2nd Sunday of Lent; March 13, 2022 Gn 15:5-18. Ps 27. Phil 3:17-4:1. Lk 9:28-36 Deacon Jim McFadden The readings for the Second Sunday of Lent awaken a sense of wonder to a world beyond our own—a mystical consciousness in which we encounter the glory of God. So, in our first reading Abraham—the Father…
1st Week of Lent (C); 03-06-2022 Deut 26:4-10. Ps 91. Rom 10:8-13. LK 4:1-13 Deacon Jim McFadden People of God, we come, once again, to that great season of Lent, which is a time for conversion. We return to the source of our faith and spend these 40 days allowing ourselves to be touched…
Ash Wednesday (C); March 2, 2022 Jl 2:12-18. Ps 51. 2 Cor 5:20-6:2. Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Deacon Jim McFadden Sisters and brothers of the St. Francis Catholic community, we come once again, to that great season of Lent, which is a great opportunity to prune away falseness, superficiality, and indifference to God, each other,…
8th Sunday in O.T. (C); 02-27-2022 Sir 27:4-7. Ps 92. 1 Cor 15:54-58. Lk 6:39-45 Deacon Jim McFadden There are different levels of spiritual development. As the People of God, we hope that we are moving in the same direction as we strive to realize our destiny to be at-one with the Blessed Trinity…
6th Sunday in O.T. (C); 02-13-2022 Jer 17:5-8. Ps 1. 1 Cor 15:12,16-20. Lk 6:17,20-26 Deacon Jim McFadden What does it mean to be happy? What does it mean to be blessed. How can they be found? These are ground-floor, basic the ‘rubber hitting the road’ questions. If we get them wrong, then we’ve…
7th Sunday in O.T. (C); 02-20-2022 1 Sm 26:2,7-23. Ps 103 1 Cor 15:45-49. Lk 6:27-38 Deacon Jim McFadden The Sermon of the Mount, which may be construed as Jesus’ State of the Kingdom address, is in two parts: (1) the Beatitudes, which describes what it’s like to live in the Kingdom of God…
5th Sunday in O.T. (C); 02-06-2022 Is 6:18. Ps 138. 1 Cor 15:1-11. Lk 5:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden One of my spiritual heroes is the Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once wrote that Christianity without discipleship is cheap grace. He walked the talk as he sacrificed his life in his resistance to the Nazi…
4th Sunday in O.T. (C); 01-30-2022 Jer 1:4-5, 17-19. Ps 71. 1 Cor 12:32-13:13. Lk 4:21-30 Deacon Jim McFadden Last Sunday’s liturgy had us look at the episode of Synagogue of Nazareth where Jesus reads a passage from the prophet Isaiah that reveals the true interpretation of who He is and in the end…
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); 01-23-2022 Neh 8:2-4a. Ps 19. 1 Cor 12:12-30. Lk 1-4; 4:14-21 Deacon Jim McFadden An operating principle that governed Jesus’ life is that he saw in others what he saw in himself. In Buddhist literature there is a story where a soldier comes up to a Buddhist monk…
The Wedding Feast of Cana 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (C); 01-16-2022 Is 62:1-5. Ps 96. 1 Cor 12:4-11. Jn 2:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden St. Paul has compared the relationship between Jesus and his Church as that of a bridegroom and his bride (cf. Ephesians 5:22-23). What that means is that God loves us…
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…
