• How to Deal with Conflict

    Fifth Sunday of Easter (A); May 14, 20107 Acts 6:1-7   Ps 33   1 Pt 2:4-9   Jn 14:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison & SJB               When I started my teaching career some 30 years ago, the first year was promising, gave me the reassurance that this is where God wanted me to be,…

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  • The Lord is my Shepherd

    4th Sunday of Easter (A); May 7, 2017 Acts 2:14,36-51   Ps 23   1 Pt 2:20-25   Jn 10:1-10 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison                   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.…

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  • Jesus Bursts Into Our Soul

    Divine Mercy Sunday (A); April 23, 2017 Acts 2:42-47 Ps 118 1 Pt 1:3-9 Jn 20:19-31 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison                           Today’s gospel begins “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked…” (Jn 20:1).   Why were they locked? The disciples were afraid. They were…

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  • The Empty Tomb

    The Resurrection of Our Lord Easter Sunday, 2017 Acts 10:34,37-43; Ps 118; Col. 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C.   Today we are celebrating The Resurrection of the Lord, which is the be-all and end-all of our Christian faith. It really comes down to this: if Jesus was not raised…

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  • We Can See Clearly Now

    4th Sunday of Lent (A); March 25, 2017 1 Sam 16: 1b,6-7,10-13a   Ps 23   Eph 5:8-14   Jn 9:1-41 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison   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…

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  • How to Deal with Temptation

    1st Sunday of Lent (A); March 5, 2017 Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7   Ps 51   Rom 5:12-19   Mt 4:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison         Each year, the first reading and the Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent set before us the narrative of how to respond to temptation. What we see at the beginning…

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  • Love of Enemies

    7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 2-19-17 Lv 19:1-2, 17-18; Ps 103; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB & Folsom Prison            Last Sunday we reflected upon Jesus’ teaching not to seek revenge upon those who hurt us. Today, he goes further by calling us to love our enemies. How can…

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  • Being Salt and Light

    5th Sunday in O.T. (A); February 5, 2017 Is 58:7-10   Ps 112   1 Cor 2:1-5   Mk 5:13-16 Deacon Jim McFadden; Folsom Prison          What can salt and light teach us about God and his Kingdom? What can it teach you about living here in Folsom Prison? Jesus used very ordinary images to illustrate the Kingdom…

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  • Our Leader is a Lamb

    2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 1-15-17 Is 49:3,5-6   Ps 40   1 Cor 1:1-3   Jn 1:29-34 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C.               Ever since we were kids, we’ve learned to follow the leader. As children, the leader makes a simple challenge: “can you do what I can do? ” As we…

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  • Rejoice in the Lord

    3rd Sunday in Advent (A); 12-11-16 Is 35:1-6, 10   Ps 146   Jas 5:7-10   Mt 11:2-11 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom & SJB   In the middle of Advent we pause for a moment of rejoicing. It’s not rejoicing that comes from taking a rest amid the Advent journey, but it is joy that comes from…

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homilies

The cross is the way home

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…

“Who Do You say that i am?”

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…

“Lord, Help Me”

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,…