The King's Corner

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that the antichrist was coming, so now many antichrists have appeared.  Thus we know this is the last hour.  They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us.  Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.   But you have the anointing that comes from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.  I write to you not because you do not know the truth but because you do, and because every lie is alien to the truth. This is New Year’s Eve day.  Our first reading speaks of the antichrist, and many of them – those who are in opposition to Christ.  They are those who lie and are alien to the truth.

December 30, 2018 Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Brothers and sisters: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.  And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection.  And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body.  And be thankful. St. Paul gives us good advice this Sunday.   We are to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness.

Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning.  The old commandment is the word that you have heard.  And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you, for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.   Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.  Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.  Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Readings from 1 John are great and fitting reminders for us to mend our ways in 2019.  Today’s reading follows from yesterday’s about light and darkness, and God is light.  We just celebrated the birth of Christ and experienced the winter solstice.  “Darkness is passing away…the true light is already shining.”  Christ’s light shines on us; therefore, we c

Beloved:  This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth.  But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin.  If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. This passage from the first letter of John is enlightening.  “God is light,” so says Jesus according to John, meaning there is “no darkness at all.”  He says when “we lie and do not act in the truth,” we walk in darkness.  Therefore, we refuse our fellowship with God.

And with the light of our love for those past and present - those who are with us now and those who we will always love even though they are no longer with us. Deacon David Pierce

Zechariah his father, filled with the Holy Spirit, prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David. Through his prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us.  He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.  You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent ~ Fr. Edward Healey December 23, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.  He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever."

Hark! my lover–here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Here he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattices.  My lover speaks; he says to me, "Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one, and come! "For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance. Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! Today is the winter solstice.  It’s the day with the fewest hours of sun.   Ironically the above passage from the Song of Songs tells us that winter is past and flowers have appeared.  Quite the tease since light is at its lowest and the ground is frozen with days of gloom and darkness.   It can be a depressing time of year.

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." Angels are sent from God to all of our homes.  We just have to recognize their presence often hidden behind the curtains we hang to ignore them.   These are curtains made of a fabric of fear and loneliness that darken ou

There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah.  His wife was barren and had borne no children.  An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son.  Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean.  As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb.  It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines." Wow, consecrated to God from the womb.  That’s Samson of Samson and Delilah fame.   No razor shall touch his head.    His hair gave him physical strength.   I should be so lucky.  My hair continues to bid me farewell.      Samson had a special fate – to deliver Israel from the power of the Philistines.   Who delivers us from the power of our oppressors?  We don’t need long hair for great strength

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,  “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,  and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.”  The name Jesus is a modern-day descendant of the Hebrew name Yeshua meaning "to deliver or to rescue." Emmanuel appears in the Book of Isaiah as a sign that God will protect the House of David.  What about all of our houses? I’d like to think that during Advent and the Christmas season we all remind God to protect our houses through the Christmas tree and all our decorations.  Our trees are topped with a star, such as the one th

A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad was working out by the boat house. Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were playing along the dock. The 12-year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted. The 3-year old, little Billy, thought it would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock. So he went to the dock, put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water which was about 6 feet deep. The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air. Sick with panic, he went right back down into the murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn’t feel anything.

In those days, like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah whose words were as a flaming furnace. Their staff of bread he shattered, in his zeal he reduced them to straits; By the Lord's word he shut up the heavens and three times brought down fire.  How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Whose glory is equal to yours? You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with fiery horses. You were destined, it is written, in time to come to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD, to turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons, and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob. Blessed is he who shall have seen you and who falls asleep in your friendship. This reading from Sirach speaks of Elijah but was used by Gospel writers as a harbinger of Jesus: his wondrous deeds and unequal glory.   The Transfiguration scene makes that clear – the new Elijah as well as the new Moses.  Jesus wasn’t taken aloft in a fiery chariot or in a whirlwind of fire.  He “

In the December 10 issue of America: The Jesuit Review of Faith and Culture, I read the article "How pastoral failures in communication are provoking a crisis in faith" by Sam Sawyer, S.J.  Father Sawyer summarizes what happened at last month's annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that "had failed as soon as it began with Cardinal Daniel DiNardo's announcement that the Vatican had asked the bishops not to vote on proposals for responding to the sexual abuse crisis in the U.S. church..."  This was a surprise announcement on the first day of the Conference. Sawyer continued, "People of the inner workings of the Vatican have told me I should not expect the universal church to operate according to the expectations of the 21st century media landscape.  They also say that Americans have unreasonable expectations  that whatever happens on their shores should command instant attention from  everyone, everywhere."   WHAT!? Forgiv

From today’s first reading:  Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, Say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not!  Here is your God, he comes with vindication; With divine recompense he comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; Then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Nice pep talk from Isaiah!   Again, we hear about being blind, deaf, lame and mute.  It all vanishes when are hearts are no longer frightened and we do not fear.   Advent is a time for this to happen.    So, let’s not to be feeble or weak.   Jesus insists. Deacon David Pierce

December 9, 2018 Second Sunday of Advent Readings for today's Homily  To watch Mass in its entirety click The Mass

How often have we heard the LORD God ask us, “Where are you?”  How often have we hidden from God to avoid answering?  Naked or not, we knew our answers would reveal our fear and not love of God – fear that we just cannot live up to God’s expectations.  Doing what is right and just might be too hard and inconvenient so we’re turned blind eyes to that which is wrong and even evil. One who did not hide and who answered, “Here I am” was Mary.  Our Gospel tells the story:  …the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."  But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" And the angel said to her in rep

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!"  When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?"  "Yes, Lord," they said to him.  Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith."   And their eyes were opened.  Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this."  But they went out and spread word of him through all that land. “I know that you can make me what I ought to be.”  This is what faith in Jesus means.  However, “I know what I should be, but I just cannot change,” is what many of us feel and recognize about ourselves.  Our eyes can be hard to open, like looking into the bright sun when we must squint so we fall short of what we ought to be. Jesus is the sunglasses we wear to avoid blindness towards others and doing what is right and just – what we ought to do. 

On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: "A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us.  Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith.  A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you." Trust in the LORD forever!  For the LORD is an eternal Rock.  He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust.  It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor . Yes, a strong country we have.   But, we don’t need walls and ramparts to protect us.  Is our nation just when we close our gates to those from other countries escaping poverty and cruelty?  What is our firm purpose?  If peace than how do we explain the suffering and chaos at our southern border caused by closed gates and barb-wired walls? 

At that time: Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, went up on the mountain, and sat down there.  Great crowds came to him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others.  They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.  The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the deformed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind able to see, and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and said, "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.  I do not want to send them away hungry, for fear they may collapse on the way."  The disciples said to him, "Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to satisfy such a crowd?"  Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"  "Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."  He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.  Then he took the seven loaves and th

Linus gives us a reminder.  The grass is not always greener on the other side.  Let's enjoy what we have in the present and where we are now.  We have much for which to be thankful. Deacon David Pierce

A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house. Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted. The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock. So he went to the dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about 5 or 6 ft deep. The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air. Sick with panic, he went right back down into this murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn’t feel anything. Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy's arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of the doc