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…
Christmas (A); 12-25-2021 Is 9:1-6. Ps 96. Ti 2:11-14. Lk 2:1-14 Deacon Jim McFadden Christmas celebrates God’s overwhelming desire to be united with us. Sometimes we wonder, why does he bother? He’s perfect—he doesn’t need anything since he is the great I AM. The Psalmist wondered the same thing, when he intoned, “What are…
4th Sunday of Advent (A); December 18, 2022 Is 7:10-14. Ps 24. Rom 1:1-7. Mt 1:18-24 Deacon Jim McFadden As we enter into the 4th Sunday of Advent, let us remember that salvation history has a trajectory which comes to fulfillment in the Messiah. All the fragments of history are gathered together in him. …
3rd Sunday of Advent (A); December 11, 2022 Is 35:1-6a,10. Ps 146. Js 7:5-10. Mt 11:2-11 Deacon Jim McFadden Our Gospel for the 3rd Sunday of Advent is taken from the 11th chapter of Matthew, where we’re moving right into the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which occurs in the middle of Matthew’s Gospel. So,…
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; 12-08-2022 Gn 3:9-15,20. Ps 98. Eph 1:3-6,11-12. Lk 1:26-38 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s readings present us a stark choice. In the first reading from the book of Genesis, there is a man, who, at the very beginning of his origins, says “no” to God. And, in the Gospel reading…
2nd Sunday of Advent (A); December 4, 2022 Is 11:1-10. Ps 72. Rom 15:4-9. Mt 3:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden On the second Sunday of Advent, Matthew calls us to encounter the intriguing figure of John the Baptist, a gritty, down-to-earth, ‘in your face’ prophet. His clothing is coarse: “John wore clothing made of camel’s…
1st Sunday of Advent (A); November 27, 2022 Is 2:1-5. Ps 122. Rom 13:11-14. Mt 24:37-44 Deacon Jim McFadden The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of our preparation for the celebration of Christmas. Today’s readings offer us a vision, which suggests that Advent is a time of hope and challenges. This vision…
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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