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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 5, 2023 Is 58:7-10. Ps 112. 1 Cor 2:1-5. Mt 5:13-16 Deacon Jim McFadden The Sundays leading up to Lent, the liturgy offers us teachings from the Sermon of the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. The Beatitudes launch the Sermon, providing the structure for subsequent teachings,…
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); January 29, 2023 Zep 2:3; 3:12-13. Ps 146. 1 Cor 1:26-31. Mt 5:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden In Charles Dickens’ famous tale A Christmas Carol, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his partner, Jacob Marley, and is then shown three ghostly scenes…
The Epiphany of the Lord (A); January 8, 2023 Is 60:1-6. Ps 72. Eph 3:2-3. Mt 2:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have observed his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2). These men, traditionally described as…
Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, 1-1-23 Nm 6:22-27. Gal 4:4-7. Lk 2:16-21 Deacon Jim McFadden There is an old tradition that Luke the evangelist knew the Blessed Mother and he wove her memories into his Gospel account. This view resonates because he presents the Annunciation, the birth and infancy of Jesus from…
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…
