Mary Kept and Pondered
Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, January 1, 2026 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…
Category: Homilies
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Let the Water of Christ Fill your Bucket
3rd Sunday of Lent (A); March 15 , 2020 Ex 17:3-7 Ps 95 Rom 5:1-8 Jn 4:5-42 Deacon Jim McFadden This Sunday we have the great privilege of hearing the story of the woman at the well, the definitive text on Christian evangelization. As we reflect upon this magnificent story, notice that as the
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How to Deal with Temptation
1st Sunday of Lent (A); March 1, 2020 Gn 2:7-9, 3:1-7 Ps 51 Rom 5:12-19 Mt 4:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden Each year, the first reading and the Gospel of the First Sunday of Lent set before us the narrative of how to respond to temptation. What we see at the beginning of Creation (the
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Love of Enemies: A Christian Revolution
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 2-23-20 Lv 19:1-2,17-18 Ps 103 1 Cor 3:16-23 Mt 5:38-48 Deacon Jim McFadden Last Sunday we reflected how Jesus instructed his disciples on the Sermon of the Mount to watch over little things that undermine our love relationships. Today, he goes further by calling us to love
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Don’t Offend a Person’s Dignity
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); 2-16-20 Sir 15:15-20 Ps 119 1 Cor 2:6-10 Mt 5:17-37 Deacon Jim McFadden It begins with the tiniest gesture: an interested glance across a classroom, the brushing of a hand, asking for that first date. Lifelong love builds from little expressions of care before it becomes self-surrender
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The World Needs Us to be Light and Salt
5th Sunday in O.T. (A); February 9, 2020 Is 58:7-10 Ps 112 1 Cor 2:1-5 Mt 5:13-16 Deacon Jim McFadden These 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,
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What’s So Special about the Presentation?
The Presentation of the Lord; 2-2-20 Mal 3:1-4 Ps 24 Heb 2:14-18 Lk 2:22-40 Deacon Jim McFadden During the Winter, we have a cornucopia of religious “holidays”: Advent, Christmas, Solemnity of the Mother of God, Epiphany, the Baptism of Jesus, and then entry into Ordinary Time. Today, we celebrate the Presentation of the Lord,
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The Light that Radiates from the Periphery
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 1-26-20 Is 8:23-9:3 Ps 27 1 Cor 1:10-13,17 Mt 4:12-23 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s gospel reading from Matthew recounts the beginning of Jesus’ preaching in Galilee. He leaves his hometown Nazareth, an obscure village in the mountains, and settles in Capernaum, an important trading center on the lakeshore.
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“Baptized by You”
Baptism of the Lord (A); 1-12-20 Is 42:1-7 Ps 29 Acts 10:34-38 Mt 3:3-17 Deacon Jim McFadden One of the mysteries of our Lord’s baptism is WHY! Why did he have to do it? What does it mean? Since he is Immanuel, God among us, he didn’t have to be baptized for his own
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Bear Witness to Jesus
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); 1-19-20 Is 49:3,5-6 Ps 40 1 Cor 1:1-3 Jn 1:29-34 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB We are now in Ordinary Time, that period of the liturgical year when we pay closer attention to what it means to be a follower of Jesus. On some Sundays we are going
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The Magi: A Holy Longing
The Epiphany of the Lord (A); January 5, 2020 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
homilies
The Holy Family Were Refugees
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; 12-28-2025 Sir 3:2-6. Ps 128. Col 3:12-21. Mt 2:13-15, 19-21 Deacon Jim McFadden On this first Sunday after Christmas, the Liturgy invites us to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family…
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…
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