The King's Corner

February 26, 2017 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

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Dear Parishioners , Although the Catholic Church is for various historical reasons not an official member of the National Council of Churches but as fellow followers of Christ we often find ourselves in agreement with one another and have reason to cooperate with one another in spite of various denominational differences. Certainly we can wholeheartedly agree with their letter, reprinted below, in response to the alarming increase in anti-semitic activity recently occurring around our nation. Let us join with all Christians and others of good will in being  be vigilant  against this form of hatred and injustice, praying for its end, and speaking up against it at every turn. Sincerely, Fr. Healey WASHINGTON: The National Council of Churches denounces recent anti-Semitic incidents and condemns rhetoric that has fueled such acts. We stand firmly with our Jewish brothers and sisters during this difficult time. As a community of 38 Christian communions in the Un

“No tyranny finds support without tapping into our fears.”   This is what Pope Francis said just days before the U.S. election.  Then on the day of President Trump’s inauguration, our Pope warned against the rise of populist leaders who provoke fear and alarm.   This recent history was reported in the Saturday, February 18 edition of the Boston Globe.  According to this account, “He condemned the growth of populist and xenophobic movements calling them a ‘grave danger for humanity.’  And he attacked leaders who rely on ‘fear, insecurity, quarrels, and even people’s justified indignation, in order to shift the responsibility for all these ills onto a ‘non-neighbor.” Last Sunday’s Gospel is relevant to Pope Francis’ statement and concern.   That Gospel reading from Matthew ended with this challenging advice from Jesus:  "You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

I sometimes think of revenge as a justifiable and expected response to a serious affront or hurt.  Forgive me Jesus!  An example would be the plight and rage of trapper Hugh Glass played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie “The Revenant.”  According to the movie description:  “Inspired by true events, ‘The Revenant’ is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit [True].   In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team.  In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption [revenge].”    This film won an Oscar for Best Actor, Best Director, and Cinematography.

A monk rode an ox into town and came to a group of people.   The people asked him. “What are you looking for monk?"    He said, “I am looking for an ox.”    They all laughed. He rode his ox to the next group of people.  They asked him, “What are you looking for monk?”   He said, “I am looking for an ox.”  They all laughed. He rode his ox to a third group of people.  They asked him, “What are you looking for monk?”    He said, “I am looking for an ox.”

A prince and many of his archers went out to hunt monkeys.  They became separated in the woods, and the prince was by himself when he saw a monkey high in a tree.  The prince took an arrow from his quiver, put it in his bow, aimed it carefully at the monkey, and let it fly.  The monkey’s ears perked up when he heard the twang of the bow.  He turned around and as the arrow sped toward him, the monkey calmly stepped to one side and grabbed it in midair.

A king had two servants.  He told the first servant to do something.  The servant did it and was promoted.  He told the second servant to do something.   The servant did not do it and was fired. The servant who was promoted lived very, very well in the king’s service and continued to obey the king and be promoted.  One day, however, his thoughts turned to the servant who had disobeyed the king and been fired.  So he went to visit him. He arrived at the house where the man used to live, but he was no longer there.  A neighbor said he had sold the house and moved to a much smaller one.

Lent is a time for prayer.   Actually, every day is the right time, but Lent helps us focus on our needed conversations with God.  Otherwise, God seems a distant friend with our being the one failing to reach out and correspond.  Even a simple “Hello” and “Thanks for being there when I need you,” can suffice. Prayer can help us mend our ways and change our habits and behavior.   But that’s only if we act on that prayer and not wait for some clear and obvious answer from God.   We all know prayers are not always answered perhaps because we ask for what God cannot possibly deliver.  Waiting for a miracle independent of our own efforts to partner with God to find a solution or acquire that strength to overcome odds stacked against us, is unwise.

February 19, 2017 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily   To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Revenge.   For New England Patriots’ fans – and that’s most of us (not all) – the expression “Roger that” is the two-word expression aimed at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that originated from Tom Brady’s 5th Super Bowl ring and his commercial for Shields MRI.  When putting his fifth ring in a locker, the young lady helping him, said he needed a bigger locker, to which Brady responded, “Roger that.” This not-so-subtle bit of revenge for that 4-game suspension at the beginning of the football season is now repeated by fans wearing Pats clothing emblazoned with “Roger that.”  It gets the point across.  And so does our first reading from Leviticus: "You shall not bear hatred for your brother or sister in your heart.  Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him.  Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against any of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Perhaps the “Roger that” is not revenge but is simply a way of “r

The  Evolution  of  the  Practice  of  Penance,  and  the  Season  of  Lent: While specific customs in regard to the practice of penance have evolved over the centuries, one thing that has remained the same and is true to this day in that Christians have understood the absolute necessity of periodically examining their consciences and confessing their sins, and they have readily accepted and accomplished the penances assigned to them as satisfaction for their sins. Beginning in the early days of the church up through the 11th Century, it was common that the practice of penance was public, in that only mortal sins were confessed but these were told to the bishop or the priest in front of the entire congregation. Following their public confession, the penitent was assigned to a period of penance, the length of which depended upon the severity of the offense(s). During their time of penance penitents were excluded from the Eucharist  as  they  sat  in  a  special  section  

Mark 8: 22-26 . Throughout the gospels we hear stories about Jesus healing the deaf and giving sight to the blind. But Mark is the only gospel writer who tells this particular story. In today’s gospel Jesus puts spittle on the eyes of a blind man and he is able to see only outlines of people walking around. Then laying his hands on the man’s eyes a second time he could see everything distinctly. This miracle is unique. It is the only one which can be said to have happened gradually. All of Jesus’ other miracles generally happen suddenly and completely. In this one, the blind man’s sight comes back in stages. There is a major symbolic truth that Mark imparts to us in this miracle, that no one sees all of God’s truth at once. Very few of us have one defining moment in our life that we can point to where we can say “I fully knew God from that moment on.” We aren’t just suddenly born again. I can think of only one person who was knocked off a horse by lightening (actually scripture

In a recent blog I described the difference between an Apostle and a Disciple. A disciple is one who learns from a teacher. The twelve disciples mentioned in the Gospels chose Jesus as their “rabbi” or teacher. Apostles are disciples who are sent to preach or teach. Therefore, before one becomes an apostle, one has to be a disciple. Jesus had many disciples. At one point Jesus send out 72 disciples to proclaim the Good News, in other words, he sent them as apostles. But normally we think of the Apostles as the 12 disciples that Jesus chose to be his inner group of disciples. Another person who was considered a member of his inner group was Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala. She is the person that Luke in his Gospel said that seven demons had gone out of her. She is also often associated with the repentant sinner mentioned in Luke who anointed the feet of Jesus although this is unlikely. It was during the Middle Ages that this invention was created but has since been mostly rejecte

February 12, 2017 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

One prominent aspect of life in Israel as an officially Jewish State is the weekly observance of the Sabbath.   Indeed Friday afternoon until about 3:30PM there is an air of anticipation as many people are out and about doing last minute errands in preparation for the Sabbath evening meal. For the religiously observant, the food that will be taken for breakfast and lunch on Saturday must also be prepared as no such work is permitted on this weekly day of holy rest, which begins at sundown on Friday and ends at the same time on Saturday.    The arrival of the Sabbath is greeted with joy, with the blowing of the trumpet in Jerusalem and with displays of flowers and fruit and wine amidst lit candles in hotel lobbies.  Most extended families come together at home or in hotels to celebrate with a special evening meal on Friday followed by a day of rest and recreation on Saturday.   Indeed - all is hustle and bustle and then in a moment most traffic disappears and quiet descends on the str

No original thoughts but many worth considering: Find here food for thought in the thoughts of church leaders and in the content of church documents, which bear upon the ever contemporary and almost always contentious issue of immigration. All Church teaching harkens back to the 25th Chapter of St. Matthew - when Jesus himself says "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" which is a concept deeply rooted in the prescriptions of Old Testament Law. It seems essential to the integrity of our claim as Catholics to be solidly "pro-Life" that we have concern for the lives and well being of those who are in the most difficult of straits, especially those who have no hope of a future for themselves and their families in war torn lands or economically impossible circumstances.  These are the same reasons most of our ancestors migrated from the old world to the new so how can we help but to sympathize with those who have no choice but to leave their homelands seeking the

February 5, 2017 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass