The King's Corner

March 26, 2017 Fourth Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

"The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.  And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." These are words from today’s Gospel from Luke.  God sent Gabriel.  I wonder: why Gabriel?  It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Gabriel is "man of God; my strength is God."   It’s derived from Hebrew gheber "man,” or gabar "strong,” combined with el "god. Gabriel is the messenger of God and intermediary between God and man.  He is the only angel besides Michael named in the canonical scriptures. He appeared to Daniel in the Old Testament, to Zacharias in the New Testament, and to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus.  In Islamic tradition, Gabriel is the angel who dictated the Koran to the Prophet Muhammad.

Our imaginations open worlds of wonder we all need to explore even as adults.   Creativity flows from our imaginations. In the picture to the left do we see the lobster?  Do we see the cat’s paw?  Imagine! I sometimes wonder how the stars spark our imaginations about God.  We look into the starlight and see patterns suggesting God is an artist using a pallet of colors and paints.  We don’t see those colors of course because white light is a spectrum of color only seen through prisms.  I’m still fascinated by the rainbow made visible through rays filtered by moisture after a storm.  The end of the rainbow is where we look for that imaginary pot of gold.  Or somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue and the dreams that we dare to dream really do come true.

One of my favorite authors is Megan McKenna.   Recently in our library I spotted one of her books I hadn’t seen before: “Lent: Reflections and Stories on the Daily Readings” (1996).  Her 3rd Sunday of Lent reflection had the following story about a well and its meaning.   Based on a modern African folktale, it reads as follows (shortened for this blog): One day Nobiah’s mother is sick and cannot go to the well.   Her young son, Nobiah, is given the heavy responsibility.  It’s a daily task, and a very long walk is needed to bring water to drink and for their garden. Nobiah sets off in the baking sun and finally reaches the well where he fills his jug.   He begins his return to his mother, and his thirst immediately begins.  It’s so very hot.  His feet burn on the sands. 

Spring began on Monday, and Palm Sunday is not too far away.  Speaking of palms, I suspect many parishioners are under palms right now on some secluded Florida or Caribbean beach (or clustered among throngs of beachgoers competing for the shade of those palm trees).   I hope the former.  This time of year pleasant spring weather is hard to find in New England, even on Cape Cod.  Those few days of warmth we’re lucky to get help us appreciate that hot, sunny days are coming.   Early spring storms are just hindrances and far easier to tolerate than dead-of-winter gloom and icy cold. Easter flowers soon will be here, and our thoughts will turn to the Resurrection.  We’ll hear about the empty tomb and physical appearances of Jesus.   Of course, that’s all preceded by the arrest, trial, and his execution on the cross, as well as his abandonment by his apostles, although not by Mary Magdalene – the apostle to the apostles.

There is so much Jewish about Lent and certainly Holy Week.  And, why not because Jesus was a Jew.  All were Jews except for the Romans and, of course, Pontius Pilate, who sent Jesus to his death on the cross.  Perhaps my being focused on Jesus and his fellow Jews led me to discover the book “Not In God’s Name: Confronting Religious Violence” by British Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.  This rabbi is one fine teacher and is an award-winning author of 30 books.  Check out his website, and you will be impressed with his writing and videos.  One series is especially useful and wonderfully presented by him with a focus on children.  Consider his series “Always have faith in your children.” The rabbi says: “In this eleventh video on being an inspiring parent, I talk about the importance of always having faith in your children, no matter what the situation might be.  By doing this, you will not only be a better parent, but you will also give your children faith in themselves.”  There are 13 short

The great liturgical drama of Holy Week extends from Palm Sunday, when the Passion from one of the synoptic gospels is read, to Easter Sunday, when the joyful Alleluias proclaim the Resurrection of Jesus. In the midst of these dramatic ceremonies, a quiet service called Tenebrae invites the faithful to pray in the serenity of increasing darkness, until the church is completely without light. The term “Tenebrae” is the Latin word for “darkness” and it anticipates the darkness that covered the earth when Jesus suffered death on the cross. Tenebrae originated many centuries ago with the monastic prayer said after midnight on the last three days of Holy Week.  The sanctuary of the church is illuminated by a large structure like candelabra, which holds fifteen candles. As the psalms are recited and the Lamentation of Jeremiah is chanted, the candles are gradually extinguished In the most dramatic moment of the service, the chanting of the final antiphon is followed by lo

A communal effort to pray, fast and give alms before the conclusion of Lent PRAY: Stations of the Cross ~ 5PM -Christ the King Church FAST: A simple meatless meal of soup, salad, bread, and Jello in the Parish Hall GIVE ALMS:  A free will offering is asked to cover the cost of the meal plus something more for the poor! Please print and return the form below: STATIONS AND A SIMPLE SUPPER FORM NAME(S)_____________________________________________________________ NUMBER___________ TEL #__________________ E-MAIL __________________ Please RSVP by Wednesday, April 5th   by returning this form to the Parish Office

Today the line between day and night becomes vertical.   An equinox occurs on planet Earth.    An equinox is a time of the year when day and night are almost equal. At an equinox, the Earth’s terminator [not Schwarzenegger] – the dividing line between day and night -- becomes vertical and connects the north and south poles.   As the Earth revolves around the Sun, the terminator tilts in a way that provides less daily sunlight to the northern hemisphere, causing winter in the north.   As the year progresses, the terminator tilts the other way causing winter in the southern hemisphere and summer in the north.   I learned this fact from the NASA website showing the “astronomy picture of the day.”  What strikes me is the connection between the north and south poles.   Opposites of a sort are connected in an astronomical way.   God’s handiwork to be sure.

March 19, 2017 Third Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Our first reading from Exodus begins with: “In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, 'Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?”   In our day and here on Cape Cod we never have to worry about thirsting for water and dying from thirst, but many people do, especially in the Middle East – in areas where deserts dominate the landscapes.  Villages were built around wells – the source of life.   Water comprises about 60% of our bodies.  It truly is life-giving. Water regulates body temperature, flushes body waste, lubricates joints, and allows our cells to grow, reproduce, and survive – just to name a few important functions.  So, in a very real sense, our bodies are “wells” of water.  And that means we should quench the thirst of others – their thirsts for love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding.  

As we deny ourselves through fasting  and/or refraining from indulging    in entertainments, spirits, sweets or treats we are at the same time accumulating a bit extra that we are not spending on ourselves to  share with those in need.   That is why  It is a custom that as Lent ends on the evening of Holy Thursday a collection is taken up for the poor at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s  Supper.       While we are free to identify our own charities and causes to support with our alms, as a community it is also good for us to support some together.  This year let us propose the following: St. Vincent de Paul:  This is our local charitable arm that reaches out to the poor in our name and so is always worthy of our support but especially in Lent. Catholic Near East Welfare Agency:  An organization under the authority of the Pope which seeks to support  the church in the Middle East, one which we well know is suffering great persecution and hardship and is certainly worthy of our s

My Bible Study group at the Falmouth Hospital has again enticed me to look deeper into what the Catholic Church says about another subject. This time it is the Bible and why there are seven books in the Catholic Canon that do not appear in the Protestant bible. It is interesting how ignorant some people are concerning the reason why, even those who think they know the bible backwards and forwards. I often get asked the question from Protestants why we added books to the Bible. In actuality, they were removed because they did not fit the philosophy at the time. If you were at the “Sunday School for Adults” that Fr. Healey had Sunday, you would have gotten an insight as to the period of time that the changes occurred. His subject for the next few weeks is the Reformation. He is a store-house of historical information. First, a definition of a couple of terms. A “ canon ” is a list of books or texts which a particular religious community regards as authoritative scripture. The wor

Composers and Spiritual writers often call Lent a journey, thus  we might ask what’s the destination? The answer is the Triduum, the three holiest days of our year as a community of faith. Lent ends on Holy Thursday evening at sunset, thus leaving us at the doorstep of the  Triduum  which  then  begins with  the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Triduum isn’t just three days, but rather one continuous liturgy that takes place over the course of three days taking us from the supper table to the cross to the empty tomb. It is the annual celebration of the  Passover of the Lord, a remembrance of how Christ passed from life to death to new life again. The rites we participate in during these three days are the most ancient, sacred and memorable of the entire year and they require the 40 days of Lent as a proper preparation. The  Triduum not only enables us to accompany Christ but becomes our own passover too as having died to self through the penitential disciplines

March 5, 2017 First Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

If we count a day as was traditional in more ancient cultures from sunset to sunset and thus mark the completion of day one of Lent at sunset on this Sunday evening – the First Sunday of Lent – when you reach sunset on April 13th – Holy Thursday – you will arrive at 40! So, Lent officially begins today – the First Sunday of Lent! The days since Ash Wednesday are known as the “porch of Lent” a time to practice what we must more fully embrace – intensified praying, stricter fasting, and more generous alms giving – so that we may be faithful to these traditional penitential disciplines over the entire 40 days. SUMMIT AND FONT: The Second Vatican Council reminded us that the celebration of the Eucharist is the summit and font of our Christian life in that it is our closest encounter with Christ on this side of eternity and the source of greatest grace empowering us to be who we are called to be as his body, and to do what we are called to do in his name in the world. So the liturgy

The Gospel for this morning - the Saturday after Ash Wednesday - leaves us with a message that is worth pondering and meditating on.  Jesus says, "Follow me." It's not an easy task, but it is certainly one that we all need to hear.  Perhaps this is something that we can work on this Lent - the ability to listen to God and follow Him.  God's Will - or God's plan for us - is how we live and breathe day in and day out.  He loves us and wants to show us the way.  Sometimes this means making sacrifices, but the sacrifices will be worth it in the end. The Gospel goes on to say: "The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?'  Jesus said to them in reply, 'Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.'" Jesus is our physician - the healer of all souls and broken hearts.  He w

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent!  While today is not a Holy Day of Obligation, many folks come to church today to receive their ashes – to mark the beginning of their Lenten Journey. I like to look at Lent as a “journey.”  Lent is a time that we can be transformed.  I personally find it as an exciting time – it’s motivation to grow and be changed. I’m hearing many of my classmates talk about on campus what they’re “giving up for Lent.”  I’ve heard people giving up (fasting) soda, dessert, fried food, pizza, and even alcohol.  These are material things.  Some say that the hope with Lent is that at the end of the season, we have made our Lenten sacrifice a normal part of our life.  For example, a rosary a day – maybe it becomes part of our daily (or every other day’s) routine.  Perhaps we can add a little extra prayer during Lent – maybe coming to Daily Mass?  I’ve found Daily Mass at Christ the King to be so welcoming and uplifting – going one or two days a week real