The King's Corner

The last line of today's Gospel (Wednesday) from Matthew, "Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many," can be a lesson for us all.  We are all called to serve the Lord in some way. In serving the Lord, we often think of vocations - to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life, marriage, single life, etc.  As a seminarian, I cannot stress the importance of promoting and supporting vocations to the priesthood.  The encouragement and prayers of others is what helps us in hearing God's call. Perhaps on a smaller level today, we can look at how we can serve the Lord more this Lent (and beyond!).  We have a number of fantastic ministries for all ages in our parish.  Perhaps you might pray and consider joining one!  Like to read?  Become a lector!  Like to sing?  Join the choir!  How about feeding the hungry or clothing the naked?  Our St. Vincent de Paul Society always needs more volunteers!  Perhaps you

February 25, 2018 Second Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

The Paschal Season which includes the Forty days of Lent, the Three Days of the Sacred Triduum, and the Fifty days of Easter has one central focus which is the Paschal Mystery revealed  to us through  Christ's  death and resurrection.    The  mystery is not a mystery as  that  concept is more commonly understood, but rather a truth that while  comprehensible is not completely so.   The  truth revealed by  the passion, death and resurrection  of Christ is that life proceeds from death, indeed,  death is  the necessary prerequisite to life.  While we may be able to grasp this truth  to some extent  ultimately  it is a paradox  that has the potential to confound us.    Yet  we look to Christ and are asked to accept that the cross and tomb had to precede his  resurrection and ascension.    It is then that the  passage from St. John concerning the need for the grain of wheat to fall and die in order to produce a rich harvest  becomes clearer as an analogy to saving work of

At times, we might view Lent as "burdensome." We all have heard (or maybe muttered ourselves!) the "Well, I guess I have to give something up for Lent…" But , in reality, Lent is a gift !  I have found that to be my theme this Lent, and I invite you to do the same.  The Church gives us 40 days to repent or to clean up some areas we'd like to change.  Maybe our New Year's Resolutions have failed, or maybe we have found ourselves in a "slump" of putting off prayer, not exercising, eating junk food, or working/behaving to our fullest potential.  Lent is the time to begin again and start over - to make our resolutions to do better!  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great start if you want to really start anew! Perhaps daily mass is possible, or getting up earlier than usual for some quiet time in prayer (I have found this to be very helpful and fruitful myself this Lent).  On Fridays at 4pm we pray the Stations of the Cross at Christ the King

Most of us, I would say, are in the habit of having routine checkups on not only our physical bodies but our cars, furnaces, air conditioners and so on.  We tend to take for granted that they will start and run properly if we take good care of them.  We all know the value of checking our blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, keeping our vaccinations up to date as well as checking gauges, fluid levels, filters, etc. on all the equipment that makes our lives more comfortable and safe. How many of us, though, are checking up on the state our souls? Do we ever consciously realize we have a soul? How often do we make an examination of conscience or go to confession? Lent, in a sense, is an opportunity to assess the condition of our soul and spiritual life. Fasting, in a sense, is part of the vital maintenance routine needed for the soul as it helps cleanse and heal us from evil thoughts, actions and deeds. It is the changing of every part of our life as needed

Coastal areas fear floods.  Rising waters with crashing waves turn streets into rivers of fast-moving waters.  Remember Hurricane Irma in Naples, Harvey in Houston, and Maria in Puerto Rico.  Then there’s Katrina in New Orleans.  And Andrew in Florida.  Some of us have experienced that flooding, and Boston residents are now thinking about a sea wall at the Harbor’s entrance.  The Seaport recently experienced storm conditions, rising tides, and flooding. For those many people affected by those floods, their cry was “Why God? Why?  Is this some sort of punishment?   Of course not, but what’s the explanation for so much destruction?  Does the story of Noah provide an answer?

February 18, 2018 First Sunday of Lent Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

(Photo: ERIC HASERT/TCPALM) I have to confess that my number one favorite movie is "It's a wonderful life".  I like to watch it anytime of year but I try to make it a Christmas tradition for us to watch it together as a family. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I realized that Clarence, the Guardian Angel was sent down to Earth as an answer to a prayer, or prayers, from George Bailey's family and all those whom he had helped throughout his life. So what's happened to prayer in recent generations?  Is it something now only done in private or maybe here once a week?  We know it's no longer allowed in Schools, right? But wait, I can tell you with some certainty that there have been instances of prayers in schools, like on: -April 20, 1999 -April 6, 2007 -December 14, 2012 -October 24, 2014 -October 1, 2015 -Just this past Wednesday, Ash Wednesday 2018 Where? -Columbine High School - (15 souls) -Virginia Tech -

Begin  counting  the  days  on  the  First Sunday of Lent and when  you reach 40 you  will find yourself at the Thursday we call holy and thus the threshold of the Sacred Triduum. So what have we been doing since last Wednesday? Acclimating ourselves to live these 40 days  differently, that by our prayer and fasting, we may become  more attuned to God, and by our fasting and self  denial,  more  aware  of  our  neighbor in need and better able to bless them with our almsgiving. According  to  an  ancient  tradition,  Christians  fasted  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays, but never on Sundays, as it is the weekly Easter,  thus  if  they  fasted  on  the  transitional but technically pre-Lenten days that begin on Ash Wednesday, they would make up for the Lenten Sundays on which they would not be fasting. Lenten fasts were admittedly more serious in former days - (no meat, no eggs, no oil, no dairy, primarily just vegetables)! Such a fast though has proved to be not only sp

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THE SEASON OF SELF DENIAL:  We are about to begin our participation in the annual Paschal Season with the 40 days of preparation for Easter, that we call Lent. The purpose of Lent is to facilitate our ongoing conversion by inviting us to unite ourselves more closely to the dying and rising of Christ. As Christ gave of himself completely, offering his very life on the cross in order to free us from final death, we are called to imitate him in bringing life to others by “dying” to ourselves. So, this special season, encourages us to overcome self-concern by self-denial, thus Lent is traditionally a season of fasting and sacrifice as penance for our sins and as a means of being a blessing to others. Our Lenten fasting cannot ever be fasting for the sake of fasting alone, but should be a fruitful fast in that it enables us to be more generous with others because we have denied ourselves. So, the things we might choose to deny ourselves, perhaps an evening cocktail, a da

February 11, 2018 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

February 4, 2018 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass