33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); November 19, 2023 Prv 31 Ps 128. 1 Thes 5:1-6. Mt 25:14-20  Deacon Jim McFadden There are a myriad number of laws of nature that obtain anywhere in the cosmos. For example, it’s simply a law that objects fall according to a gravitational pull. There’s the law of energy…

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32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); November 12, 2023 Wis 2:12-16.  Ps 63.  1 Thes 4:13-18.  Mt 25:1-13 Deacon Jim McFadden It’s hard to be expectant, which requires patience, often in short-supply in our hyper-stimulated society in which we want it NOW!  Carrie Fisher of Star Wars fame opined  in her autobiography that “Instant gratification…

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31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); November 5, 2023 Mal 1:14b-2:2,8-10. Ps 131. 1 Thes 2:7b-9,13. Mt 23:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden Before we look at today’s Gospel reading in which Jesus denounces the Scribes and the Pharisees–the religious establishment of his time— it’s good to pay attention to what Paul said in his First Letter…

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We are Family—in Jesus! All Saints Day (A); November 1, 2023 Rv 7:2-4,9-14. Ps 24. 1 Jn 3:1-3. Mt 5:1:12a Deacon Jim McFadden Forty years ago Sister Sledge released a song, We Are Family, that stressed that we are meant to be very close together because we are born into the same family. As Catholics,…

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30th Sunday in O.T.; October 29, 2023 EX 22:20-26 Ps 18 1 Thes 1:5c-10 Mt 22:34-40 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel reading reminds us in no uncertain terms that the whole of the Divine Law can be summed up in our love for God and neighbor. Matthew offers an account in which the Pharisees colluded…

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29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); October 22, 2023 Is 45:1,4-6.  Ps 96.  1 Thes 1:1-5b.  Mt 22:15-21 Deacon Jim McFadden        We’ve just heard one of the famous passages of the entire Gospel: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s , and to God the things that are God’s”  (Mt 22:21).  It’s teasingly…

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28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); October 15, 2023 Is 25:6-10a.  Ps 23.  Phil 4:12-20.  Mt 22:1-14 Deacon Jim McFadden          The parable we hear in today’s Gospel focuses on a royal wedding party, which will tell us a lot about the Kingdom of God.  The central character is the king’s son, the bridegroom whom…

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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); October 8, 2023 Is 5:1-7. Ps 80. Phil 4:6-9. Mt 21:33-43 Deacon Jim McFadden The parable about the mismanagement of the vineyard tells us a lot about the Kingdom of God, the choices we make, and the God who is always faithful in his forgiveness and mercy. As a…

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 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); October 1, 2023 Ez 18:25-28. Ps 25. Phil 2:1-11. Mt 21:28-3  Deacon Jim McFadden In a past  issue of the Catholic Herald(September/October 2020), the newsmagazine for the Diocese of Sacramento, there is a gripping story of Eliza Cobos, who had an abortion at age 18. Looking back at those…

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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-24-2023 Is 55:6-9. Ps 145. Phil 1:20c-24. Mt 20:1-16a  Deacon Jim McFadden Sometimes Jesus just doesn’t seem fair. The parable of the Day Laborers evokes the sense of getting ripped off. That’s why it’s probably the least liked parable that Jesus ever told because it offends our sense of…

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