2nd Sunday of Advent; 12-4-16 Is 11:1-10 Ps 72 Rom 15:4-9 Mt 3:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C. The 1st Sunday of Advent was about “becoming a peacemaker,” and never training for war again and what it is we’re waiting for and how to wait in hope. People who in…
1st Sunday of Advent (A); November 27, 2016 Is 2:1-5; Ps 122:1-9; Rom 13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison & SJB C.C. The First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of our preparation for the celebration of Christmas. Today’s readings offer us a vision, which suggest that Advent is a…
29th Sunday in O.T. October 16. 2016 Ex 17:8-13 Ps 121 2 Tm 3:14—4:2 Lk 18:;1-8 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB & (New) Folsom Prison This parable conjures up images of people petitioning God for a specific purpose, not getting what they want, not giving up, but turning up the volume until God caves in. Behind…
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C); October 2, 2016 Hb 1:2-3; 2:3-4. Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14; Lk 17:5-10 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison Can’t you just feel for the prophet Habakkuk? The poor guy faces violence and destruction and he yells out to God: “I cry for help but you…
25th Sunday in O.T.; September 18, 2016 Am 8:4-7 Ps 113 1 Tm 2:1-8 Lk 16:1-13 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C. The Gospel story is about a shrewd, albeit dishonest steward, who’s prepared to do anything at keeping himself alive, short of doing manual labor and begging. The manager’s panic of…
24th Sunday in O.T. (C); Sept. 11, 2016 Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 Ps 51 1 Tm 1:12-17 Lk 15:1-32 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison The God that Jesus reveals does not operate according to the way we go about doing things. We’re given a heads-up in the Old Testament from the prophet Isaiah,…
23rd Sunday in O.T. (C); September 4, 2016 Wis 9:13-18b Ps 90 Phlm 9-10,12-17 Lk 14:25-33 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison 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…
21st Sunday in O.T. (C); August 21, 2016 Is 66:18-21 Ps 117 Heb 12:5-7,11-13 Lk 13:22-30 Deacon Jim McFadden; Folsom Prison & SJB A few 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.…
I just finished reading your Summer edition of ‘Catholic Trends’. I am diametrically opposed to much of it. According to the Voters Guide for Serious Catholics, which is published by Catholic Answers Action (copy attached), there are five non-negotiable actions which are intrinsically evil and therefore against moral law. They are abortion, euthanasia, embryonic…
How does Catholic identity inform political conviction? Since the Catholic vote could very well swing the upcoming national election, this is a good question. Without belaboring the obvious, not everyone who claims to be a Catholic has thoroughly embraced the Catholic faith. So, what shape does Catholic identity take? Nominal Catholics. The Catholic tradition…
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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