Don’t Talk to the Divider!
1st Sunday of Lent (A); February 22, 2026 Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7. Ps 51. Rom 5:12-19. Mt 4:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden Each year, the Gospel of the 1st Sunday of Lent presents us with the narrative of Jesus in the…
Category: Homilies
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a God who gathers
Christmas (A) ; 12-25-2025 Is 52:1-7. Ps 97. Heb 1:1-6 . Jn 1:1-18 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,…
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HERE I AM
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; 12-08-2025 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…
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John the Baptist Doesn’t put up with duplicity
2nd Sunday of Advent (A); December 7, 2025 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. The text says that John “wore a garment of camel’s…
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“Turn your swords into plowshares
1st Sunday of Advent (A); November 30, 2025 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…
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My own special possession
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); November 16, 2025 Mal 3:19-20a. Ps 998. 2 Thes 3:7-12. Lk 21:5-19 Deacon Jim McFadden “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession…and I will have compassion on them” (Mal 3:17): these words come to us from the last page of the…
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why be catholic?
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica; 11-09-2025 Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12. Ps 46. 1 Cor 3:9c-11,161-7. Jn 2:13-22 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which was dedicated by Pope St. Sylvester in 324 who was the 33rd pontiff (314-335). Sylvester honored the episcopal seat of the pope as the bishop…
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“He beat his breast”
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); October 26, 2025 Sir 35:12-14,16-18. Ps 34. 2 Tm 4:6-8; Lk 18:9-14 Deacon Jim McFadden The Old Testament passage from Sirach 35 in our first reading summarizes the recurrent biblical conviction that God gives special consideration to the prayers of the oppressed and needy and those who seem…
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Pray always and stick with it!
Ex 17:8-13. Ps 121. 2 Tm 3:14-4:2. Lk 18:1-8 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel concludes with a troubling question that Jesus poses to us: “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (LK 18:8b). While Jesus is referring to the 2nd Coming, he’s also saying to us right here, right…
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Just say “thank you”
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); October 12, 2025 2 Kgs 5:14-17. Ps 987. 2 Tim 2:8-13. Lk 17:11-19 Deacon Jim McFadden Someone once said that “By the time you turn 75 years of age, the only words that should come out of your mouth is “thank you!” Being over that age group, I’d…
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waiting in the silence
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); October 5, 2025 Hb 1:2-3; 2:3-4. Ps 95. 2 Tm 1:6-8,13-14. Lk 17:5-10 Deacon Jim McFadden The prophetHabakkuk is having a really bad day. His life and that of is historical situation is falling apart with political intrigue, rampant idolatry that once again had engulfed the small kingdom…
homilies
Ash Wednesday: A Time for pruning
Jl 2:12-18. Ps 51. 2 Cor 5:20-6:2. Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Deacon Jim McFadden People of God, we come once again, to that great season of Lent, which is a great opportunity to prune away falseness, superficiality, and indifference to…
Respect a Person’s Dignity!
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 15, 2026 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,…
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