The King's Corner

Every now and then I have the privilege  of giving our young children a tour of Christ the King church.  The other day as we were going around checking out the various areas of interest the kids may have, it dawned on me that many of our community do not know the history or the significance of various signs and symbols of the Parish of CTK.  I will try to walk you through the church as I do with our Faith Formation classes.

If we didn't have this listing of the Apostles, we probably never would have known there was a Simon and a Jude.  Simon has one line in John's Gospel at the Last Supper when he says "are you going to reveal yourself to the world now?"  And Judas never speaks. We know Jude because he is known as the saint of hopeless causes.  Maybe that is where we can focus today.  We always have to be a person of hope; that there is nothing that can defeat us because we are no longer strangers or sojourners.  I like the old translation better, we are no longer strangers or aliens, that we are always at home with the Lord. Maybe as we gather in prayer today we can pray, perhaps for ourselves or for those friends of ours who might be tempted to be without hope in their life today.

Homily given to children at 8:30 a.m Mass Good morning.  It’s getting colder every day.   The leaves are falling off the trees.  It’s fall when we see pumpkins, scarecrows, and turkeys.  Winter is not too far away. Who can name a movie that reminds us of the cold and winter, especially ice and snow?  Here’s a hint: Olaf the snowman is in the movie.  It’s “Frozen.”  For those who haven’t seen the movie, it’s about love between two sisters – Anna and Elsa.  It’s also about Kristoff who helps and then falls in love with Anna. Who has seen the movie?  I bet many of you know some of its songs like: “Let it Go?”…  “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” …“Love is an Open Door.”… “In Summer”… and  “Reindeer are Better than People.” Another song is “Fixer Upper” sung by the trolls who adopted Kristoff when he was a baby.

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

The other day an elderly woman was talking to a young priest about getting an I Phone.  She expressed some concern about getting familiar with the phone.  The young priest pointed to me and said, "Look, if Monsignor Hoye can use it, anyone can".  That is not exactly a complement but it is true. I am not much of a techie.  It is ironic, therefore, that I am the pastor of a very techie parish which has embraced social media.  We have a wonderful website that receives between 15,000 and 16,000 hits a month.  This blog has received over 18,000 hits in the few months that it has been operating. Recently we have introduced live streaming of our sanctuary.  Folks can watch masses and other services in real time and one Sunday Mass is recorded for future use.  Our Faith Formation program uses Flocknotes to keep people informed about things going on in the program.  In part, all of this is due to the encouragement of our Pastoral Council.  Several years ago, they advised me to m

A first grader was practicing the Our Father with his mother.  He recited it perfectly and when he was finished he said "Mommy, I don't know what temptation means".  His mother responded, " Don't worry, son,  you soon will.  Isn't it the truth.  Temptation comes in many forms in many ways.  Some are tempted with money, others with sex, still others with dishonesty.  Folks who know me understand that I am not tempted with chocolate, candy, desserts.  For others, this is a real issue. What I am tempted to do I will keep between me and my confessor! We have to get to know ourselves and pray every day "Lead us not into temptation" And we know the meaning only too well. Monsignor Daniel F. Hoye

A few days ago I talked about an annual retreat but an annual retreat may be difficult for some. As an alternative Loyola Press offers what they call "a three minute daily retreat that gives you twenty-four hours of peace." The daily retreat can be accessed here . The archives of the past few weeks of retreats are available and if you like the retreats you can sign up to have them emailed to you each day. The site also advertises an iPhone/ iPad app for the retreat although I wasn't able to download either one - this may be coming in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy your retreat!

John Barrie was a 20th century Scottish author.  He wrote lots of whimsical stories, but is best known for Peter Pan.  Someone suggested that one of Barrie's favorite scripture passages could well be the Gospel today from Luke.  Barrie wrote that one of the worst days in a person's life is when he or she learns the meaning of tomorrow. Meaning that we procrastinate, put off until tomorrow, something that we should do today. In this section of Luke, he says that today we should be prepared for the Master's return; either at the end of time or with our own death.  We can't say that we will be prepared tomorrow, because tomorrow may not come.

One of the things that was discussed at the recent Synod was the need to streamline the process for granting annulments.  Amen to that.  Having been involved in the annulment process for over forty years, I know of what I speak.  Part of the delay is due to the speed, or lack thereof, of a particular tribunal. Some  cases I have submitted to our own tribunal in Fall River have taken over two years.  That is too long.  At other times the delay is due to the need to wait a period of time before going from one stage to the next.  If the "other party" or respondent ignores the tribunal's request for direction, you have to wait a month before moving on to the next stage.  When one has some experience in interviewing a petitioner, you almost always know from that point if the marriage is null or not.  Maybe one of the changes that can be made is to handle these things administratively rather than judicially.  In any event, a committee has been formed to study this matter and

There's nothing quite like a religious retreat to get you re-aquainted with God. This past weekend the deacons of the diocese had their annual retreat at LaSalette Retreat Center in Attleboro. The theme of the retreat was "From Francis to Francis" - and the presenter was a Franciscan! Discussions centered around the importance of all Christians being called to outwardly live the Gospel. Saint Francis, back in the twelfth century, was the one that coined the phrase, "preach often and when necessary use words."Eight hundred years later the other Francis, our Holy Father, is bringing the gospel of Christ into the world through his deeds and actions also. All people are called to live the gospel. In doing so, Pope Francis has some advice for those who are prepared to step up to the challenge.

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

There are some folks who make a “to-do” list for every day; some men call it the “honey-do list.”  Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, gives all of us a “to-do” list when we think about the Fruit of the Spirit—which one, or which ones do you and I need to work at? “The Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”  A good list that never goes out of date

Readings for Todays Homily We heard in the psalm, “Let your mercy come to me, Lord.”  That’s a prayer that all of us can utter; for one reason or another we need to receive the mercy of the Lord.  Our faith tells us that God extends that mercy to us, over and over and over again.  We need to be able to accept that mercy, so that we can move forward – not dwelling on the mistakes of the past, but going forward to the challenges of the Gospel in the future.  Not only do we need to receive the mercy of God ourselves, but try to reflect that mercy in our dealings with others – that we can extend to them mercy and forgiveness.

Homily for the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for todays Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

These last few weeks, I've had a lot of time sitting around, trying to find things to do between my walks. I haven’t been able to drive or do any heavy lifting but one thing I can do is sit in front of the computer. Sometimes maybe a little too much. One of my interests is surfing all things Catholic, especially the Vatican and Pope Francis. Isn't it interesting that we tend first toward things  that are important to us, but secondly, to winners. The Red Sox lost me this year but hopefully the Patriots continue winning, all the way to the Super Bowl. Pope Francis is a winner. He is a person who relates to people. He is humble and yet strong in his beliefs. He sees a more compassionate and inclusive Church. People love a winner and Pope Francis is definitely a winner. Another winner is a website I found.

On Sunday Pope Francis opened the Extraordinary Synod on the Family. There probably has not been such an anticipated event in the history of the Church since Vatican II. One thing that Pope Francis wants is open dialogue. It appears that he has gotten his wish. Factions from the liberal and conservative segments of the Church seem to have been posturing in advance of the opening. That aspect seems sort of sad in my opinion. Hopefully, the discussion does not deteriorate into the gridlock that has occurred in our government. Despite that fear, there is much hope that some delicate issues will be discussed and acted on. Such issues as birth control, gay civil unions, greater roles for women in the Church, and the most talked about issue recently, Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics. Pope Francis opened the Synod of Sunday by warning against "bad shepherds" who unduly burden the faithful and who "thwart" God by not being guided by the Holy Spirit. He als

Readings for Todays Homily Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and her sisters, are known for their service to others. Going and taking care of the needy and the poor.  Mother Teresa insisted that the sisters start their day in prayer, in prayer and adoration.  It was her teaching that both parts were needed, the service and the intimate relationship with the Lord, especially in the Eucharist. Today we have this famous story of Martha and Mary in Luke's gospel where Martha is doing all the work and Mary is doing all the listening.  Jesus does say that Mary has taken the "better part".  But most commentators say that both Martha and Mary are needed to be put together; the service and the prayer. Maybe you and I can look at our own lives and see how we need to balance ourselves, how we can be both Martha and Mary.

Readings for Todays Homily Yesterday I was watching a news program, multitasking reading the paper as well, so I’m not sure if I saw what I thought I saw about. There was a story about Ebola in Nigeria, and they were talking about disposing of the bodies.  There was this man that was wrapped up in a blanket on the side of the road, and two workers lifted him up; they were going to take the body to the crematorium.  But, the man started to move his fingers, so he was alive!  All they did was put the body back down on the side of the road. When I read the Gospel for today, it’s kind of a modern day version of the Good Samaritan, or perhaps the priest of Levite who just passed by.  It was only the Good Samaritan that cared for her.  I’m not judging the people that left the people on the side of the road, their job is to get rid of the dead, not help the living.  But nonetheless, maybe you and I don’t have drama of that scene or the scene in the Gospel reading, but we do hear the Gos

I presided at a wedding yesterday, one where I had the pleasure of sharing with my wife, Beth, who was providing the music. They were a very nice couple, but they were obviously nervous, especially the bride who was shaking. The point where I noticed a change was after they said “I do”. From that point on they seemed much more relaxed. It brought back memories of our wedding day almost 45 years ago. Don’t you love hearing stories about couples in love, how they met, whether they liked each other from the beginning or had to grow into a relationship, the scene of their proposal, their wedding day, and where they went on their honeymoon. I remember our wedding day vividly.

Homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily   To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

The eyes and ears of the disciples were blessed for what they saw and for what they heard. They saw and they heard Jesus Christ. But what about us, here, in the twenty first century? Are our eyes and ears blessed?  What do  you see when you see an unemployed homeless person calling out for help. A person whose only desire in life is to figure out where the next drink is going to come from? Do you see some insignificant person on the margin of society who needs to clean their act up or do you see the the hand of Jesus reaching out to you saying what ever you do for the least of these you do for me? Some nine hundred years ago the son of a wealthy merchant experienced such a person. The wealthy man took his fine clothes, gave them to the "insignificant" downtrodden beggar and then put on the beggars clothes. He spent the rest of his life wearing beggars clothes and reveled in the joy of being poor and simple. The man’s name was Francis and it happened in a place called A

Today begins the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops being held in Rome. The theme is: “Jesus Christ reveals the mystery and vocation of the family.”   The Assembly will use a “Preparatory Document” providing a basic catechesis on the Gospel of the Family.  That document is based on answers to nine questions posed to the world's bishops about the current state of pastoral care for marriages and families.  Remember the questionnaire? Consider this February 14 message from Pope Francis: “This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation

Well, it’s official!  Our Boston Red Sox are last.  With most of us being Sox fans, this end-of-the-line finish reminds us of the Gospel line: “The last will be first and the first will be last” (September 21, Matthew 20:1-16).   In 2012 the Red Sox were in last place to the horror of all fans.  They had a historic September collapse.  Then in keeping with Jesus’ insistence that the last will be first, in 2013 the Sox catapulted into first and won an exciting World Series! It was a tremendous turn-around and wonderful reversal of fortune.  But Jesus, we didn’t know you meant for the first to go back to being last!!  This baseball season marks the Sox return to the cellar.   Oh well, perhaps we’ll be first again in 2015.  Hope springs eternal: “The last will rise again.”   

Today’s Gospel from Matthew (18:1-5, 10) is quite similar to the one I usually read when I baptize babies and young children.  I use Mark (10:13-16) that has Jesus say: “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it…” I always tell parents, godparents, and all assembled to dig a little deeper into this reading to understand what it really means for all of us adults.  Like children, we need to forgive, trust, and be humble – that which we tend not to do or be when we’re adults and hardened by life’s daily struggles and conflicts. I also occasionally tell this story.  “Once upon a time, a sculptor was chipping away at a huge block of marble.  Two young children watched him work for many weeks.  They sat silently to the great surprise of their father and mother.

When sifting through discarded magazines at the Sandwich Library, I came across an April issue of TIME Magazine.  The cover story was “Finding God in the Dark” by Elizabeth Dias who wrote about Barbara Brown Taylor.  Catching my attention was Taylor's claim: "A walk in the dark can lead to wisdom, deliver us from fear, and bring us closer to God."  Taylor is a well-known preacher in the Episcopal Church.  In her own words provided in her book “Leaving Church,” she had a "lovers’ quarrel" with her faith that she lost.  She struggled to find God whom she thought at times was gone altogether.  She said, "I cannot say for sure when my reliable ideas about God began to slip away, but the big chest I used to keep them in is smaller than a shoebox now." According to one reviewer of "Leaving Church:" "Taylor describes a rich spiritual journey in which God has given her more questions than answers.  As she becomes part of the flock instead