need to recognize our silk or for someone to see it in us. Silk purses can be made out of what falsely appear to be sows’ ears. This idea about a pig’s ear becoming a silk purse brings us to our Gospel about the wedding in Cana with Jesus turning water into wine.  We also can turn water

Prayer comes in many shapes and forms, and the reading from Samuel reminds us of a very simple but necessary form of prayer — which is simply listening.  Eli helps Samuel realize that it’s the Lord calling him and not Eli.  He says to Samuel, “Say, speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” We sometimes get caught up in verbal prayer - which is fine, repetitive prayer - which is fine, maybe reading scripture or other sacred books.  But this form of prayer is very basic; to just be quiet with the Lord.  To be attentive to the Lord’s presence in our midst. We might all find some quiet place to go today and say, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Monsignor Daniel Hoye

The attribute of God that we might meditate on today is that God is all-powerful.  We hear in the first reading how He’s all-powerful; He is able to give Hannah a child - a “gift” God would say.  In the Gospel, He overcomes the evil who casts out the Spirit. Maybe it would be our difficulties in our own lives, or seemingly facing possible obstacles.  We might remember that God indeed is all powerful — more powerful than that which might be causing us difficulty. May the all-powerful God give us new life. Monsignor Daniel Hoye

I’ve always liked our Gospel reading from Mark (1:14-20) about casting nets into the sea and Jesus saying to Simon and Andrew: “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Living on Cape Cod we all appreciate fishing nets and fishermen catching seafood on which we love to dine.  Theirs is a difficult life made even more complicated by often difficult-to-understand rules and regulations affecting their livelihoods. Then there are the storms stripping our beaches and battering their boats.   It’s a very dangerous profession being made ever more uncertain by effects of climate change and warming coastal waters affecting fish abundance and distribution.   Such is the life of seafaring men and women.

Homily for January 10, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

For some reason I’m still focused on 1 John.   I guess it’s my hangover from last week’s blogs with 1 John being front and center.   On New Year's Eve I found my copy of  “The Gospel and Epistles of John: A Concise Summary” (1988) by Father Raymond E. Brown.   As I get older (and older) and I look over some of my references, it dawns on me that many of the books in my library were written by men and women who are long since dead. Their books and ideas now are most easily found in used book stores where they gather dust unless rescued by those who appreciate insights of these icons of Christian scholarship.  May they never be forgotten especially by men entering the priesthood who need to appreciate those brilliant minds and then tutor under them through their books and memories.

In today’s first reading from 1 John (5:14-21) the author provides a confusing and contradictory statement.   He says, “…We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One…”  How can that be when Jesus says near the very end of Matthew (28:18): “…All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me…”  Who has the power!?  Some would say the power rests in the hands of those who manipulate us through carefully crafted and persuasive advertising convincing us that our lives our incomplete unless we have this or that despite the financial burden created by having “it.”  For many of us life is all about acquiring power in one form or another and using any means to get it – then keep it. The new Star Wars movie reminds us of the back and forth battle between the dark and light sides.  This battle rages within all of us because we have both sides with each competing for control and domination, for power over us.

This week (except for Sunday) all our first readings have been from the first letter of John.    This letter was not written by one of the apostles or by the author of the Gospel of John, although there are common themes such as: light and darkness; the word and incarnation; eternal life; and love. The letter appears to have been addressed to a late 1st century community (about year 100) experiencing conflict and division.   It speaks of those “who went out from us,” and they are called “antichrists.”  In fact, this is the only place in the New Testament (except for one mention in 2 John) where the word “antichrist” is found – not even in Revelation.  That’s a revelation to us because we often have heard “antichrist” applied to those promoting anger, division, hatred, and chaos.  A few references in 1 John appear to have created the expression that if we are not for Christ, we’re against Christ – we are anti.  The antichrist is in league with the devil and is out to deceive us, s

“Beloved, we love God because he first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:19-5:4).   Have any truer words been spoken?   This is the litmus test for love of God.   Most of us would fail this test because the word “brother” doesn’t just mean a sibling.   It means those all around us (including our sisters of course).  Then again, it may be easier to love God more than a brother especially when dealing with those around us who drive us crazy.   “God please give me the patience to at least tolerate my brother who sets my nerves on edge!  Love him?!  Love that self-centered egotist?   Lord, I’m no saint, and that’s what it will require.”   Then again, the reading speaks of “hate” that’s orders of magnitude beyond simply “dislike.” Whatever!  I suggest we not speak of hate and work harder at heeding the best prescription for loving God – the

“Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid,” said Jesus, and the wind died down.   This is what we hear in today’s Gospel reading from Mark.   We get more advice in the first reading from 1 John: “…There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love.”  Sometimes I recite the “Litany Against Fear” made famous in the 1980s by Frank Herbert who wrote Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, and many others.  Herbert’s main character is Paul Atreides who at the beginning of Dune introduces the “Litany against Fear” that he said when faced with terrifying and painful situations.  It goes: “I must not fear.  Fear is the mind-killer.  Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.  I will face my fear.  I will permit it to pass over me and through me.  And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.  Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.  Only I will remain.

Today’s understanding of the meaning of our Gospel (Mark 6:34-44) is helped by first reading 2 Kings 4:42-44.   It also helps to appreciate that this feeding story takes place on the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee.  The other feeding story (Mark 8) is on the Gentile side.  2 Kings reads:  “A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred?”  Elisha again said, “Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the LORD: You will eat and have some left over.”  He set it before them, and when they had eaten, they had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.” Mark and his audience clearly were familiar with these stories of the ancient prophets.   Mark’s use of 2 Kings testifies to that fact.  Regardless of how the five loaves and two fish were multiplied to feed 5,000, the point is Jesus

Yesterday I received a cartoon on Facebook – which just showed a closed door and a man standing outside the door.  The voice came from inside the door saying, “I don’t want to go back to school!”  The man said, “But honey, you have to go, you’re the teacher!” It is kind of a transition time – kids are back at school and vacations are over.  While technically we have a few days left in the Church’s calendar for Christmas time, but the Church begins to introduce other things.  Tomorrow is the feast of John Neumann, and today is the feast of Elizabeth Seton, born just two years before the Revolutionary War. I didn’t do this, but if you Googled her, you might be able to come up with all sorts of different titles.  She was a socialite, she was a convert, she was a widow, she had five children, she was a grieving mother, she founded a religious community – did all sorts of things in her life.  Originally Episcopalian, she became a Catholic she said because of he

Yesterday was the Epiphany of the Lord.    A cartoon in the December 23 issue of the Cape Cod Times is a perfect follow-up to our seeing the star in the sky and traveling to whom it reveals. That the world needs a "stable" influence is obvious.   Hatred and fear seem everywhere throughout our globe and not just in the Middle East. There will never be easy solutions when too many people or groups benefit from fear mongering and promoting hatred and suspicion of others.  This is the norm, or so it seems.

Today is the Epiphany of the Lord when a child born in darkness of the night is revealed as the one in whom God is present and acts to bring light.  Isaiah (60:1-6) says: “…Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.”   Although Isaiah was not speaking of Jesus, Matthew thought otherwise and spun his beautiful story of the three kings using Isaiah. According to Raymond E. Brown – the priest-scholar who has written extensively on the coming of Christ in Advent – Matthew also borrowed from the story of Moses in which Magus Balaam [famous non-Israelite seer or enchanter] came from the East and saw the star of the Davidic king rise from Israel (Numbers 22-24). Balaam said, “There shall come a man out of Israel’s seed, and he shall rule many nations…I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not close: a star [star of David] shall rise from Jacob, and a man shall

Homily for January 3, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

There are only a few more days until Christmas and of course the excitement is growing in anticipation of this wonderful Holy Day. Many people are planning to get together with family and friends and are traveling several miles to renew their relationships and to continue family traditions or even beginning new ones.  Yes this is an exciting time of the year.  A time of Hope and Joy and above all, Love. The gospel message today is a good example of what it means to travel and to be greeted with so much joy when Mary and her cousin Elizabeth recognize the presence of in each other.  Even Elizabeth's baby greets his cousin Jesus with an excited movement, a leap for joy!!

Homily for January 1, 2016 Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Today is a day for blessings as well it should being the first day of 2016.   Who knows what’s in store for each of us?   We can only hope for glad tiding and the courage to deal with whatever adversity we must face. I paraphrase our first reading:  “May the LORD bless us and keep us!  May the LORD let his face shine upon us, and be gracious to us!  May the LORD look kindly upon us and give us peace!”    And the Responsorial Psalm: “May God bless us in his mercy.”   We can all use these blessings, but at the same time we should all realize we are already blessed – blessed with life even if that life has become one of struggle with illness, old age, and loss.