The King's Corner

Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches." Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened." (Luke 13:18-21) Today is Halloween.  There are pumpkins starring at us from many windows and doorsteps.  Their carved-out centers and grinning, toothed faces are hollowed out gourds having been eviscerated of their pulp and seeds.  Either eaten or planted these seeds don’t grow to be large bushes for birds of the sky.  

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, "Woman, you are set free of your infirmity." He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.  But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply, "There are six days when work should be done. Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day."  The Lord said to him in reply, "Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering? This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?" When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splen

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40) I read in the New Yorker Magazine (by Rivka Galchen July 6, 2022): (begin) In Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” we hear about Rule Number 42.  “The King says Rule #42 indicates all persons more than a mile high must leave the court. Alice counters that she isn’t a mile high. And, anyway, it isn’t a proper rule, because the King just made it up, then and there. “It’s the oldest rule in the book,” the King counters. But, when Alice points o

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6:12-16) The emphasis in this reading appears to be the traitor, Judas Iscariot.  A traitor is defined as someone who betrays a friend, country, principle, etc.  We know many traitors according to this definition especially those that betray a principle such as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” our so-called "Golden Rule.”  For many of us it’s the rule we pretend to honor.  “Do unto others before they do unto you” is the preferred behavior.  And, that’s the recipe for our undoing.   According to Matthew: Then he summoned his twelve disciples

Jesus said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." (Luke 12:54-59) We are a litigious society.  We are too inclined to work out differences in a court of law as opposed to settling differences between ourselves through conversation and compromise.  We tend to favor win-lose decisions

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." (Luke 12:49-53) Division.  Our country is divided although not based on faith and religion; however, that division can be found in some communities and even within families.  Moreover, divide and conquer is the strategy used by demagogues and those seeking power and control.

Jesus said to his disciples: "Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said, "Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?" And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish the servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  The spiritual meaning of serenity is being calm, peaceful, or untroubled.  Few of us find that serenity.  Nevertheless, we pray for it.  We try not to be troubled by life’s up and downs.  Good luck with that.  Perhaps that’s why many of us say: “It is what it is.”  I’m guilty.  I suppose that’s one way to find serenity. A better way, however, is to have the courage to change the things we can, such as asking for forgiveness when we have hurt someone. I'm reminded of season 9 episode 3 (The Serenity Now) of the TV show, “Seinfeld." It focused on the idea that if we say the words, “serenity now,” anything stressful will just melt away, and that stuffing anger is a poor coping skill. All together now: "SERENITY NOW!" Deacon David Pierce

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!"' But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' Thus will it be for the one who sto

The Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion, for you do not regard a person's status. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"  Knowing their malice, Jesus said, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that pays the census tax." Then they handed him the Roman coin. He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?" They replied, "Caesar's." At that he said to them, "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." (Matthew 22:15-21) Jesus asked, “Whose image is this and whose inscription is on this Roman coin?" It was a very important question. We pay a lot of attenti

Jesus said to his disciples: "I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. "Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say." (Luke 12:8-12) Here’s an example (not mine) of how to explain the unforgivable sin. 

At that time: So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples, "Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees. "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops.  I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one. 

  Dog lovers understand.  God has spoken. Deacon David Pierce

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.  Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.' If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'" (Luke 10:1-9) Seventy-two in pairs means 36 pairings having to travel far and wide to cure the sick an

The political antics that prevail in our House of Representatives make me wonder how many members are truly wise, regardless of the isle on which they sit - right or left.  Do the following lyrics have any real meaning for many of our Congressmen and women?  For many of us? My country 'tis This wee sweet land of liberty Of thee I sing Land where my fathers died Land of the pilgrim's pride From every mountainside Let freedom ring My native country, thee Land of the noble free Thy name I love I love thy rocks and rills Thy woods and templed hills My heart will rapture fills like that above Let music swell the breeze And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom's song Let mortal tongues awake Let all that breathe partake Let rocks their silence break The sound prolong Our Father God to Thee Author of liberty To Thee I sing My country 'tis of Thee Sweet land of liberty For all eternity Let freedom ring Let freedom ring My country 'tis, my country 'tis of Thee "For

All it takes is one – one individual bent on destruction, for whatever reason.  I’ve looked at the sycamore tree (Robin Hood tree) in England as just one example of God’s creation destroyed by forces seeking to up-end that creation.   There has been an outpouring of sadness and anger at this tree’s vandalism.  It was cut down.  It has great meaning and symbolism for many people and is one of the draws of the 84-mile walk along the Hadrian’s Wall Path from the North Sea to the Irish Sea just south of Scotland.   I walked that path with one of my sons, my daughter-in-law, and 12-year-old grandson a year ago August 2022.  The tree in the “Sycamore Gap” was a milestone along the way.  It was a solitary tree about 300 years old.

Why did the turkey cross the road?  To prove he wasn’t chicken. I tell this corny joke because we are nearing Thanksgiving Day when many of us will have a feast of food and drink to be shared with family and friends. Turkey usually is front and center.  Today we read about feasts. In Isaiah we hear of a feast of rich food and choice wines. In our Gospel from Matthew we hear of a king who gave a wedding feast for his son – a banquet of calves and fattened cattle. Our second reading provides a contrast with these feasts. It’s focused on the difference between being well fed and going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need.  Many of us understand the pain of going hungry, especially for our children. Many, perhaps most of us, are well fed and simply don’t understand. It’s not within our experience although I suspect most of us are more aware because, especially this time of year, we receive letters from organizations asking for our understanding, compassion, and for money to

While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed." He replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." (Luke 11:27-28) Jesus was being humble.  He did not call his mother’s womb “holy” with the implication being he was not holy.  That’s quite the admission for the “Son of God” to make.  Rather he focused his attention on all of us.  We are holy when we observe the word of God.   “The Lord be with you!” is what deacons (or priests) say as the introduction to the Gospel reading – the word of God, as historically determined by our Church.  The Lord is with us when we hear and act upon that Word.  Here’s where it is useful to make the distinction between faith and belief.

"Gratitude is the antidote for resentment."   This was Father Prusaitis’s point made during his recent homily. I agree, and I find this fact to be a way for me to counter whatever resentment I might have.  I have more than a few. His homily was based on the Gospel about the last worker receiving the same wage as the first.  Why should a late comer receive the same compensation as the first arrival, the first in line? Resentments are poisonous to the soul.  They are a cancer of minds and hardeners of hearts. Being grateful and thankful for what we have – our blessings – is paramount.  Resenting what someone else has, even if we feel it is undeserved or unjust, is foolish and self-harming.  In the case of the last-in-line, hired-late-in-the-day workers receiving the same wage as early workers laboring in the hot sun for many hours, why resent those workers now having money to feed their families, for example?   Why resent their good fortune? Loving our neighbors is easier when

You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?" You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command; And  going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts? Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity."  Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name. And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.  Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between the one who serves God, and the one who does not serve him. For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is

What follows is an article with Pope Francis's challenge to all of us.  It is entitled: Take leap of faith and dare to love your family, those in need, pope says: With a huge, boisterous crowd in a major soccer stadium, Pope Francis urged Catholics to rekindle their enthusiasm for building a world marked by love and compassion, especially for those most in need by Carol Glatz (September 23, 2023) (begin) MARSEILLE, France (CNS) -- The world and the Catholic Church today need to take a leap forward "in faith, charity and hope," Pope Francis said in his homily at a late afternoon Mass in Marseille's open-air stadium. "We need to rekindle our passion and enthusiasm, to reawaken our desire to commit ourselves to fraternity. We need to once again risk loving our families and dare to love the weakest, and to rediscover in the Gospel the transforming grace that makes life beautiful," he said at the final event of a two-day trip to the old port city of Marseille.

  We all know Christ the King is in the midst of a formidable drive for money to build our new food pantry.  I say formidable because $2 million is no small change.   Too many people have so little.  CTK strives to help our parish community and surrounding neighbors who are suffering hard times.  Too many children go to bed hungry.   Let's put ourselves in their place.  When we do, our better angels urge us to donate whatever we can afford to help those in serious need. Thank you. Deacon David Pierce

God did not build this world as a moral testing ground, where our obedience and piety are to be tested against the lure of earthly pleasure, to see if we are worthy of heaven.  This world is its own mystery and has its own meaning, a God-given one.  It’s not simply a stage on which we, as humans, play out our individual dramas of salvation and then close the curtain.  It’s a place for all of us – humans, animals, insects, plants, water, rocks, and soil – to enjoy a home together. [from page 41 “Wrestling With God: Finding Hope and Meaning in Our Daily Struggles to be Human” (2018)] So, let’s enjoy and stop bickering.  Also, let’s give our world with its wonders a break from human exploitation and devastation.   One of my favorite movies The Matrix has profound meaning. Agent Smith, the villain in the movie, delivers this meaningful dialogue to the leader, Morpheus:

  Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again, he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.  What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his

Today is Sunday.  For many of us this comic strip says it all for us after-Church-goers. I want mine chocolate covered. Deacon David Pierce

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power 'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven" (my emphasis). At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." Turning to the disciples i

What follows is a troubling account of U.S. Catholic division and resistance to Pope Francis.  It is entitled: “The Pope & the Americans: The U.S. episcopate is unparalleled in its resistance to Francis” written by Massimo Faggioli (September 17, 2023).   (begin) The Vatican and the U.S. Catholic Church have had a special relationship since the beginning of the political and religious experiment called “American Catholicism.” But that relationship has become more complicated—and fraught—over the course of Francis’s papacy. This was demonstrated most recently in late August when remarks the pope made in Portugal during the World Youth Day gathering were published by the Jesuit-run and Vatican-vetted Civiltà Cattolica. “You have seen that in the United States the situation is not easy,” he told a Jesuit who’d spent a sabbatical year in the U.S. “There is a very strong reactionary attitude. It is organized and shapes the way people belong, even emotionally. I would like to remind thos

Father Ronald Rolheiser wrote on June 4, 2018 an article called “On Being the Beloved Disciple.” I provide it below because it makes sense and adds to the discussion about the disciple’s identity offered by Father James Martin in his new book “Come Home: The Promise of Jesus’s Greatest Miracle.” (begin) The Gospel of John presents us with a very powerful and rather earthy mystical image: As John describes the Last Supper scene he tells us that as they were at table the beloved disciple was reclining with his head against Jesus’ breast. The power of that image has, I believe, been better captured by artists than by theologians and biblical scholars. Artists and iconographers generally present the image to us in this way: The beloved disciple has his head leaning on Jesus’ breast in such a way that his ear is directly above Jesus’ heart but in such a way that his eyes are fixed outward looking at the world.

Many of us know “angels” who have fallen too close to the ground.  They may be members of our families.  Our job and responsibility are to pick them up, hold them close, “repair them,” and then let them go free if that is their choice.   Holding them too close and for too long can suffocate them.  We are to heal and then let our “patients” go.   Singer and songwriter Willie Nelson helps us understand through his 1981 song "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground" from the film Honeysuckle Rose.  This song was written and performed by Willie. The single was his 7th #1 on the country chart as a solo artist and stayed at number one for one week and spent 14 weeks on the country chart.  Here are the lyrics.  It’s a beautiful song you should YouTube. 

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. (Luke 9:51-56) Too many of us in a foolish and arrogant way ask, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”  Or, just as damning, we believe the Lord will rain fire on us to consume us.  We are scrupulous in our thinking and behavior.  

Peanuts is a reservoir of spiritual strength - and humor.  I admit I do a lot of sighing when I watch television.  Too much bad and very bad news.  That's why the Good News is so very important.  Thanks be to God!  Thanks for the Spirit's intercession.  Romans chapter 8. Deacon David Pierce

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people: "What is your opinion? A man had two sons. He came to the first and said, 'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' He said in reply, 'I will not,' but afterwards changed his mind and went. The man came to the other son and gave the same order. He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go. Which of the two did his father's will?" They answered, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him." (Matthew 21:28-32) The message is clear: A person who refuses to do what is asked of him/her, but who subsequently changes his/her mind and does the task is better than the one who promises to take care of