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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St. Francis: a man of poverty, peace, and creation
St. Francis Day: October 4, 2017 Gal 6:14-18 Ps 27 Mt 11:25-30 Deacon Jim McFadden; SFHS In March of 2013 when the conclave to elect the next pope was voting, it was becoming apparent that the cardinal from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was going to be chosen. When he went over…
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Seeing Reality
25th Sunday in O.T. (A); Sept. 24, 2017 Is 55:6-9 Ps 145 Phil 1:20c-24 Mt 20:1-16a Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison Sometimes Jesus just doesn’t seem fair. The parable of the Day Laborers evokes the sense of getting ripped off. That’s why is it probably the least liked parable that Jesus ever told…
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Forgiving Others
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); 9-17-17 Sir 27:30-28:7; Ps 103:1-4,9-12; Rom 14:7-9; Mt 18:21-35 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. John the Baptist C.C. Last week’s readings spoke of reconciliation. This week we consider the same theme, but from the perspective of forgiveness. We all know how difficult it is to swallow our pride…
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God’s Great Gamble
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time; August 27, 2017 Is 22:19-23; Ps 138; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison St. Paul reminds us, in case we should ever forget, that “How inscrutable are (God’s) judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11: 33b) And, he underscores that truth with an…
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Doing What It Takes
20th Sunday in O.T. (A); August 20, 2017 Is 56:1,6-7 Ps 67 Rom 11:13-15,29-32 Mt 15:21-28 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB Today’s Gospel maybe one of the most problematic in the entire New Testament as on the surface it seems to portray Jesus as a chauvinist. Jesus leaves God’s own holy land and enters…
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Come to the Quiet
19th Sunday in O.T. (A); Aug. 13, 2017 1 Kgs 19:9-13a; Ps 85 Rom 9:1-5 Mt 14:22-33 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison It’s difficult for most of us to be still. We’re surrounded by a wall of endless chatter, small talk, off-the-cuff remarks that have no beginning and no end. Then, there’s…
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The One Thing
17th Sunday in O.T. (A); July 30, 2017 1 Kgs 3:5,7-12 Ps 119 Rom 8:28-30 Mt 13:44-52 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison The Swedish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said , “The saint’s life is about one thing.” He didn’t mean that a saint’s life would be a monotonous existence—“been there, done that” type…
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The Problem of Evil
16th Sunday in O.T. (A); July 23, 2017 Wis 12:13,16-19 Ps 86 Rom 8:26-27 Mt 13:24-43 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison The parable of the weeds among the wheat continues Jesus use of short stories to announce the Kingdom of God to the crowds. Among those in today’s Gospel, there is a…
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The Prodigal Sower
15th Sunday in O.T. (A); July 16, 2017 Is 55:10-11 Ps 65 Rom 8:18-23 Mt 13:1-23 Deacon Jim McFadden; SJB Today’s Gospel is about the great parable of Matthew’s version of the Sower, which was famously painted by Vincent Van Gogh. As you reflect on this parable, I’d encourage you to have Van…
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The Great Remedy
14th Sunday in O.T. (B); July 9, 2017 Zec 9:9-10 Ps 145 Rom 8:9,11-13 Mt 11:25-30 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison Life is hard, but good. But, when it’s hard, it can feel like one continual beat-down. Then we hear the tender words from Jesus in today’s Gospel, which are a sign of…
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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