The Solemnity of Pentecost (B); May 23rd, 2021 Acts 2:1-11. Ps 104. 1 Cor 12:3-7,12-13. Jn 20:19-23 Deacon Jim McFadden In today’s first reading of our Liturgy, the coming of the Holy Spirit is presented in dramatic fashion—comparing it to “the rush of a violent wind” (Acts 2:2). What does this image tell us? …
Ascension of the Lord (B); May 16, 2021 Acts 1:1-11. Ps 47. Eph 1:17-23. Mk 16:15-20 Deacon Jim McFadden The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord embraces two elements: on one hand our gaze is directed toward heaven where the glorified Jesus is seated at the right hand of God (cf. Mk 16:19);…
6th Sunday of Easter (B); May 9, 2021 Acts 10:25-26,34-35,44-48. Ps 98. 1 Jn 4:7-10. Jn 15:9-17 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Gospel—John Chapter 15—brings us back to the Last Supper, which contains our Lord’s final, lengthy discourses. Next to the Sermon of the Mount contained in Matthew’s Gospel, it’s the lengthiest account in the…
The Vine and the Branches 5th Sunday of Easter (B); May 2, 2021 Acts 9:26-41. Ps 22. 1 Jn 3:18-24. Jn 15:1-8 Deacon Jim McFadden You may be familiar with the Co-Exist bumper sticker, which horizontally lists the great religions of the world: it uses the Islamic crescent moon for ‘C’, a peace sign…
4th Sunday of Easter (B); April 25, 2021 Acts 4:8-12. Ps 118. 1 Jn 3:1-2. Jn 10:11-18 Deacon Jim McFadden Two lovers look at one another and say without any reservation: “I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to…
3rd Sunday of Easter (B); April 18, 2021 Acts 3:13-15,17-19. Ps 42. 1 Jn 2:1-5. Lk 24:35-48 Deacon Jim McFadden In the mid-‘80s the Australian director Peter Weir (Gallipoli, Mosquito Coast, The Truman Show) did his first American film, a successful thriller, Witness (1985), which starred Harrison Ford (in his only performance that earned…
The Resurrection of our Lord; Easter Sunday (B) Acts 10:34,37-43. Ps 18 Col 3:1-4. Jn 10:1-9 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we celebrate with utter joy the Resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection confirms that Jesus is truly the son of God, that His love for us has no limits, and that He is God among his…
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (B) Palm Sunday is the great doorway leading into Holy Week—the week in which the Lord Jesus makes his way to the culmination of his earthly existence. He goes to Jerusalem, where he will fulfill the promises of the Messianic hope, but will do so in…
5th Sunday of Lent (B); 3-21-2021 Jer 31:31-34. Ps 51. Heb 5:7-9. Jn 12:20-33 Deacon Jim McFadden As Lent comes to closure, the Church gives us an extraordinary text for our meditation: Jeremiah 31:31ff which reads, “The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of…
4th Sunday of Lent (B); 3-14-2021 2 Chr 36:14-16,19-23. Ps 137. Eph 2:4-10. Jn 3:14-21 Deacon Jim McFadden Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, a.k.a. “Laetare”, that is, “rejoice,” because the opening antiphon of the Eucharistic liturgy invites us to that joy: “Rejoice, Jerusalem—“Be joyful, all who were in mourning.” This is how…
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…
