Category: Homilies

  • Mulder and Thomas

    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…

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  • A Different Dawn

    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,…

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  • The Only Life Worth Living Is Serving Others

           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,…

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  • The Ultimate ‘Encounter-Clash’

    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…

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  • We Can See Clearly Now

    4th Sunday of Lent (A); March 19, 2023 1 Sam 16:1b,6-7,10-13a.   Ps 23.  Eph 5:8-14.  Jn 9:1-41 Deacon Jim McFadden          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 people who were waiting…

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  • Are We Drinking from the Right Well?

    Are We Drinking From The Right Well? 3rd Sunday of Lent (A); March 12, 2023 Ex 17:3-7.  Ps 95.  Rom 5:1-8.  Jn 4:5-42 Deacon Jim McFadden             This Sunday we have the wonderful opportunity to revisit the story of the woman at the well, which is the definitive text of Christian evangelization.  The lengthy Gospel…

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  • Listen!

    2nd Sunday of Lent (A); March 5, 2023 Gen 12:1-4a.  Ps 33.   2 Tim 1:8b-10.  Mt 17:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden          Our magnificent first reading is a short passage from the beginning of the 12th chapter of the book of Genesis.  Prior to it are chapters 3-11, which describe not the world that God intended,…

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  • How to Deal with Temptation

    1st Sunday of Lent (A); February 26, 2023 Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7.  Ps 51.  Rom 5:12-19.  Mt 4:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden             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 of the Creation…

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  • Love of Enemies: A Christian Revolution

    7th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 19th, 2023 Lv 19:1-2,17-18.  Ps 103.  1 Cor 3:16-23.  Mt 5:38-48 Deacon Jim McFadden             Last Sunday we reflected how Jesus instructed his disciples on the Sermon of the Mount to watch over little things that undermine our love relationships.  Today, he goes further by calling us to…

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  • Respect a Person’s Dignity!

    6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 12, 2023 Sir 15:15-20.  Ps 119.  1 Cor 2:6-10.  Mt 5:17-37 Deacon Jim McFadden          It can begin with the smallest gesture: an interested glance across a classroom, the brushing of a hand, asking for that first date when your stomach is in a knot.  Lifelong love builds…

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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,…