The Pastor’s Pen

The Pastor's Pen

May 31, 2026

A Matter of Life and Death:  Even at the  risk of  being labeled  “political” by discussing issues here that have become footballs in that arena, I feel I must speak out about matters such as  the plight of migrants, the fate of the unborn, the unacceptable consequences of war, or the easy availability of lethal  assault style weapons. All of these and more are matters of life and death.   I would rightly be accused of being political  if I were so bold as to recommend a specific party or candidate, which I would never do. Yet once candidates are elected to office, the  legislative decisions they make and the policies they implement are not above scrutiny from a moral and religious standpoint.  Faith is not supposed to private, it should matter greatly regarding how we judge the rightness or wrongness of the way society is moving at the moment either through the influence of contemporary trends in thinking or be  the enactment of laws and policies   It is moral matters that happen to  get politicized about which we as a Church have a legitimate concern and are sometimes compelled to speak out  and will  not be intimidated into silence  by those who try to tell us that such  these matters are not really  our business!   So here we go again in the State of Massachusetts, as bills  are presently  before the legislature advocating the legalization of  assisted suicide.  Of course, it won’t be called that because that is just too blunt and thus makes it sound like what it really is, and that is not at all acceptable to many.  So “medical assistance in dying”  is the new slogan because who wouldn’t want medical help if needed in the dying process?  Yet actually asking your doctor to kill you puts you and that doctor in a gravely immoral position!    This step too far will be justified by those who advocate for it as the only compassionate thing to do, and those who oppose them will be cast as those who coldly don’t care about the sufferings of others, but nothing could be further from the truth.   Compassion for the seriously ill and dying is exercised in caring for them, providing them with what they need to be comfortable, and accompanying them on this last leg of life’s journey until it comes to its natural end, not in handing them a lethal dose of drugs to take!  The Church knows well that assisted suicide  is one of the major moral issues concerning human life that can and likely will proceed down a very slippery slope.  Indeed, how long before the right to die when one wants to do so with medical assistance will become the duty to die before extensive care is needed so as not to become a burden on one’s loved ones and society itself?  We know that this world does not generally value people simply because they are fellow human beings, but rather for how they look, what they can do,  how much money they can make, and thus the influence they can wield.   Frail elders,  the seriously ill, the disabled, and the destitute are  those cast to the margins already,  and they will be among the first to feel the pressure, subtle or not, to avoid being a burden on others and society itself.   Once assisted suicide is legal, they  will  get the message that they should stop trying to hang on to life because they are draining insurance company or  social safety net coffers, as they depend on valuable resources and expensive equipment  to stay alive.  Indeed, at first, the very  poor,  the disabled, and the seriously sick and thus dependent will be most vulnerable to being made to feel they are a burden, but then  who will be next?    As Catholic Christians, we believe that human life is of unquestionable  value because it is of divine origin and needs  no other criteria than that  to command our respect,  care, and protection!  While we may have a fair amount to  say about what happens to us between birth and death, the time of our entrance into this world and our departure from it is not in our hands, but God’s!  So let us be unafraid to speak up at this time by contacting our representatives in the State Legislature to tell them we cannot support the legalization of assisted suicide!
 
 
Reminder – Taizé Prayer Service:  A prayer service in honor of the Most Holy Trinity will be held this Sunday evening, May 31st,  at 7 PM at St. John Neumann Church in East Freetown.
 
 
Catholic Appeal:  Thus far, 175 households of the parish have pledged or donated in response  to Bishop DaCunha’s annual request to help him in supporting the apostolates, ministries, agencies, and charities of the Diocese of Fall River, which is the local Church to which we as a parish belong. Please be mindful that the annual Catholic Appeal will close on the 30th of June, so we ask every household to  prayerfully consider giving something as a concrete sign of our unity as Catholics in this region of New England  and our cooperation with the spiritual  shepherd appointed for us by the successor of St. Peter.
 
 

The Sacrament of All Sacraments:  All seven sacraments are important, but in addition to baptism, there is one that is crucial, and that is the Eucharist.  In this sacrament, Christ offers us himself as food in his  life-giving, death-defying body and blood as the means of sanctifying us and strengthening us spiritually for the journey that  leads to God’s kingdom. Next Sunday, June 7th,  we celebrate the annual feast in honor of the Eucharist commonly known as Corpus Christi.  A simple  Eucharistic procession from the main Church to the Chapel will conclude the 10:30 AM Mass, which will be followed by an afternoon of exposition of the  Blessed Sacrament for adoration  until Benediction just  before the 5:30 PM Mass.  This year, we will also be blessed to have a special presentation on  the major Eucharistic Miracles following the 10:30 AM Mass in the parish hall.  This presentation will surely be a source of inspiration to us in our belief as Catholics in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; plan now to attend!

May 24, 2026

The Feast of Pentecost:  Today, we conclude the 50 days of the Easter Season with the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles at Pentecost. The Paschal Candle, which was  inscribed and lit at the solemn Vigil of Easter and set in a prominent place at the side of the ambo, will be extinguished at the end of all Masses today to symbolize that what was begun 50 days ago has now come to its conclusion.   

 

Why Pledge?:  As the annual Catholic Appeal is now underway and will be continuing  until June 30th, each of us is encouraged to ask ourselves if  we will give and if so, how much we should give.  As we ask those questions, let us be mindful of who it is that is asking and why. Indeed, it is our bishop, the successor to the apostles, by whose presence and ministry here we as a diocese are a spoke in the wheel that is the worldwide  Catholic Church with the successor of Peter at its very center.  The bishop would not ask us to do anything but that which would help us to exercise  our Catholicism as Christian believers so as to be effective witnesses to our faith in this time and place.  In his letter St James, the brother of the Lord,  says, “Show me a faith without works, and I will show you a faith that is dead”.  So  from those earliest days of the church, Christians  have been challenged to practice their faith by believing, worshiping, and then acting in ways that concretely express the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As the “Local Church” is not our parish alone but the  entire diocese, it is on that level that we are also called to give public witness to our faith through good works. Numerous people are employed by the Diocese, or who volunteer  their time and talent to organize and carry out various apostolates, ministries, and services in the name of the Church to serve  the sick, the bereaved, the stranger, the incarcerated, and the poor, yet they could not do that without our financial and spiritual support.  Thus, when we give to the Catholic Appeal, we are uniting ourselves with  our bishop and with other Catholics throughout the diocese as the force of faith and love whose  generosity is the source of  essential support for all the charitable, pastoral, and catechetical activities being accomplished by the Local Church.  If we simply donate now, we will feel the connection at this time, yet perhaps be less than mindful of it the rest of the year.  Yet when we pledge monthly, the connection is all that much more constant throughout the year, and the sacrifice we are making is likely greater and more deeply felt.  So whatever we may  ultimately decide to do, let us take care  not to  excuse ourselves lightly from giving to this  primary  appeal that our bishop makes to us for help each year, and thus be as generous as possible  either through a one-time donation before June 30th or, better yet, a pledge paid in monthly installments throughout the year!  
 

 

Memorial Day:  As the gateway to the summer vacation season, this holiday weekend is a most welcome one each year.   However, when that is the primary emphasis, the true purpose of Memorial Day is easily eclipsed by recreational activities alone, and consequently, seldom does  a cemetery get  visited, nor are veterans especially remembered.  Indeed, this was a day established as Decoration Day to ensure that no grave of any veteran would be left unmarked,  unkept, or without a flag or wreath or some flowers, and most especially for  those who lost their  lives while serving our country.  As we observe the 250th anniversary of our nation, we appreciate that the numbers who have fought and died, beginning with the American Revolution, are far too many to count for sure, but perhaps this year we could remember in prayer the 13 most recent members of our armed forces who have lost their lives in this present conflict with Iran as representative of all those now gone before them.  So this Memorial Day, no matter what else we may do, let us pause to remember that much blood has been shed across two and a half centuries in defense of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans and remember in grateful prayer  those who paid the ultimate  price for the rights and privileges that we sometimes take for granted!
 
 
 
Taize Prayer Service:  A Prayer Service in honor of the Holy Trinity, featuring the chant-style simplicity of the music of the Taize Community, will take place at 7 PM at St. John Neumann Church in East Freetown.  Those who have participated in the past would vouch that this is a simple but profoundly prayerful experience, which is well worth the ride from Mashpee.
 
 
 
Additional Mass for the Vacation Season: The Sunday 7 AM Mass resumes this weekend and will continue through to, and including, the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.


May 17, 2026

Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except:  The Fifth Commandment is quite straightforward in prohibiting the taking of human life, and when it was first given to Moses on Mount Sinai, it did not contain any exception clauses. The idea is that all life, and especially human life, is the creation and gift of God, and so it is only God who has ultimate authority to both give and take it.  Sadly, history and present-day experience reveal that human beings are still very much in rebellion against divinely set limits, no less than those that were our first parents in the Garden of Eden. Clearly, it is now widely regarded as a right for a mother to take the life of the child in her womb.  States are accorded the right to take the lives of those judged guilty (rightly or wrongly) of certain serious crimes. In many places now, it is legal for an individual to actively end their own lives and to have a doctor assist them when they feel it is no longer worth living due to advanced age or illness.  While all of this may be legal in various states or nations, clearly none of it can ever be declared moral in light of the Law of God.  Yet reflecting upon real-life experience of unjust aggression and lethal violence, the Church has discerned through the ages two acceptable exceptions to the commandment that prohibits the taking of another human life: Self-Defense regarding individuals and Just War regarding states and nations.  Indeed, if I see my neighbor with a loaded gun aiming it toward my family and me in my front yard, then I may fire first if there is no other reasonable way to escape his or her murderous intentions.  However, if my neighbor and I have had a long history of contentious relations and I observe him or her taking a gun catalogue out of their mailbox, I am not then entitled to burn his or her house down with them in it to prevent the possibility of any future violence against me and mine!  This also applies to states and nations; it is only acceptable l  to engage in war when attacked first and then only after every other reasonable effort to resolve a conflict and prevent its escalation into a war has been exhausted.  Preemptive strikes are not considered moral according to the Church’s understanding of Just War as defined by St. Augustine in the early 5th Century and refined by St Thomas Aquinas in the 13th Century.   Indeed, until the 4th century, there was a strong tendency toward pacifism among Christians, yet that became untenable in the face of the brutality of the barbarian invasions after the fall of the Roman Empire in the West.  According to the principles of the Just War Theory, it is permissible to fight back when attacked if no diplomatic solution is possible, yet initiating aggressive warfare is condemned; only legitimate defense is ever permissible.  The purpose of fighting back can never be to exact revenge, but rather must be to protect and preserve innocent human life and reestablish peace.  Therefore, for a war to be just, it must have that protection and peace as its primary purposes and have a reasonable hope of success.  It also must obey the law of proportionality, in that the side that was first attacked is not permitted in turn to cause even greater destruction or evil than that to which it is responding. While accepting the tragedy of war as an inescapable reality at times, the Church is also adamant that non-combatants be respected and protected, and destruction of property be limited only to what is unavoidable. So, respecting the long and admirable moral tradition of the Church regarding these exceptions to the commandment not to kill, let us each subject what we know of the recent war in Gaza and now the one in Iran and Lebanon to these essential moral principles to discern whether God’s side is likely that of a President and Prime Minister or is it rather that of the Pope?  Let us continue to pray for an end to war in every form and place and for the dawn of a new day of peace that will last because it is established not by political power alone but primarily by principles of mercy and justice.  Indeed, let us pray as Jesus has taught us, that God’s kingdom of justice, love, and peace come in its final fullness on earth!

 

Early Risers and Golfers Take Note:  Beginning next weekend, which is observed as Memorial Day Weekend this year, the Sunday 7:00 AM Mass will return and be scheduled each Sunday thereafter through the late Spring and Summer up until and including the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend, September.  We are happy to provide this Mass for your convenience, but we also could use the help of some of those who prefer this early Mass to serve as sacristans, ushers, servers, lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers so as not to draw our ministers away from the Masses at which they customarily serve. If you have an interest in serving in any of these essential capacities, please contact the parish office and let us know!      

 

National Eucharistic Procession Comes to Our Diocese:  Processing under the banner of ONE NATION UNDER GOD, the National Eucharistic Procession will stop in our Diocese on its way to Washington DC  for the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the establishment of our independence as a nation. The procession will stop in Easton on June 29th for Adoration from 12 noon to 3;30PM. Then the procession will move to New Bedford later that day for Adoration between 6 PM and 9 PM.  Then on Tuesday, June 30th, the procession will conclude its visit to the Fall River Diocese with adoration from 7 AM to 2 PM in the City of Fall River. Further details are available at http://www.fallriverdiocese.org.  If some would be interested in taking a bus to one of these sessions if it were available, please call the parish office by June 2nd to indicate your interest, and plans will be made to hire a bus (or not) according to the level of response. 

May 10, 2026

A Holy Day of Obligation: This coming Thursday, May 14th, marks 40 days since the First Day of Easter, and so we properly celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on that day, whereas some other Dioceses, including those in Florida, for reasons of convenience, have moved that celebration to the 7th Sunday of Easter. Masses for the Feast of the Ascension will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 13th, at 4 PM and on Thursday, May 14th, at 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM.

 

Mother’s Day -Returning to the Roots of this Special Day: In 1905, following the death of her own mother, who had campaigned to reduce child mortality rates and to heal divisions between families following the Civil War, Anna Jarvis advocated for the establishment of an annual day to honor the sacrifices that mothers make for children. The first Mother’s Day observance was a prayer service in 1908 in the Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, to which Anna Jarvis belonged. By 1914, President Wilson had signed a Congressional Resolution establishing the second Sunday in May to be observed annually as Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis selected the carnation as the official flower of the day and promoted the custom of wearing a pink or red carnation if one’s mother is still living and a white carnation if she has passed away. In our contemporary times, the day is observed with the sending of cards, flowers, and the giving of gifts, yet Anna Jarvis spent most of her life and a sizable amount of her wealth to fight the commercialization by florists and greeting card companies that rapidly came to dominate the observance of the day. So today, let us return to the roots and prayerfully call to mind the sacrifices our own mothers and perhaps our grandmothers, godmothers, stepmothers, and second mothers have made for us. In remembering them and even before presenting those still living with cards or flowers, let us offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for them, whether they be living or dead. Let us also remember other mothers in addition to our own in prayer, especially single and widowed mothers, and mothers under emotional or financial stress, as they seek to provide for their children. Let us pray for mothers at risk of deportation or those already separated from their children because of immigration policies. Let us pray for the anxious mothers of members of our armed forces as they dread the potential deployment of their sons and daughters to dangerous areas of our troubled world. Let us especially remember the grieving mothers who have lost their children to accident, suicide, violence, war, deadly disease, or substance abuse. Special prayers might also be offered for mothers who must grieve even though their child is still alive, yet perhaps separated from them by alienation or some other painful reason. Indeed, first and foremost, let us make Mother’s Day a day of prayer in appreciation of all mothers whose hearts are so full of love, who are so often anxious for the safety and well-being of their children, no matter their age, or whose hearts are broken by the children with whom they have little or no contact! Let us say, Lord, bless all mothers who by their unconditional and unending love are living signs among us of your own divine, unfailing love for us, Amen!.

 

Crowning an Image of Our Heavenly Mother: It is most appropriate, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, that we honor our heavenly Mother by crowning an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a wreath of flowers at the conclusion of the 8:30 AM Mass this weekend. The crowned image will remain in the Sanctuary through the end of the Easter Season at Pentecost and beyond until the 31st of May.

 

The Annual Catholic Appeal; May 1st to June 30th: Once again, we are allowed to express our solidarity in faith and charity with our Bishop and our fellow Catholics throughout Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod, and the Islands as we support the charitable and pastoral works of the Church in the Diocese of Fall River through our generosity to the Annual Catholic Appeal. This is a concrete way in which to express that we are part of something not only larger than ourselves but also larger than our own parish, as it enables us to join together to be a living sign of the presence and compassion of Christ as we support the good works carried out in our name as Catholics by Bishop daCunha and the various apostolates, agencies and ministries of our Diocese.

May 3, 2026

A Dangerous Mix:  Recently, the  News brought word of a potential massacre that thankfully was thwarted by alert security personnel at the Washington Hilton with the White House Correspondents Dinner and  President Trump and members of his cabinet in attendance t as the apparent  targets.  There is a lot of division over issues and much anger in our country  at this time, and at the same time, the proliferation of guns has not been effectively controlled by  Congressional legislation despite the  horrible mass shootings, particularly in some of  our nation’s schools, that have occurred.  There seems  also to be an increasing tendency toward settling  disputes, be they personal or public,  by violence. On an  international scale, this violence  is exercised as  war, and on a more local or personal level, this is expressed as violence with weapons, especially guns.  Despite all that we have seen, there will be those who are still absolutists when it comes to the right to possess firearms and who will vehemently object to any attempts to  place stricter control on the acquisition of  these.  Yet in defending this right to the extreme, it seems another right, that of assembly, is inevitably curtailed. That is not to say that it is actually intentionally  limited  by law, but rather, consequently, by the rational  fear with which many will now approach gathering with large crowds for any purpose whatsoever!  Indeed, we are now forced to wonder before attending  the sporting event, the concert, the rally, the patriotic fireworks display, or  the holiday parade if this will be the occasion on which someone angry to the point of being deranged plans  to express their rage by opening fire on a large number of people?   Sadly, this is a question that now haunts us whenever we think about participating in  any large gathering  in these troubled  times.  We as Catholics can be part of the solution to this situation as we continue to boldly stand up for the sanctity and thus the protection of all human life, a value that has obviously significantly eroded in our day and age.  Yet we can also  further step up by  challenging  the use of violence in any form, beginning with verbal and moving to that which is physical or armed, as a means of dealing with  those who oppose or hurt us.  This is not the approach of the weak or of fools but actually that of the strong who, from a religious and moral perspective, dare to actually follow Jesus Christ, who counseled us to love even our enemies, to offer no resistance, and to turn the other cheek!  While it is certainly political from present-day perspectives, it is nonetheless also a moral obligation from a religious stance as Christians to speak up against the all too easy availability of guns in general, and especially  against  access to military-style assault weapons by civilians. The expression of this serious concern to those in positions of  power should stem not only  from a genuine concern for our own safety but also that of many others besides.  Lastly, let us as Christians, not neglect to  pray for those who have had their lives so unjustly  stolen from them because they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time on a  day when an angry individual decided to go to that location to  make a statement, not with  persuasive words but  with the murderous misuse of a gun!. In the decade ending in 2024, for which statistics are now  available,  5,200 people were killed in  the United States in incidents of mass shootings, defined as those  in which  4 or more people are shot. Through prayer, moral teaching, and advocacy, may we as Catholics join other people  of goodwill in efforts to  bring  the occurrence of such unnecessary tragedies to an end in this land!
 
 

Steps Along the Path to Full Initiation into  Christian Life:  On this Sunday, those young people who have been preparing through our Faith Formation Program  receive Holy  Communion  for the first time.   On Friday evening, those who have been preparing were Confirmed with the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands and the anointing with Chrism by Bishop DaCunha.  Both of these sacraments further initiate the recipients into the Body of Christ, which is the Church, and thus further fulfill what was begun at  their Baptism.  Peryers are asked from the whole Community of Faith  that those who receive these sacraments, and their parents and godparents who brought them to these special  milestones along the path of Christian Initiation, will realize that these are but a beginning, not an end, of  their participation in the life of the Church.  Those responsible for bringing children  for baptism are all  asked if they would raise them  “in the practice of the faith,” to which they must give an affirmative response. May they do so with the understanding that the “practice of the faith” cannot be reduced to calling oneself a Christian, or “being nice”  because you identify as one.  Rather, the actual practice of the faith entails regularly  worshipping God in Christ each Sunday  at Mass, where  God’s Word is heard, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist is received.  Thus,  strengthened by what has been heard and received, the Christian is meant to go out to put faith into action in the situations they face in  daily life, and when one fails to do so,  those failings should be confessed and absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and penance should be done to start anew.  Thus, the irrepealable Sacraments of Initiation,  Baptism and Confirmation are meant to set us  into a pattern of life in  which we regularly  participate in the repeatable sacraments of  Eucharist and Reconciliation, which will then assist us to faithfully live out our commitments in the  Sacraments of Vocation, which are Matrimony and Holy Orders, which ideally are also meant to be irrepealable.  This is the authentic  practice of the Christian faith!

April 26, 2026

Let the Pope Mind His Own Business: This is the supposed wisdom of politicians and pundits who are bothered by what the Pope may have to say regarding issues of the day. We have heard that the Pope should stick to internal matters of the Church and stay out of politics.  Some have said the Pope should watch what he says, even when speaking publicly about theology!   It is usually around issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and assisted suicide that those who support such practices want the Church and the Pope, who leads i,t to sit on the sidelines in silence.  Recently, it is the Pope’s criticism of the cruel treatment of immigrants and now of war that does not meet the criteria of just war  that has gotten under the skin of those responsible for promoting these.  Yet any of these issues is not merely a political issue that the Pope has no business commenting on. Rather, each of these is, first and foremost, a moral issue because they concern human life!   The Pope, as the Vicar of Christ on earth and the one who defines morality for us,  thus actually has more right to speak with true authority on these issues  than do politicians and pundits!  Stalin, a political leader whom no one should admire, once said that the loss of one human life is a tragedy, but the loss of thousands is a statistic!  This callous attitude to the loss of human life fueled  Stalin’s own immoral conduct as leader of the Soviet Union when he exterminated countless many of those he considered his political opponents.  That is one example of why political leaders  should never  readily be given either the first or the last word when it comes to matters of human life!  Instead, it is actually  those like the Pope who know and respect the sacredness of all human life because they believe in God who created it, who should be heeded as the voice of conscience in these weighty  moral matters.   Those who hold positions of power in the world are quite capable of using, abusing, and destroying the lives of other human beings for their own political ends. This has been seen throughout history and sadly far too frequently even in  very recent times, as in Israel, Gaza and Syria, and now in Lebanon and Iran.   So, when a national leader threatens to annihilate the whole civilization of another nation unless they bend to his will, that is not the person who should be listened to; it is those like the Pope who say there is a better way than war with its  widespread death and destruction to resolve international conflicts who must be heard!  As has been proven time and again, those civil authorities who unjustly and cruelly take the lives of others and those who listen to them, support them, or worse, cooperate with them in such moral evil will in the end find themselves on the wrong side of history. Yet being on the wrong side of history, while bad enough, is not as risky as finding oneself on the wrong side of eternity for refusing to listen to those Prophets  who in every age warn that God, as the author of human life  and the final judge of all, is not  likely to look kindly on those who fail to respect it and who erroneously think they have the right and the freedom to destroy it! 
 
 

 

Parish Pastoral Council Nominations: The Christ the King Parish  Council, chaired by Deacon Peter Schutzler, has met recently and noted that there are vacant seats due to expiring terms and members who have moved out of the area.   According to the By-Laws for Parish Councils as established by the Diocese of Fall River, registered parishioners who are Catholics in good standing,18 years of age or older, may nominate themselves or be nominated to serve on the  Pastoral Council,  Once nominations are screened via an application process and interview, the present members of the  Parish Pastoral  Council vote to fill the vacancies.  Nomination Forms will soon be found at the entrances to the Church or will be available through the Parish Office.  The Pastoral Council is not a legislative body but an essential advisory group to the Pastor, Clergy, and Staff of the parish, which has great value in helping to keep the needs of the parishioners known and to influence the pastoral direction and activities of the parish. Those with faith, a love of the Church, and a sincere interest in serving the overall good of their local parish are encouraged to consider membership on the Parish Pastoral Council.
 
 

 

Easter Sacraments Of Initiation:  On Friday May 1st at 6:30 PM Bishop Edgar Da Cunha will be here to confirm the young people of the parish who have been preparing for this important ratification of the promises made for them at baptism and the outpouring of the fulness of the Holy Spirit and that Spirit’s seven gifts; all parishioners are welcome to participate in the Mass of Confirmation.  On Sunday, May 3rd at a Mass at 12:30 PM, young people of our parish who have been preparing will be receiving the Eucharist for the first time. As those who receive the Body of Christ are further initiated into the Body of Christ, which is the Church, all parishioners are also welcome to participate in this special Mass next Sunday.

April 19, 2026

One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic:   What does it mean to belong to a community of faith  that has all of these essential marks  that identify  the Church as the same as the one  that Jesus  Christ has founded?  As Dr. Brant Pitre, an accomplished scholar of scripture, will point out, we can learn who we are supposed to be and what we are supposed to do as the Church of Christ from the description of the life of the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem after the Resurrection.  This description was  found in the Acts of the Apostles reading from last week, on the Second Sunday of Easter. There in Acts 2:42  we read  this:   “They devoted themselves to  the teaching of the apostles and  to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.”  The teaching of the Apostles implies sound doctrine rooted in their experiences with Christ and, consequently, their beliefs as his closest followers.  The communal life implies that  the first Christians  gathered together not only  to socialize but  to support one another in the faith and to take care of the needs of any  among them who were poor and  thus struggling. The breaking of the bread does not mean they simply had lunch together, for the other references to this in the New Testament make clear that this was what they understood Jesus  had commanded them to do in his memory at the Last Supper,  Recall that it was” in the Breaking of the Bread”  that the two  disciples recognized the stranger with whom they had been walking toward Emmaus as the Risen Jesus himself. So the Breaking of the  Bread means participating in the celebration of the Eucharist, Thus it  only follows that this also  implies reception of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation which lead us into the Eucharist, and those of Marriage and Holy Orders as the Sacraments  which  flow from the Eucharist, and Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick as those which bring us back to Christ in the Eucharist when by sin or sickness we are in danger of being alienated  from Him.  The Prayers refer to the traditional pattern of daily prayer at the beginning of each day, at midday, and at evening, which was common among the Jewish people of that time.  While this pattern of prayer will develop into what is commonly known as the Liturgy of the Hours with sung psalms, antiphons, and scripture readings as observed by monks, nuns, and clergy in the Church, it meant praying the prayer Jesus had taught them at these three times of day.  While absorbing and practicing what the Apostles taught made the early Christians  Apostoli,c joining together to celebrate and live their faith  made them One, and setting themselves apart by these practices  to honor and worship God made them Holy.  While we have been taught that Catholic means universal, and indeed it does, but as Dr. Pitre points out, it also implies “being of the whole”, meaning all of the elements are essential to any Church that is the authentic Church of Christ. Indeed, some people engage themselves  in the communal life of the Church by participating  in some of its charitable or social activities, yet who seldom if ever join  in the celebration of the  Sunday Eucharist, clearly that is not  fully Catholic!  Neither is worshipping but never becoming meaningfully connected with one’s fellow believers, nor doing three out of four but rejecting the Church’s fundamental teachings rooted in that which comes from the Apostles.  So let us appreciate that the Church that is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic is fully found in the teachings, worship, and communal life  and prayers of the Church to which we belong, the one shepherded by the successor of St. Peter and the bishops as successors of the Apostles who remain  in communion with him.  Let us never fail to challenge in all charity the  criticism of those who claim to  follow Jesus Christ but who boldly say that we as  Catholics are not truly Christian!   Ironically, they reveal themselves to be  blind guides when it is their own assemblies  which focus  primarily on preaching the word and praising God in song  to the exclusion of that which  Jesus specifically commanded his followers to do in his memory!  No one should  claim to  be authentically and fully   Christian and their church to be true  if they do not regularly  celebrate the Eucharist while believing  that this is the means by which  Jesus  remains most  truly and powerfully  present among us!    
 
 
Alms for the Poor:  The Simple Supper held on the last Friday evening of Lent brought in $1770.00 for our Lenten Charities, and the collection on Holy Thursday evening totaled $16,325, so a total of $18,095 was collected to be split among Matthew 25, Catholic Relief Services, and Cross Catholic Outreach, with each  receiving $4,898.33. There were also additional donations received specified for each of the charities beyond the proceeds of the  Simple Supper and the Holy Thursday collection which brought the final totals to: Matthew 25 -$7,408.34, Catholic Relief Services- $5,198,33 and Cross Catholic Outreach -$5488.33, Thus as regards the work of Cross Catholic Outreach which is building  simple, sturdy houses for those whose homes are makeshift shelters with mud floors for a cost of about $10,000 each, between last year’s Lenten  almsgiving of $5,466 combined with this year’s total of $5,488.33 the people of Christ the King Parish  have given enough for one house to be completed and started toward the building of another.   May all who have blessed the lives of the poor who are served by these charities be blessed abundantly in turn for their generosity!
 
 

No Option But  to Take A Stand: Last Sunday night, Divine Mercy Sunday, President Donald Trump posted online what can only be categorized as a disparaging screed against our Holy Father,  Pope Leo XIV.  The Holy Father was characterized by the President as weak on crime and terrible on foreign policy. The Pope was  accused of wanting a nuclear Iran and of being a very  liberal person with the intention of using that adjective  as a disparaging label. The President credited himself with Leo, an American, being elected as Pope and implied that  the Holy Father should be grateful to him rather than critical of his policies!  Bishop Robert Barron, usually a loyal  supporter of this President, called on Mr. Trump to apologize to Pope Leo, but the President has refused to do so because the Pope “has said bad things”.  In contrast, with  the  dignity of quiet strength the Pope responded simply  by saying he doesn’t fear the Trump administration nor does he fear speaking up strongly for the gospel and concluded by quoting the Beatitudes “Blessed are the peacemakers.”  Thus we can trust that despite harsh and unwarranted criticism Pope Leo in his role as Vicar of Christ  will continue to be faithful to his ministry which is to call the world and its leaders to establish peace rather than wage war as is clearly in keeping with the Lord’s life and teachings. This situation took a further descent when  President Trump then  posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Christ-like figure  curing  a sick man with light emanating from his hands to depict divine power. The reaction to this blasphemy was justifiably  so negative, even among non-Catholics, that President Trump took the post down and then tried to persuade  people that they were somehow misinterpreting it.  The President claimed that he wasn’t depicting himself as a Christ figure, but  rather expressing his  support of the Red Cross, as indicated by the nurse in the picture, and thus he was  portraying  himself as a doctor because he is someone who makes people feel better! It is unlikely that many among those who have actually seen this image would be convinced by such an explanation!  As Catholics,s we should trust that our  Pope  is  ultimately chosen more by the influence of the Holy Spirit than by that  of any world leader, thus Leo is not in the Vatican because Donald Trump is in the White House!   Pope Leo  deserves  and should receive our respect and our support not only  in the face of this present insult but always as he fulfills his challenging ministry of uniting the baptized in understanding and applying  the teachings of Jesus Christ to the many difficult questions and  problems of the world in which we live.  Yet when a  President of the United States, who is supposed to fill the role of First Person in our nation, speaks and acts in our name in such an undignified and  offensive  manner, and in this instance  toward Jesus Christ and  his vicar on earth sadly  he does not merit our respect.. Rather, the President  should face the very loud cry of “unacceptable”  by all  Catholics  and especially those who are members of his administration  and not only by Catholics  but by all people with a fully developed conscience which renders them capable of discerning right from wrong!.  Yet moving beyond and rising above this ugly incident as we must,  let us as Catholics  and Americans not neglect to keep our President  and our nation, the standing of  which is presently in his hands, in our prayers that we might once again become an unambiguous  beacon of decency before all the world.  Indeed, when we as a nation  are known and respected for establishing peace in the world  based  not only on military power but primarily  on justice, that is when  America  will truly  be great again

April 12, 2026 ~ Easter Sunday

The Passion of the Christ(ians)  Continues:  While the liturgy of the Church centered our focus on the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ during these past three weeks, we may have missed a story from Israel that was largely under-reported by mainstream media in the United States.   It centers on Taybeh, a village in the West Bank that is predominantly inhabited by Christians, the last remaining  Christian village in the Palestinian  Territory.  While it may be called Taybeh today, and is well known for the beer that shares their name as it is produced in its local brewery, in the First Century it was called Ephraim, and if we are attuned to the  smaller  details in the Gospels that are  proclaimed at Mass, we  realize it  mentioned on the Fifth Sunday of Lent as the town in which Jesus was taking refuge while  opposition to him was building in Jerusalem.   It was while in Ephraim that Jesus learned that his friend Lazarus was seriously ill, and so he left there to go to Bethany.  Ironically, just a few days before we heard that gospel,  Taybeh was under attack once again by radical Israeli Settlers who came into the town and occupied a cement factory that is an important element in the local economy, planting an Israeli flag on the building as an indication that, in their minds, it now belongs to them.  Other acts of violence, such as the burning of cars and the spraying of anti- Palestinian graffiti, took place.  These are efforts to intimidate the Palestinians of the town and to let them know that Taybeh is a target of Settler activity, which implies that the goal is to make life so miserable for the  Palestinians that they  will be driven out of there so that it can be taken over as an Israeli Settlement on Palestinian Land.   Thus, the recent incursion follows one in July when the Settlers let their flocks loose in Palestinian’s garden, and Olive Groves ruined their crops, and then set fire to the ruins of the ancient church of St George from the 4th Century, and also burned the Christian Cemetery adjacent to it!  While Taybeh should be of special concern as it is  the home of fellow  Christians so should the truth of what is happening throughout the West Bank where there are now 140  Israeli  Urban Settlements in the West Bank  which are illegal under international law, these are whole towns which usually started as outposts but which were eventually approved  by the Israeli Government and protected by the Israeli army. In addition to those Urban Settlements on Palestinian Lands, there are presently 196 illegal outposts established by radical settlers, half of them only since 2019!  Despite sanctions against this activity and even certain individuals driving it by the United Nations, the European Union, and even by the United States in previous administrations, members of the Settler Movement now occupy important positions in the Israeli Government under Benjamin Netanyahu and the illegal and often violent incursions into Palestinian Villages and lands are given a pass  by the Israeli Government and its army.   Pope Paul VI famously said, “If you want peace, work to  establish justice.” Clearly, a terrible injustice is being perpetrated in plain sight, and sadly, the wider  world takes little or no notice  of it.  While the Israeli government would want us to think that any criticism of it is somehow  antisemitic, that is simply untrue; that government, like any, is a political entity, not a religion, and thus not above constructive criticism.  In  contrast to their leadership, many  Israeli citizens, both religious and non-religious Jewish people, are people of conscience and compassion, and primarily those who voice their opposition to this situation and who even go to the West Bank to physically stand with  Palestinian families who are under siege from Settlers who intend through intimidation and violence to drive them from their homes and lands.  On Good Friday, as is our custom each year, a collection is  taken up for the support of the Holy Places under the custody and care of the Franciscans of the Holy Land.  Let us always support the ministry of those whose mission is to safeguard not only the shrines  but also the “living stones” who struggle to  continue to live in security  and to worship in  peace in the places visited by  Jesus and his disciples.  In the current climate of that troubled land of two peoples and three faiths,   the Palestinian Christians in Taybeh, or those at the Catholic parish in  Gaza, and  others throughout the West Bank are still carrying the cross.

 
 
Blessed by Our Sacrifice:  Between the funds raised by our Annual Simple Meatless Supper held after the Stations of the Cross on the last Friday of Lent, and the alms for the poor accumulated by each one  through their sacrifices and self-denial during Lent we are blessing those served by Catholic Relief Services, Cross Catholic Outreach, and our own Matthew 25 Fund which supports our Weekly Food Pantry and  Financial And Resource Assistance Ministry. Surely God, who is never outdone in generosity, will be blessing in turn all who  embrace the disciplines of Lent not only for their own sanctification but for the relief of others in need.   Catholic Relief Services attends to those  who suffer the effects of all sorts of disasters throughout the word; Cross Catholic Outreach will provide for  the poor in need of sturdy shelter in Guatemala;  and the Matthew 25 Fund supports our parish  Food Pantry which  helps those who suffer from food insecurity  in the greater Mashpee area as well as those with housing, utility or transportation needs.   
 
 

Christian Initiation:   After embracing and completing the formation required and offered through the Order of Christian Initiation  of Adults, John Benard was fully initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil as he received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist.   While Baptism and Confirmation can only be received once, the Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament of initiation that can  and should be  received again and again.  That might remind not only John, but indeed all of us, that our initiation into the Paschal Mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ is always ongoing and it will never be complete on this side of the grass!  Yet nourished by the  Eucharist, the Sacrament of All Sacraments, we can be  further conformed to Christ in his death and resurrection.  This is the rhythm of any life that is authentically Christian,  “dying” by  trying to  overcome  the all too human impulses  to pursue pleasure,  possessions, popularity, and power in  this life, and “rising”  by  valuing instead  and thus seeking  a different sort of life,  one lived simply, humbly,  selflessly.  characterized by  the love that leads to self-sacrificing service in union with and  in imitation of Jesus Christ!  So let us all embrace and continue our ongoing initiation and thus deeper conversion into this Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ by which we are saved!   

Those in need of any or all of the Sacraments of Initiation are encouraged to speak  with one of the parish clergy or the parish office to discuss the process that can l lead to full initiation as a Baptized, Confirmed Catholic in Communion with Christ through his Church!  


 

 

April 5, 2026 ~ Easter Sunday

Is Seeing Believing?  St. John’s Gospel is authored by a disciple who was an eyewitness to the public ministry of Jesus, as well as his passion and crucifixion. At Easter, we hear  a very important recollection of John  having accompanied   Peter to the empty tomb.   John, as the younger of the two, has outrun Peter but gives deference to his elder companion by permitting Peter to enter the tomb first. John does not record Peter’s reaction for us in any detail.  Yet when John enters the tomb, he reports seeing two cloths, the one that had  wrapped the head of Jesus, that is,  after his death on the cross, and which remained over his face as  his body was carried to the tomb.  John sees that the cloth is neatly rolled up and placed on the floor below the bench, just as it was left on Friday. Indeed, this common sweat cloth or sudarium was like a handkerchief of today and commonly  carried by many  people in those days to wipe their brows as they walked about in an often uncomfortably warm climate.  As this particular sudarium now contained not only the sweat, but the blood and the plural effusion that had leaked from the  mouth and nose of Jesus  after he died of a sphyxiation on the Cross,it  had to be placed  in the tomb with the body of Jesus in accord with Jewish  kosher laws and burial customs.  The other cloth was the fine linen shroud in which Joseph of Arimathea had wrapped the body of Jesus once it was brought into  the tomb.   Unlike strips of cloth that might wrap a mummy in Egypt, this was not the way corpses were shrouded in first-century Israel.   Rather, the body of the deceased was placed  face up on the lower half of a long, narrow sheet, and then the upper half of that  cloth was pulled down over the front and secured with a few strips of cloth, which were tied at strategic places.   This was the image John had in his mind  as he approached the tomb, but  when he entered, he saw  the sudarium where it had been left, but  now an  empty shroud  on the burial bed of this rock-cut tomb.  We should note  that the Evangelist makes specific references to  these cloths as they are  evidence to him  of the Resurrection, but he never claims to have collected them and saved them as relics, mainly because that  would have greatly  offended Jewish sensibilities, as these would have been regarded as unkosher because they  had been in contact with a corpse!  Yet because the two cloths were  indeed saved, we may  still  be able to see them to this day.  The  Sudarium, which is kept in Oviedo in Northern Spain, has  a history that traces it back to the 7th century  when it first came to Spain from the Holy Land to protect it from the Arab invasion. .  The other is the  Shroud, whose history is not well known except that it matches the description of a cloth once kept in Edessa, which was eventually brought to Constantinople and displayed there, which was described as a cloth that held an image of Christ “not made by human hands”.  This cloth disappeared during the 4th Crusade and was believed to have been taken to Europe by the Knights Templar. We find that  cloth was being  displayed in France in the 14th century, before it came into the hands of the Savoy family of Italy, and so was eventually  brought to Turin by them.  While the Shroud of Turin remains controversial, continued research into it is fascinating to say the least.   While it did not pass a Carbon 14 test in terms of dating it to the time of Christ, yet  more recent research  has  found its chemical profile and its unique hem stitching to be similar to a linen from the first century found at Masada, and so suggests it may well originate in that same time frame. Research has  also found pollen on it from plants unique to the Jerusalem area that only bloom in late March and early April.  Soil from the  footprint can be matched  to the travertine which is found at  Damascus Gate in Jerusalem.  The blood on the Shroud has been  proven to be human and of the AB type, which matches that on the Sudarium of Oviedo and is most common in people from the Middle East. The stains on the  Sudarium fit exactly those found  on the face of the Shroud, and so it is believed that these two clothes had contact with the same corpse.   The  image itself  and how it was ever  created present the greatest mystery of all! Indeed, it is a faint image  of a man who appears to have been crowned with thorns, scourged  about 100 times with a  whip to which metal fragments were attached, nailed to a cross, and whose side was pierced with the head of a Roman lance.  The image itself shows absolutely no signs of having been drawn or painted; it is like a scorch on the surface of the threads of the cloth, and the darks and lights are determined by the proximity of the cloth to the  body and not attributable  to artistic shading.  This image  has all the properties of a photographic negative, but has existed long before photography was  ever invented! When further analyzed, the image is actually three-dimensional, and AI analysis now suggests that it seems  to have been created by a burst of light lasting no longer than a billionth of a second but with the intensity of  many  trillion watts of ultraviolet radiation! Before this “event,” the corpse was not in the Shroud long enough to show any signs of decomposition, so it was there for  less than 40hours.   It also appears that  the body  defied any laws of gravity as it dematerialized in this burst of light and  actually passed through the cloth rather than having been pulled from it!  So while in a skeptical world the jury is still out and probably will ever remain to whether this is the actual burial cloth that wrapped the body of Jesus Christ, yet if it was forged as many would  still prefer to claim despite the evidence, researchers now say that  it would have had to be the work of a time traveler to the Middle Ages who had a physics lab equipped with lasers that have not yet been invented!   So, as we learn more about the Sudarium of Oviedo  and the Shroud of Turin, it is not unreasonable to wonder if  these might well be the very same cloths seen  by the apostle John in the empty tomb early in the  morning of that  first day of the week.  Yet whether the  Sudarium of Oviedo and the Shroud of Turin  are ever validated as such  or not, we still trust what the  Evangelists saw in an empty tomb, and concur in faith with his conclusion that Jesus  Christ has indeed been raised from the dead!  Amen, Alleluia! Happy Easter!
 
 
It Takes A Parish:  All year long, but especially during  Holy Week and Easter, the efforts of many are required to prepare for and to celebrate the various liturgies. Many thanks are extended to the assisting priests and deacons, the sacristans and ushers, the servers, lectors, and ministers of the Eucharist.  A very special thanks is owed to our musicians, cantors, and choir members  for all the time they spend preparing to enhance our prayer and worship with song!   Let us not forget to thank  the volunteers who keep our plants well-arranged and watered throughout the 50 days of Easter and the parish staff  who, as ever, are behind the scenes and enabling  all things to happen in an organized way! 
 
 

A Pilgrimage to  the Shrines of France:  From Lourdes to Paris with visits to Nevers, Tours, Chartres, Mt. St Michel,  Bayeux, Normandy, Caen, and Lisieux on the way!.   November 2nd to 13th.   $4679.00 pp/do – Brochures are available through the parish office.