• Faith arises from a gaze of love

    28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 13, 2024 Wis 7:7-11.  Ps 90.  Heb 4:12-13.  Mk 10:17-30 Deacon Jim McFadden        Today’s Holy Mass offers us the encounter of Jesus and the man who “had many possessions” (Mk 10:22) and he goes down in history as “the rich young man.”  Interestingly, we do not know…

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  • A Family Affair

    27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 6, 2024 Gn 2:18-24.  Ps 128.  Heb 2:9-11.  Mk 10:2-16 Deacon Jim McFadden        Today’s readings offer reflections on humanity’s unitive  relationship with God, one another, and the created order—all of which obtain in the Holy Mass:  we are meant to be together!  The readings also show an…

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  • What’s at Stake?

    26th Sunday of O.T. (B); September 29, 2024 Wis 2:12,17-20.  Ps 54.  Jas 3:16-4:3.  Mk 9:30-37 Deacon Jim McFadden             Last Sunday we reflected upon the  basic  question of ‘whom do we serve?—which entails the   spiritual struggle of making the transition from the Ego-Drama (self-worship) to the Theo-Drama (worship of the one true God).  This…

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  • We Are All Called to Metanoia

    Eccl 11:9-12:8  Ps 90.  Lk 9:43b-45 Deacon Jim McFadden During the ‘60s, folk-singer Jim Croce, who unfortunately died a premature death in a plane crash, sang a song, Time in a Bottle, in which he intoned, “I’ve looked around enough to know that you are the one I want to journey through time with.”  Though…

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  • Do you have faith in Jesus? Then serve!

    25th Sunday in Ordinary Time; September 22, 2024 Wis 2:12,17-20.  Ps 54.  Jas 3:16-4:3.  Mk 9:30-37 Deacon Jim McFadden        Sometimes during the public ministry of Jesus, the Apostles come across as clueless.  The Gospel account from Mark begins with the Second Prediction of the Passion in which Jesus teaches and tells his disciples that…

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  • The Messiah: The Things of God

    24th Sunday in O.T. (B); September 15, 2024 Is 50:5-9a.  Ps 116.  Jas 2:14-18.  Mk 8:27-35 Deacon Jim McFadden          We know this scene well: Jesus is the area of Caesarea Philippi and asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” (Mk 8:27).  After the report of the common consensus, he probes further…

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  • Do We Hear the Word of God?

    23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); September 8, 2024 Is 35:4-7a.  Ps 146.  Jas 2:1-5.  Mk 7:31-37 Deacon Jim McFadden             In this Sunday’s Gospel passage (Mk 7:31-37), we have the episode of the miraculous healing by Jesus of a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment.  The evangelist Mark begins his narrative…

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  • Faith that Touches the Heart

    22nd Sunday in O.T.  (B); August 31-September 1, 2024 Dt. 4:1-2,6-8.  Ps 15.  Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27.  Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Deacon Jim McFadden        In the beginning of my teaching career, I worked with a dear colleague, a consecrated religious sister who had a huge sign that went from end of the classroom to…

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  • “Master, to whom shall we go?

    21st Sunday in O.T. (B); August 25, 2024 Jos 24:1-2a,15-17b,18b.  Ps 34.  Eph 5:21-32.  Jn 6:60-69 Deacon Jim McFadden             Today, we bring to closure our extraordinary Eucharistic discourse, which has been our focus for the last several weeks as we’ve pondered the precious revelation of the sixth chapter of John’s gospel.  Previously, Jesus had…

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  • The Incarnation and The Eucharist

    20th Sunday of O.T. (B); August 18, 2024 Prv 9:1-6 Ps 34 Eph 5:15-20 Jn 6:51-58 Deacon Jim McFadden  Today’s Gospel (Jn 6:51-58) is in many ways the climax of the discourse given by Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum after he had fed thousands of people with the five loaves and two fishes the…

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homilies

mulder and Thomas

Divine Mercy Sunday (A); April 12, 2026 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…

A Different dawn

Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Our Lord; 4-06-2026 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 cross: A sneak preview

Good Friday: The Passion of the Lord (A); 2026 Deacon Jim McFadden Can you imagine was must have transpired in Hell when  Jesus  died on the Cross? No doubt some serious infernal celebration must have erupted when the Son of…