Pentecost Sunday (A); May 28, 2023 Acts 2:1-11. Ps 104. 1 Cor 12:3-7,12-13. Jn 20:19-23 Deacon Jim McFadden When I was a boy in the very distant past, the 3rd Person of the Trinity was referred to as the Holy Ghost. Associating ghosts with spooky movies or novels, I wasn’t too keen on interacting…
Ascension of the Lord (A); May 21, 2023 Acts 1:1-11. Ps 47. Eph 1:7-23. Mt. 28:16-20 Deacon Jim McFadden In the closing scene to the 1999 movie The Matrix, the main character Neo played by Keanu Reeves—who’s been trying to figure out whether or not he’s “The One”—shoots upward in the sky. Along with…
The Farewell Discourse (2) 6th Sunday of Easter (A); May 14, 2023 Acts 8:5-8,14-17. Ps 66. 1 Pt 3:15-18. Jn 14:15-21 Deacon Jim McFadden During the time of the Eisenhower Administration, a world famous psychoanalyst Erich Fromm wrote a remarkable book, The Art of Loving, which was a daring and challenging prescription to learn…
4th Sunday of Easter (A); April 30, 2023 Acts 2:14,36-51. Ps 23. 1 Pt 2:20-25. Jn 10:1-10 Deacon Jim McFadden 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. When Jesus declares in…
The Farewell Discourse (1) 5th Sunday of Easter (A); May 7, 2023 Acts 6:1-7. Ps 33. 1 Pt 2:4-9. Jn 14:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden In the Gospel passage (Jn 14:1-12) for this weekend we hear the beginning of Jesus’ “Farewell discourse” on the night of the Last Supper, just before facing the Passion. In…
3rd Sunday of Easter (A); April 23, 2023 Acts 2:14,22-33. Ps 16. 1 Pt 1:17-21. Lk 24:13-35 Deacon Jim McFadden Why was it so difficult for the two disciples to recognize the Risen Lord? Jesus’ death scattered his disciples and shattered their hopes and dreams. Previously, they had been so full of hope and enthusiasm;…
Divine Mercy Sunday (A); April 16, 2023 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 para-normal. He had a poster in office of a UFO and the words “I want…
Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Our Lord 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 Lord. In the midst of so much uncertainty—the dire predictions of climate change outcomes,…
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Mt 21:1-11 (proc.) Is 50:4-7. Ps 22. Phil 2:6-11. Mt 27:11-54 Deacon Jim McFadden Every year is a moving experience on Palm Sunday as we go with Jesus towards the Temple, accompanying him on the ascent which leads to the Cross. As Jesus enters Jerusalem,…
5th Sunday of Lent (A); March 26, 2023 Ez 37:12-14. Ps 130. Rom 8:8-11. Jn 11:1-45 Deacon Jim McFadden In today’s Gospel reading we have a stark contrast between Jesus, who is the Lord of Life, and the ruins of death. Let us pause and stand before the last of the miraculous signs which…
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…
