listen!
2nd Sunday of Lent (A); March 1, 2026 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…
Category: Homilies
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The Lord’s Gaze
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); 10-10-2021 Wis 7:7-11. Ps 90. Heb 4:12-11. Mk 10:17-30 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel, taken from Mark, chapter 10, is a narrative divided into three scenes—all them punctuated by the gaze of Jesus. The first scene presents an encounter between Jesus the Teacher and a young man who…
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We’re Meant to be Together
27th Sunday in O.T. (B); 10-03-2021 Gn 2:18-24. Ps 128. Heb 2:9-11. Mk 10:2-16 Deacon Jim McFadden During the ‘60s the rock group Three Dog Night, had a pop-hit, One is the Loneliest Number, that addresses the pain associated with isolation. We heard this in the first reading that Adam was living in the…
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What’s at Stake?
26th Sunday of O.T. (B); 9-26-2021 Wis 2:12,17-20. Ps 54. Jas 3:16-4:3. Mk 9:30-37 Deacon Jim McFadden Last Sunday we reflected upon the basic spiritual struggle of making the transition from the Ego-Drama (self-worship) to the Theo-Drama (worship of the one true God). This transition is no mean task because the drive to be…
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Whom Do You Serve?
25th Sunday in O.T. (B); 9-19-2021 Wis 2:12,17-20. Ps 54. Jas 3:16-4:3. Mk 9:30-37 Deacon Jim McFadden Swiss theologian Urs von Balthasar framed the basic spiritual struggle as the transition from the Ego-Drama (self-worship) to the Theo-Drama (worship of the one true God). Making this transition is the path of discipleship in which we…
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Ephphatha: Are We Open to the Word?
23rd Sunday in O.T. (B); 9-5-2021 Is 35:4-7a. Ps 146. Jas 2:1-5. Mk 7:31-37 Deacon Jim McFadden In this Sunday’s Gospel passage (Mk 7:31-37), we have the episode of the miraculous healing by Jesus of a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. As always, we start with the surface, literal description…
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What Makes an Authentic Christian?
22nd Sunday in O.T. (B); 8-29-2021 Dt 4:1-2,6-8. Ps 15 Jas 1:17-18,21b-22,27. Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 Deacon Jim McFadden Several decades ago, I had a dear colleague, a consecrated religious sister who had a huge sign that went from one end of her classroom to the other. As one entered the classroom, you were greeted with…
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“Master, to whom shall we go?”
21st Sunday in O.T. (B); 8-22-2021 Jos 24:1-2a,15-17b,18b. Ps 34. Eph 5:21-32. Jn 6:60-69 Deacon Jim McFadden Today, we bring to closure our extraordinary Eucharistic discourse, which has been our focus for the last several weeks as we’ve pondered the precious revelation of the sixth chapter of John’s gospel. Jesus is speaking at the…
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Mary the Warrior
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 8-15-2021 Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab. Ps 45. 1 Cor 15:20-27. Lk 1:39-46 Deacon Jim McFadden Today, we have the privilege of celebrating The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary which falls on a Sunday. Our first reading is taken from a very dramatic reading from the Book…
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Jesus: the Giver and the Gift
18th Sunday in O.T. (B); 8-1-2021 Ex 16:2-4,12-15. Ps 78. Eph 4:17,20-24. Jn 6:24-35 Deacon Jim McFadden This Sunday we continue our reflection on the 6th chapter of John’s gospel. After the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the people went in search of Jesus. The crowd seems to be following Jesus from one side…
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Grace Overflows
17th Sunday in O.T. (B); July 25, 2021 2 Kgs 4:42-44. Ps 145. Eph 4:1-6. Jn 6:1-15 Deacon Jim McFadden In early June we celebrated Corpus Christi Sunday—The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Church re-visits the meaning of the Holy Mass and the Eucharist by re-reading the sixth chapter of John’s…
homilies
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…
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…
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