The King's Corner

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.  Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'   Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.  Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'   While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.  Then the door was locked.  Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lor

Jesus said to his disciples: "Stay awake!  For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.  Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.  So too, you also must be prepared, or at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. “Stay awake!” Easier said than done especially when we are being sung to sleep.   That song is the one the sirens sing to lure us onto the rocks.   Today’s siren’s are advertisers seducing us to buy their wares and use those credit cards that are the rocks on which we crash and break.  At an hour we do not expect the bills always seem to arrive, and there is wailing and gnashing of teeth. Frankly, the Lord has already come.   Waiting for his coming again deceives us into thinking he is not already here.  He is with us now in body and spirit.   His body is the one each of us wears when we reach out and do as he commanded.  Hi

Today’s reading from Mark reads in part: The king [Herod] said to the girl [daughter], "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."  He even swore many things to her, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."  She went out and said to her mother [Herodias], "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."  The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."   The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.  So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head.  He went off and beheaded him in the prison.  He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Our Gospel reading from Matthew reads:  “Jesus said: ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.  But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.  Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You cleanse the outside of cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean." Jesus always seems to kick the bejeebers out of us.  Sort of makes sense because bejeebers means “by Jesus.”  He call us “blind” because we spend too much time focused on the particulars, on the rituals that we hold near and dear, but for Jesus, he likely would say, “So what?” or “Whatever.”   He’d say, “Forget the gnat; ignore the camel.    Get on with what’s important.  Tend to

Today’s first reading is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians.  He said, “We always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and powerfully bring to fulfillment every good purpose and every effort of faith, that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, in accord with the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s a simple prayer we should pray every day for our priests.  They need our understanding, love, and support.  They certainly have given that to us many times over. Deacon David Pierce

August 26, 2018 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

"Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges and their officers.  When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.  As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” That was quite a gathering!  And quite a choice to be made by the elders, leaders, judges, and officers!   Serve God or “gods” of their choosing.  Who are our gods?    Who are the gods of our leaders – our elected officials who serve our country and represent us – when “us” is not very easy to define because we tend to be divided by political party, social status, and religion? Our task is to challenge them to choose wisely especially when the “gods” approach them to garner favor in exchange for campaign contributions and favo

From today’s reading in Matthew (23:1-12) we hear: “Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.  Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice…” An astoundingly many priests have not practiced what they preached.   In fact, they violated their sacred vows.  They have tainted all the many good priests who mirror Jesus, yet reflect Judas in the eyes of some parishioners and many non-Catholics colored by the betrayal of unholy men.  Even well-stated and sincere statements are viewed with suspicion.  For example, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and Bishop Timothy L. Doherty, chairman of the conference’s Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, recently stated: “The Pennsylvania grand jury report covers a span of more than 70 years (my emphasis).  I

I wrote my mother  I wrote my father  And now I’m writing you too  I’m sure of mother I’m sure of father Now I wanna be sure of you Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me. Anyone else but me, anyone else but me No! No! No! Just remember that I’ve been true to nobody else but you… These are some of the lyrics from the song, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” sung by the Andrews Sisters of years gone by.  I remembered it because of today’s Gospel reading: “…Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."  Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." 

Thus says the LORD: I will prove the holiness of my great name, profaned among the nations, in whose midst you have profaned it.  Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.  For I will take you away from among the nations, gather you from all the foreign lands, and bring you back to your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts.  I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees. You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors; you shall be my people, and I will be your God. Now, that’s encouragement!  Talk about another chance to turn things around – to get new hearts and a new spirit! 

“…So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd, and became food for all the wild beasts.  My sheep were scattered and wandered over all the mountains and high hills; my sheep were scattered over the whole earth, with no one to look after them or to search for them.  Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have been given over to pillage, and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast, for lack of a shepherd; because my shepherds did not look after my sheep, but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep; because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:  Thus says the Lord GOD: I swear I am coming against these shepherds.  I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep so that they may no longer pasture themselves.  I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths. For thus says the Lord GOD:  I myself will look after and tend my sheep…” O’ if it

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre:  Thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are haughty of heart, you say, "A god am I! I occupy a godly throne in the heart of the sea!"— And yet you are a man, and not a god, however you may think yourself like a god.  Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel, there is no secret that is beyond you.  By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself; You have put gold and silver into your treasuries.  By your great wisdom applied to your trading you have heaped up your riches; your heart has grown haughty from your riches–  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:  Because you have thought yourself to have the mind of a god, Therefore I will bring against you foreigners, the most barbarous of nations. They shall draw their swords against your beauteous wisdom, they shall run them through your splendid apparel. They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the

A young man approached Jesus and said, "Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"  He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good?  There is only One who is good.  If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He asked him, "Which ones?"  And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."  When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Today’s Gospel reading makes us all conclude that no one can follow Jesus.   His command is too difficult – impossible.    Give everything

Today’s readings are about how we must live using wisdom and relying on the Eucharist. In our first reading from Proverbs we are asked to imagine a house built by a woman called Wisdom.  She says to us.  “Come in; sit at my table.  Eat my food and drink my wine.  When you do this you will understand, and you will then live.” That’s quite an invitation.  Sort of like “Eat, drink, and be lively!” Wisdom sounds like Jesus talking to the crowds in today’s Gospel reading from John. Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever...”  In the second reading Paul says we should watch how we live. He gives his own bit of wisdom about how we should live that life: do not get drunk on wine; be filled with the spirit; and always give thanks in the name of Christ to God.  Paul was very wise. To help us understand and appreciate Paul’s advice; what the Wisdom woman suggests; and what Jesus means by living bread, here’s a story. A man

Children were brought to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray.  The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." After he placed his hands on them, he went away. [Today's Gospel reading] Children are helpless and dependent on parents for love, care, and safety.   The Kingdom of heaven belongs to them because like the poor, they need the presence of God to care for them.   For children, God’s presence is evidenced through loving parents, godparents and family.  For the poor, God’s presence is known through us and our care, compassion, and support, especially support in the form of battles for social justice that go well beyond simple charity. The Kingdom of heaven also belongs to children because they forgive easily, and they trust without reservation.   Most adults do neither of these, at least not easily.  We must, and the Our Father reminds us: “F

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"  He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."    Today’s Gospel is a reminder that marriage is supposed to be a very serious life-long commitment.  That’s evident from the marriage vows exchanged by a man and a woman when they stand before God in a church and their words are witnessed by a priest or deacon. The words of consent are powerful and meaningful.   Pope Francis wrote in Amoris Laetitia that the words of consent “cannot be reduced to the present; they involve a totality that includes the future: ‘until death do us part’” (no. 214). 

Peter approached Jesus and asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?  As many as seven times?"  Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” I’ve heard of "76 trombones that led the big parade with a 110 cornets close at hand.  They were followed by rows and rows of the finest virtuosos, the cream of ev’ry band…” [from “The Music Man”].   But, I’ve never considered forgiving 77 times let alone more than a few times.  After all, fool me once shame on you (so I’ll forgive), but fool me twice, shame on me (forgive you not). Forgiveness is hard when my “brother” repeats his offence with no remorse.   Then again, for those with addictions, such as from alcohol or opioids, repeated forgiveness is necessary regardless of the number of times. 

Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Our First Reading from Revelation states: A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.  She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth.  Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth.  Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.  She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.  Her child was caught up to God and his throne. The woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God. Mary is the woman clothed with the sun according to our Catholic tradition and understanding.   Of course, this description is fanc

The Lord GOD said to me: As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you: be not rebellious like this house of rebellion, but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.  It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me, in which was a written scroll he unrolled before me.  It was covered with writing front and back, and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe! He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.  So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.  Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.  He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them. Our first reading from Ezekiel tells us to eat whatever God gives us.  In other words, when “wailing and woe” is our fate, God tells us to deal with it.   Accept our situation no matter how bad so it becomes “sweet

On the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth year, that is, of King Jehoiachin's exile, the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar.— There the hand of the LORD came upon me. As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with flashing fire enveloped in brightness, from the midst of which (the midst of the fire) something gleamed like electrum.  Within it were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human. Then I heard the sound of their wings, like the roaring of mighty waters, like the voice of the Almighty.  When they moved, the sound of the tumult was like the din of an army.  And when they stood still, they lowered their wings.

August 12, 2018 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Elijah went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.  He prayed for death saying: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers."  He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.  Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water.    After he ate and drank, he lay down again, but the angel of the LORD came back a second time, touched him, and ordered, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!"  He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb. Our first reading reminds me of the dramatic television series "Touched by an Angel" that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for nine seasons.  Its 212 episodes chronicled the cases of two angels, Monica (Roma Downey) and her supervisor Tess (D

Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God, immortal?  O LORD, you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you have readied him punishment!  Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself?   You have made man like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler.  He brings them all up with his hook, he hauls them away with his net, He gathers them in his seine; and so he rejoices and exults.  Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his seine; for thanks to them his portion is generous, and his repast sumptuous.  Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword to slay peoples without mercy?  This passage from our first reading are words attributed to the prophet Habakkuk who questions God about divine justice and God’s treatment of the wicked.   In this case, Habakkuk complains about the oppression of Israelites

When visiting Father Tom Wynham in Falmouth where he continues to recover from back surgery, the always pleasant and upbeat priest mentioned he was reading a Ronald Rolheiser book entitled "Wrestling with God: Finding Hope and Meaning in Our Daily Struggles to be Human" (2018).  By coincidence I happened to be reading the same book on which the book jacket reads: “As long-held beliefs on love, faith, and God are challenged by the unrelenting changes of our modern world, many of us are left feeling confused and uncertain as old norms are redefined at breakneck speed.” Rolheiser, a Roman Catholic priest, goes on to say: “Faith is not to be confused with ideas about faith.  Faith is deeper than religion and should not be identified with any one creed.  As Jesus himself says, those who do the will of God on earth are the ones who have real faith.  An explicit faith is not always needed to get to heaven or to attain happiness this side of eternity.   Yet the great traditions

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.  Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."  He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." We all may have a different reaction to this part of today’s Gospel.   Calling Peter “Satan” seems a bit too harsh, for example.   My interpretation is one that occurred to me when dealing with death – not my own but that of all the many deaths with which I have had to deal be they death of family members or friends.  Death is extremely hard to accept despite our belief or hope in an afterlife.   Each of us will have to deal with our passing and many of us are still dealing with the deaths of those we have lost but

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon."  But he did not say a word in answer to her.  His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."   But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."  He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."  She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."   Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Today's Gospel reads: “…During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea.  When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.  ‘It is a ghost,’ they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once Jesus spoke to them, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’  Peter said to him in reply, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’  He said, ‘Come.’   Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’  Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" Confidence!  That’s what it takes to succeed – to overcome shortfalls and limitations by going above and beyond because we believe we can.   We can accomplish more than we think when we have confidence in ourselves.  That confidence can come with faith in Jesus – n

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration  of the Lord.  Our second reading is from Peter’s second letter.   He says beginning with a reference to the God:  "…This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’  We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable.  You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Are we “lamps” shining in dark places where other people may find themselves due to sadness, illness, and especially fear?  What makes the “morning star” rise in our hearts after we awake from our sleep?  Hope, charity, and love? Stars give off light shining from millions of miles away.   Those who need us must see our light when we stand beside them.  Our “lamps” must be kept burning brightly, always.  In this way God can refer to us as “beloved” with whom God is

August 5, 2018 Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.  Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion; thus will I test them,to see whether they follow my instructions or not." "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread, so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God." In the evening quail came up and covered the camp. In the morning a dew lay all about the camp, and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.  On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, "What is this?" for they did not know what it was.  But Moses told them, "This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat."