The King's Corner

In today’s reading from Romans (10:9-18) we hear: “…How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!  But not everyone has heeded the good news…”   This reminds us of the expression: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” [or, see photo].  St. Paul is not talking about pedicures and pretty toes shaped, polished, and painted.    He’s referring to the dusty and dirty feet of those hard workers who speak of Jesus: his life, teachings, and fate.  These are the “beautiful feet” of which he speaks.   We’re in Advent, and we wait for the good news in the person of Jesus we celebrate at Christmas and then follow throughout the year.    If we harken to his news, as Paul says, “Our voices will go forth to all the earth, and our words to the end of the world.”   Throughout this special season let’s make the effort to at least have our voices go forth in our homes and communities.  We know a lot of “horses.”  Perhaps they will drink [or think]. Deacon D

Being the first week of Advent with our thoughts beginning to turn to gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, other gifts may come to mind: gifts of the Holy Spirit.  When were they made known to us?  Today’s first reading from Isaiah gives us a clue (IS 11:1-10).   It reads: “…On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a Spirit of counsel and of strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD, and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD…”   There they are from the Old Testament, not the New.  This just goes to show how much of the Old we drawn upon to understand the Holy Spirit and Jesus, our Christ. Our first reading then gives us a splendid visual of what Jesus’ arrival will cause through our interpretation of Isaiah’s meaning: “Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and

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We’ve begun a new year – the one according to Matthew (year A).   We’ve left Luke behind, although not entirely.   This transition reminds us that we need to move forward as best we can, especially for those who still carry the weight of previous bad decisions or the ill-fated decisions of others impacting our lives.   What’s done is done so we must forgive and forget, and seek forgiveness for the harms we have done.  Yes, easier said than done to be sure.   Nevertheless, Jesus has given us the cure with no payment due: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  That’s great fee advice. Deacon David Pierce  

November 27, 2016 First Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

This past week we had an interesting discussion on being “born again” at our bible study at the Falmouth Hospital. I was leading the group of about 10 with questions from the first letter of John, chapter 3. About two thirds of the group is Protestant and one third Catholic, so we have a good mix. I have to admit that when I hear that term I am sort of put off. I think, no, I am not a “born again” Christian. That is for those Protestants from the Bible Belt who think that the only way to be saved is by being “born again”. Most of us have our faith given to us by our parents. We are baptized when we are babies and then we are brought up in our Catholic faith through catechesis and through the faith that is passed on to us from our parents. There are some select who chose to convert and become Catholic, but is that because they are being born again, or is it because they have studied the Catholic faith and realize that it is the one true faith instituted by Christ and has continued th

This is the homily I gave on Sunday slightly edited to fit the blog format. 2 Sm 5.1-3; Ps 122.1-5; Col 1.12-20; Lk 23.35-43 This is the last Sunday of the Church Liturgical year. Next week we begin Advent, where we anticipate the birth of Jesus into the world. And so on this last Sunday of the year it is appropriate that we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, the feast day of our church. Today we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the formation of our parish and the 27th anniversary of the dedication of our Church. It is truly a joyous event. It’s a time for remembrances and thanksgiving for all that has happened in our parish; for all the wonderful ministries that have been formed over the years. It is a time to thank God for the wonderful development of our parish as a faith community, praying together, staying together; for all the out-reach to those in need, both materially and spiritually that we as a parish have fostered. Last night we celebrated the hundreds of vo

Enjoy the photo album from our Pastor's Appreciation Night!

November 20, 2016 The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

November is the month to remember those who have gone before us in faith. Click remembrance   to see the heartwarming remembrance of our brothers and sisters . After the month of November you'll be able to find this in the navigation on our website ( www.christthekingparish.com ) under Remembrance.

November 13, 2016 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

If you didn't get around to purchasing some harvest type of decorations for your Thanksgiving celebration you have little choice now but to hope there are a few remaining in the bargain bin at the store.  Why?  Because once Halloween was over the stores moved right into full Christmas mode, one that has been present and gradually increasing since Labor Day!  For us as people of faith this becomes a tempting time of year to fall into the trap of a Christmas defined   mainly by commercial interests rather than a truly traditional religious one.  In order to boost profits retailers feel they must push Christmas at every opportunity and a cultural version of it so that all people, even those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, can observe it as consumers at least.   It is to their best interest that Christmas start now and be marketed mainly as a time of gift giving so that people prepare for it by shopping until they drop on Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays and every day until Decemb

The Communion of Saints - As Catholics we regularly state our belief in "the communion of saints"  and as we do we are declaring that all the baptized,  those now living, those gone before us who are  undergoing purification,  and those who have attained the goal of heaven  are all united together as part of the one great mystical  Body of Christ.    The month of November with its special character as a  Month of Remembrance  certainly brings the reality of the communion of saints home to us in a very practical way as it reminds us that we are all in this great enterprise of sanctification  in Christ together, and we must help one another in order to achieve  its ultimate ends .  We began this month by honoring all the saints, those known and unknown, who are now living in the presence of God as we all hope one day to be.  On the very next day we begin to remember those who still need out prayers in order to complete whatever reparation and preparation is necessary in order

Now that we've "fallen back" and set our clocks back an hour, the sun begins to set much earlier.  I know that for many - myself included - it takes a few days to get adjusted to the time change.  Amazing how one hour makes such a difference! I have heard many say that the sun setting at 4:30pm tends to be a mood changer.  It's obvious that Summer is over, and we're looking to the dark, cold, and dare I say snowy days of Winter. November is a month of gratitude or giving thanks.  At the end of each day, no matter how bad the day is, we should take a few minutes to choose three positive things that happened that day.  After identifying those three things - or moments - offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for them.  God blesses us abundantly each and every day, but sometimes we just have to dig deeper to find them.  Sometimes the darkness or the stress around us causes us to fail to see the blessings in our life. Perhaps we could adapt this new prayer rou

November 6, 2016 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass