28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 10-10-2020 Is 25:6-10a. Ps 23. Phil 4:12-20. Mt 22:1-10 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 we can…
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 10-18-2020 Is 45:1,4-6. Ps 96. 1 Thes 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” (Mt 22:21). It’s teasingly straightforward, so straightforward…
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); 10-4-20 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 visual…
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-27-2020 Ez 18:25-28. Ps 25. Phil 2:1-11. Mt 21:28-32 Deacon Jim McFadden In a recent 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…
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-20-2020 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…
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-13-20 Sir 27:30-28:7. Ps 103. Rom 14:7-9. Mt 18:21-35 Deacon Jim McFadden Last week’s readings spoke of reconciliation. This week we consider the same theme, but from the perspective of forgiveness. We all know how difficult it is to swallow our pride and say that we’re sorry…
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-6-20 Ez 13:8-10. Ps 95. Rom 13:8-10. Mt 18:15-20 Deacon Jim McFadden If there is one absolute in our secular culture today is non-judgmentalism. That basis of that implicit bias is that there are no universal, absolute, objective standards that apply to all people at all times…
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 8-30-20 Jer 20:7-9. Ps 63. Rom 12:1-2 Mt 16:21-27 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel passage challenges us to make an either or choice: our life is either about ourselves or its about God. The choice is primordial, which Jesus encountered in his third temptation when Satan promised…
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 8-23-20 Is 22:19-23. Ps 138. Rom 11:33-36. Mt 16:13-20 Deacon Jim McFadden St. Paul reminds us in the second reading, in case we should ever forget, that “How inscrutable are (God’s) judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33b). And, he underscores that truth with an exclamation…
Today’s Gospel (Mt 15:21-28) presents us with a unique example of faith in Jesus’s encounter with a Canaanite woman, a foreigner to the Jews. The scene unfolds as Jesus leaves God’s own holy land and enters pagan territory where he encounters the woman who comes to Jesus and calls out: “Have pity on me, Lord,…
The Cross is the Way Home 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); August 30, 2026 Jer 20:7-9. Ps 63. Rom 12:1-2. Mt 16:21-27 Deacon Jim McFadden After establishing Peter as the rock of his Church, Jesus then begins to speak…
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); August 23, 2026 Is 22:19-23. Ps 138. Rom 11:33-36. Mt 16:13-20 Deacon Jim McFadden Midway through his public ministry, Jesus ventured with his disciples to the northern reaches of the Promised Land, to the…
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); August 16, 2026 Is 56:1,6-7. Ps 67. Rom 11:13-15,29-32. Mt 15:21-28 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel (Mt 15:21-28) presents us with a unique example of faith in Jesus’s encounter with a Canaanite woman,…
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