Scriptual Commentary

Christ the King – Accepting No Substitutes

| Fr. William Smith

Cristo Rey (Christ the King), 1953, Cali, Colombia
(About this Image)

Then he said,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He replied to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:42–43)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Solemnity of Christ the King
Colossians 1:12–20
November 20, 2022

We examined selections from the Letter to the Colossians earlier this year. Indeed, we read Colossians 1:15–20. Today we add verses 12–14 and do so on the Solemnity of Christ the King. Our emphasis previously was on the healing of the cosmos with ecological considerations. Today it will how and where Jesus leads us.
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Homilies

Homily – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Fr. Smith)

| Fr. William Smith

I think I am going to have a productive Advent. Painful but productive and productive precisely because it will be painful. It may seem premature to speak of Advent. Although the season officially is the 4 weeks before Christmas the church prepares us with prayers and readings for the two weeks before the first Sunday of Advent. Next week we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, acknowledging that God alone can bring the kingdom. This week, the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time is often called “little apocalypse” Sunday. This year we read it from Luke. It tells us why Jesus must return and the signs of his coming. This week’s election should set our minds on these matters. It will take some time to get over the ugliness of the campaign but also the increasing difficulty of finding candidates we can support without violating our consciences. This may seem apocalyptic in the way we usually use the word, dreadful and hopeless, but it is also apocalyptic in the biblical sense.

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Events, Videos

Community Mass – 33rd Sunday Ordinary Time

| St. Charles Borromeo

On Sunday, November 13, 2022, join us in person or online to worship together as a faith community.

Our current Sunday Mass times are:

The readings will be from Cycle C.

Entrance: Though the Mountains May Fall – 689

Readings/Psalm – 1190

Offertory: Behold the Lamb – 939

Communion: In Every Age – 716

Closing: Soon and Very Soon – 865

The Gather 3rd Edition Hymnal/Missals are available for use in the church – pick one up as you enter and return it after Mass. Instructions on how to use the hymnal missal are available here: https://www.stcharlesbklyn.org/hymnal-missal/ .

Today’s readings are also available to read online at the USCCB website https://bible.usccb.org .

Scriptual Commentary

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – Working Well in Preparation of the Lord’s Return

| Fr. William Smith

Photo by Jana Sabeth on Unsplash

Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell there.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy,
Before the LORD who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with fairness.
(Psalms 98:7–9)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Thessalonians 3:7–12
November 13, 2022

Today, we conclude our examination of 2nd Thessalonians. As we have noted previously much of it is a mystery. We are uncertain who wrote it, to whom or when. We are certain only that the author, who may very well have been St. Paul himself, had read Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians and was very familiar with the other writings of St. Paul. He also had a distinct message or, to be more precise, two messages. Today we will examine the second message and again seek not to lose the forest for the trees.

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Homilies

Homily – Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo (obs.) (Fr. Smith)

| Fr. William Smith

Charles Borromeo was born to be a footnote. He had all the signs of being a very important person of his time and place who would do the expected and conventional things well, be praised at his death, and then quickly forgotten. God however gave him a way to greatness.

Charles was born in 1538, the third son of the count of Arona on the southern bank of Lake Maggiore. He was destined for the church and by the age of 12 received a substantial income from church properties. As a young man, he excelled in both civil and canon law and received a doctorate at 21. Several weeks later, his uncle Cardinal Giovanni Medici, was elected Pope Pius IV and was summoned to Rome. He was made a cardinal almost immediately. This was not uncommon. Renaissance Italy was a treacherous place and only family, and not always them, could be trusted. The Pope would find his most talented nephew and bring him immediately into the papal government. As “Cardinal-Nephew” Charles was given many important duties including governing the Papal States. He also organized the third and last session of the Council of Trent which sought to reform the church. These were all signs of a safe future in every sense of the word.

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