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…
The Baptism of the Lord (C); 01-09-2022 Is 40:1-11. Ps 29. Ti 2:11-14; 3:4-7. Lk 3:15-22 Deacon Jim McFadden Let’s begin the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord with a short quiz: first, an easy one: what’s your birthday? I presume that nearly all of you got that one right! Second, a more…
The Epiphany of the Lord (C); 01-02-2022 Is 60:1-6. Ps 72. Eph 3:2-3. Mt 2:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we celebrate the Epiphany, the arrival of the Magi, traditionally described as a trio based on the three gifts they brought as they came to the humble cave of Bethlehem. The Church tells the story…
Christmas (C); 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 (C); 12-19-2021 Mi 5:1-4a. Ps 80. Heb 10:5-10. Lk 1:39-45 Deacon Jim McFadden The Old Testament foretells the Good News of salvation history which is fulfilled in the New Testament. It’s important to keep in mind that the Gospel writers did not write in a linear fashion, but more in…
Third Sunday of Advent (C); 12-12-2121 Zep 3:14-18a (Ps) Is 12. Phil 4:4-7. LK 3:10-18 Deacon Jim McFadden What struck me about the date of the Third Sunday of Advent is that when you read it from left-to-right or right-to-left, the sequence repeats itself, which is singularly unique on the calendar. But, what is…
First Sunday of Advent (C); 11-28-2021 Jer 33:14-16. Ps 25. 1 Thes 3:12-4:2. Lk 21:25-28,34-36 Deacon Jim McFadden At the start of the new liturgical year, Advent begins, which prepares us for Christmas—inviting us to lift our gaze to Jesus and open our hearts to him so that he may be born within us…
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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