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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Driving Out Junk Religion
Third Sunday of Lent (B); March 4, 2018 Ex 20:1-17; Ps 19; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison The core of our faith is the Paschal Mystery, which refers to Jesus’ death and resurrection and their saving significance for us. The adjective paschal derives from the Hebrew verb pasach,…
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Jesus Among the Wild Beasts and Angels
1st Sunday of Lent (B); February 18, 2018 Gen 9:8-15 Ps 25 1 Pet 3:18-22 Mk 1:12-15 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C. Lent is about belonging: staying connected with God, each other, and ourselves. The first readings for all the Lenten Sundays in Lectionary Cycle B…
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Give Me a Drink
SFHS Frosh Retreat; 2-7-18 Esther 5:1-5 Ps 95 Jn 4:5-42 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. Anthony’s C.C. Have you wondered why the source of “living water” would ask the Samaritan woman, an outsider, for a drink? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Many decades ago as a young college student, I read William…
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Give Me a Drink
SFHS Frosh Retreat; 2-7-18 Esther 5:1-5 Ps 95 Jn 4:5-42 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. Anthony’s C.C. Have you wondered why the source of “living water” would ask the Samaritan woman, an outsider, for a drink? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Many decades ago as a young college student, I…
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Jesus: the Divine Physician
5th Sunday of O.T.; February 4, 2018 Job 7:1-7; Ps 147; 1 Cor 9:16-23; Mk 1:29-39 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison and SJB Pope Francis often describes the Church as a “field hospital” of wounded, broken, sinful people who are in need of healing. While it is difficult to admit, all of…
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Is It I, Lord? Yes!
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); 1-21-18 Jon 3:1-5,10; Ps 25; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-21 Deacon Jim McFadden Fifteen years ago, I was preparing an inmate at Folsom Minimum Security Facility for his confirmation on Christmas Day, which was presided by Auxiliary Bishop Garcia. He was so excited but wanted to stay focused on…
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What Are You Looking For?
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); Jan. 14, 2018 1 Sam 3:3:3-10,19: Ps 42; 1 Cor 6:13-15,17-20; Jn 1:35-42 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C. Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John does not depict Jesus calling the first disciples while walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. …
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A Dwelling Place for God
4th Sunday of Advent (B); December 24, 2017 2 Sam 7:1-5,8-12,14,16 Ps 89 Rom 16:25-27 Lk 1:26-38 Deacon Jim McFadden As Christmas is nearly upon us, the readings for the 4th Sunday of Advent focus our attention on the notion of a dwelling place for God. In the first reading, King David finds himself…
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Jesus is our Joy
3rd Sunday of Advent (B); December 17, 2017 Is 61:1-2a, 10-11 (Ps) Lk 1:46-50, 53-54 1 Thes 5:16-24 Jn 1:6-8, 19-28 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison; SJB Advent is not a time of waiting for the coming of the Christ child—that already happened 2017 years ago. It’s rather a time in…
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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