4th Sunday of Easter (A); April 30, 2023 Acts 2:14,36-51.  Ps 23.  1 Pt 2:20-25.  Jn 10:1-10 Deacon Jim McFadden             Today is traditionally known as Good Shepherd Sunday, which presents us one of the most beautiful images that has portrayed our Lord Jesus since the earliest centuries of the Church.  When Jesus declares in

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The Farewell Discourse (1) 5th Sunday of Easter (A); May 7, 2023 Acts 6:1-7.  Ps 33.  1 Pt 2:4-9.  Jn 14:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden             In the Gospel  passage (Jn 14:1-12) for this weekend we hear the beginning of Jesus’ “Farewell discourse”  on the night of the Last Supper, just before facing the Passion.  In

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3rd Sunday of Easter (A); April 23, 2023 Acts 2:14,22-33. Ps 16. 1 Pt 1:17-21. Lk 24:13-35 Deacon Jim McFadden Why was it so difficult for the two disciples to recognize the Risen Lord? Jesus’ death scattered his disciples and shattered their hopes and dreams. Previously, they had been so full of hope and enthusiasm;

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Divine Mercy Sunday (A); April 16, 2023 Acts 2:42-47.  Ps 118.  1 Pt 1:3-9.  Jn 20:19-31 Deacon Jim McFadden          During the ‘90s, a popular, albeit off-beat television show was the X-Files, featuring agent Fox Mulder, an investigator of the para-normal.  He had a poster in office of a UFO and the words “I want

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Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Our Lord Acts 10:334,37-43.  Ps 118.  Col 3:1-4.  Jn 20:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden             Today we are celebrating the apex of the liturgical calendar; indeed, it is the nucleus of our Faith: The Resurrection of the Lord.  In the midst of so much uncertainty—the dire predictions of climate change outcomes,

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       Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Mt 21:1-11 (proc.) Is 50:4-7.  Ps 22.  Phil 2:6-11.  Mt 27:11-54 Deacon Jim McFadden        Every year is a moving experience on Palm Sunday as we go with Jesus towards the Temple, accompanying him on the ascent which leads to the Cross.  As Jesus enters Jerusalem,

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5th Sunday of Lent (A); March 26, 2023 Ez 37:12-14.  Ps 130.  Rom 8:8-11.  Jn 11:1-45 Deacon Jim McFadden        In today’s Gospel reading we have a stark contrast between Jesus, who is the Lord of Life, and the ruins of death.  Let us pause and stand before the last of the miraculous signs which

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4th Sunday of Lent (A); March 19, 2023 1 Sam 16:1b,6-7,10-13a.   Ps 23.  Eph 5:8-14.  Jn 9:1-41 Deacon Jim McFadden          As we read today’s Gospel from John (9:1-41), it will be helpful to remember John’s audience and his purpose. John is writing at the end of the first century to people who were waiting

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Are We Drinking From The Right Well? 3rd Sunday of Lent (A); March 12, 2023 Ex 17:3-7.  Ps 95.  Rom 5:1-8.  Jn 4:5-42 Deacon Jim McFadden             This Sunday we have the wonderful opportunity to revisit the story of the woman at the well, which is the definitive text of Christian evangelization.  The lengthy Gospel

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2nd Sunday of Lent (A); March 5, 2023 Gen 12:1-4a.  Ps 33.   2 Tim 1:8b-10.  Mt 17:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden          Our magnificent first reading is a short passage from the beginning of the 12th chapter of the book of Genesis.  Prior to it are chapters 3-11, which describe not the world that God intended,

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