Category: Homilies

  • The Other Guy

    Pentecost Sunday (A); May 31, 2020 Acts 2:1-11   Ps 104   1 Cor 12:3-7,12-13   Jn 20:19-23 Deacon Jim McFadden               When I was a boy, the third person of the Trinity was referred to as the Holy Ghost. Associating ghosts with spooky movies or novels, I wasn’t too keen on interacting with a ghost, however…

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  • Our Faith is increased by our Lord’s Ascension

    Ascension of the Lord (A); May 24, 2020 Acts 1:1-11   Ps 47   Eph 1:7-23   Mt 28:16-20 Deacon Jim McFadden               For the last two Sundays, we reflected upon Jesus’ Farewell Discourse which was his last will and testament; there, the nucleus of our Christian faith was on full display. Moreover, he promised us that…

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  • Learn the Art of Loving

    6th Sunday of Easter (A); May 17, 2020 Acts 8:5-8,14-17   Ps 66   1 Pt 3:15-18   Jn 14:15-21 Deacon Jim McFadden            Many decades ago, a world famous psychoanalyst Erich Fromm wrote a remarkable book, The Art of Loving, which was a daring and challenging prescription to learn how to love on a daily basis. …

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  • Jesus Speaks to Us

    3rd Sunday of Easter (A); April 26, 2020 Acts 2:1322-23   Ps 16   1 Pt 1:17-21   Lk 24:13-35 Deacon Jim McFadden   Why was it so difficult for the two disciples to recognize the Risen Lord? Jesus’ death scattered his disciples and shattered their hopes and dreams. Previously, they had been so full of hope and…

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  • First Step: Forgiveness

    Divine Mercy Sunday (A); April 19, 2020 Acts 2:42-47   Ps 118 1 Pt 1:3-9   Jn 20:19-31 Deacon Jim McFadden            Every Sunday at Holy Mass we commemorate the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus; indeed, if that was not the case, the liturgy would be nothing more than a nostalgic remembrance. But during this period…

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  • A Different Dawn

    Easter Sunday: The Resurrection of Our Lord Acts 10:34,37-43   Ps 118   Col 3:1-4   Jn 20:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden               Today we are celebrating the apex of the liturgical calendar; indeed, it is the nucleus of our Faith: The Resurrection of the Lord. In the midst of a global pandemic that is bringing so much…

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  • The Force of Gravity that Propels Us Upwards

    Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Mt 21:1-11 (proc.); Is 50:4-7 Ps 22 Phil 2:6-11 Mt 27:11-54 Deacon Jim McFadden            Every year is a moving experience on Palm Sunday as we go with Jesus towards the Temple, accompanying him on the ascent which leads to the Cross. As Jesus enters Jerusalem,…

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  • The Ultimate ‘Encounter-Clash’

    5th Sunday of Lent (A); 3-29-20 Ez 37:12-14   Ps 130   Rom 8:8-11   Jn 11:1-45 Deacon Jim McFadden               In today’s Gospel reading we have a stark contrast between Jesus, who is the Lord of Life, and the ruins of death. Let us pause and stand before the last of the miraculous signs which Jesus…

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  • We Can See Clearly Now

    4th Sunday of Lent (A); March 22, 2020 1 Sam 16: 1b,6-7,10-13a   Ps 23   Eph 5:8-14   Jn 9:1-41 Deacon Jim McFadden   As we read today’s Gospel from John (9:1-41), it will be helpful to remember John’s audience and his purpose. John is writing at the end of the first century to people who were…

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  • Listen!

    2nd Sunday of Lent (A); March 8, 2020 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 Genesis. Prior to it are chapters 3-11, which describe, not the world that God intended,…

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homilies

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…

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…