24th Sunday in Ordinary Time; September 11, 2022 Ex 32:7-11,13-14. Ps 51. 1 Tim 1:12-17. Lk 15:1-32 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel passage (Lk 15:1-32) begins with several people criticizing Jesus for hanging out with tax collectors and sinners and they scornfully say: “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (v. 2). Well,…
Friday of the 22nd Second week in Ordinary Time (C) 1 Cor 4:1-5. Ps 37. Lk 5:33-39 Deacon Jim McFadden Jesus’ parable of the the old wineskins/new wineskins is a call to metanoia, namely changing of one’s mind from an egoic consciousness to one where we interpret everything through the lens of Christ crucified. …
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); September 4, 2022 Wis 9:13-18b. Ps 90. Phlm 9:10,12-17. Lk 14:25-33 Deacon Jim McFadden Luke tells us that great crowds were following Jesus; he was a very popular man, a fascinating figure. If Jesus were physically with us today, he’d be all over the Internet, the focus of…
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); August 28, 2022 Sir 3:17-18, 20,28-29. Ps 68. Heb 12:18-19,22-24a. Lk 14:1.7-14 Deacon Jim McFadden At the mid-point of the ‘90s blockbuster film Titanic, the Leonardo DiCaprio character, spread-eagled with his arms extended on the stern of the ship, boasts loudly, “I am the King of the…
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); August 14, 2022 Jer 38:4-6,8-10. Ps 40 Heb 12:1-4. Lk 12:49-53 Deacon Jim McFadden In today’s first reading Jeremiah is in the middle of a national crisis, political power plays, and civic turmoil. (I know, somethings just don’t change.) Jeremiah has incurred the animosity of those in power…
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); August 21, 2022 Is 66:18-21. Ps 117. Heb 12:5-7,11-13. Lk 13:22-30 Deacon Jim McFadden Nearly 20 years ago an inmate at Folsom Prison approached me and said, “Deacon, I came across a number in Scripture that says only 150,000 people are going to be saved. If that’s so,…
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); August 7, 2022 Wis 18:6-9. Ps 33. Heb 11:1-2,8-19. Lk 12:32-48 Deacon Jim McFadden Many of our Gospel readings this summer have been about the Call to Discipleship. Today’s passage notes that once we’ve made the transition from the Ego-drama (my life is about me) to the Theo-drama…
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); 7-31-2022 Eccl 1:2;2:21-23. Ps 95. Col 3:1-5,9-11. Lk 12:13-21 Deacon Jim McFadden During the early ‘60s, the folk-rock group, The Byrds, had a mega-hit called Turn! Turn! Turn! which was adapted from the third chapter of Ecclesiastes. I found the song to be riveting, which encouraged me to…
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); 7-24-2022 Gn 18:20-32. Ps 138. Col 2:12-14. Lk 11:1-13 Deacon Jim McFadden The Our Father is probably the prayer most often prayed throughout the world. Within the Catholic Church, it is prayed twice during the Liturgy of the Hours—at Lauds and Vespers—which doesn’t include being recited at Holy…
Everyone is Called to Discipleship 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); July 17, 2022 Gn 18:1-10a. Ps 15. Col 1:24-28. Lk 10:38:42 Deacon Jim McFadden This vignette of Martha and Mary has a way of bugging us. Let’s face it: most of us are not contemplatives in the same way that say, Trappist monks are;…
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); October 11, 2026 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 tells us a lot about the Kingdom of God, which is likened…
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); October 4, 2026 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…
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); September 27, 2026 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…
