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…
Category: Homilies
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Mary Kept and Pondered
Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God; 1-1-2020 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 Gospel account. This view resonates because he presents the Annunciation, the birth and infancy of Jesus…
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History is Going Somewhere, and It Rhymes
As we enter into the 4th Sunday of Advent, we are reminded that all of time and history comes to fulfillment in the Messiah. All the shards of history are gathered together in him. To use the language of St. Paul, all of space and time is recapitulated in Christ, which means everything comes to…
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“Tell John What You See and Hear”
3rd Sunday of Advent (A); 12-8-2019 Is 35:1-6a,10 Ps 146 Js 7:5-10 Mt 11:2-11 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB Our Gospel for this weekend is taken from the 11th chapter of Matthew, where we’re moving right into the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which occurs in the middle of Matthew’s Gospel. So, this great Advent…
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The One Who Baptizes with Fire
2nd Sunday of Advent; 12-8-19 Is 11:1-10 Ps 72 Rom 15:4-9 Mt 3:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden On the second Sunday of Advent, Matthew calls us to encounter the intriguing figure of John the Baptist, a gritty, down-to-earth, ‘in your face’ prophet. His clothing is coarse: “John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and…
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The Mountain of the Lord
1st Sunday of Advent (A); 12-1-2019 Is 2:1-5 Ps 122 Rom 13:11-14 Mt 24:37-44 Deacon Jim McFadden As we enter into the great season of Advent, we await the coming of the Lord. Our first reading is taken from the prophet Isaiah, often referred to as the prophet of Advent since we rely so…
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Jesus: King of the Universe, Lord of our Lives
CHRIST THE KING (C); November 24, 2019 2 Sm 5:1-3 Ps 122 Col 1:12-20 Lk 23: 35-43 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we come to the end of the liturgical year, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel from Luke presents the kingship of Jesus as the culmination of…
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My Own Special Possession
33rd Sunday in O.T. (C); November 17, 2019 Mal 3:19-20a Ps 98 2 Thes 3:7-12 Lk 21:5-19 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession…And I will have compassion on them” (Mal 3:17): these words come to us from the last page of…
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Naaman, the Syrian
28th Sunday in O.T. (C); October 13, 2019 2 Kgs 5:14-17 Ps 98 2 Tim 2:8-13 Lk 17:11-19 Deacon Jim McFadden From a worldly perspective, the worst thing a powerful person can do is admit his/her weakness to others. As we scan our political landscape, humility is in short supply. That’s one reason so…
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Reclaiming the Language of Faith
27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C); October 6, 2019 Hb 1:2-3; 2:3-4. Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14; Lk 17:5-10 Deacon Jim McFadden Can’t you just feel for the prophet Habakkuk? The poor guy faces violence and destruction and he yells out to God: “I cry for help but you do not listen!…
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Rich Man, Poor Man
26th Sunday in O.T.; September 29, 2019 Am 6:1a, 4-7 Ps 102 1 Tm 6:11-16 Lk 16:19-31 Deacon Jim McFadden Many of us find the homeless to be unnerving and annoying. They disrupt businesses in downtown areas. They relieve themselves in public, creating health issues. And, sometimes they’re just scary. Recently, going to and…
homilies
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…
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