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…
Category: Homilies
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The Journey of Faith is Renewed in God’s Presence
The Epiphany of the Lord (C); January 5, 2025 Is 60:1-6. Ps 72. Eph 3:2-3. Mt 2:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden Several years ago, Pope Francis said, “Let us never forget this: the journey of faith finds renewed strength and fulfillment only when it is made in the presence of God.” Let’s unpack that quote…
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Mary Keeps and Ponders
Astonishment and Anxiety: Do I experience both in relationship to Jesus? The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (C); 12-29-24 Sir 3:2-6,12-14. Ps 128. Col 3:12-21. Lk 2:41-52 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we are celebrating The Feast of the Holy Family, which invites us to reflect on the experience of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus,…
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Astonishment and Anxiety
Do I experience both in relationship to Jesus? The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph (C); 12-29-24 Sir 3:2-6,12-14. Ps 128. Col 3:12-21. Lk 2:41-52 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we are celebrating The Feast of the Holy Family, which invites us to reflect on the experience of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, united by the…
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A God Who Gathers
Christmas (C) ; 12-25-2024 Is 9:1-6. Ps 96. Ti 2:11-14. Lk 2:1-14 Deacon Jim McFadden Christmas celebrates God’s overwhelming desire to be united with us. Sometimes we wonder, why does he bother? He’s perfect—he doesn’t need anything since he is the great I AM. The Psalmist wondered the same thing, when he intoned, “What…
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Let’s Dance!
4th Sunday of Advent (C); 12-22-2024 Mi 5:1-4a. Ps 80. Heb 10:5-10. Lk 1:39-45 Deacon Jim McFadden The Old Testament foretells the Good News of salvation history which is fulfilled in the New Testament. It’s important to keep in mind that the Gospel writers did not write in a linear fashion, but more in a…
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What Shall We Do?
Third Sunday of Advent (C); December 15, 2024 Zep 3:14-18a. (Ps) Is 12. Phil 4:4-7. Lk 3:10-18 Deacon Jim McFadden Last Sunday, John the Baptist, the precursor to the Messiah, called us to repentance, to conversion which is a necessary condition if we are to receive the Good News. Continuing the 3rd chapter of…
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No Half Measures
2nd Sunday of Advent (C); December 8, 2024 Bar 5:1-9. Ps 126. Phil 1:4-6,8-11. Lk 3:1-6 Deacon Jim McFadden The beginning of Luke’s gospel chapter 3 seems a bit pedestrian. As we plow through all the details of rulers and their territories, we feel a bit impatient with all this historical detail. If Luke…
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The Lord is Coming!
1st Sunday of Advent (C); December 1, 2024 Jer 33:14-16. Ps 25. 1 Thes 3:12-4:2. Lk 21:25-28,34-36 Deacon Jim McFadden There is much anticipation in the air. At the start of a new liturgical year, Advent begins as we eagerly await the Christ child among us and all the blessings and transformations that this…
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Who Are You Going To Serve?
The Solemnity of Christ the King (B); 11-24-2024 Dn 7:13-14. Ps 93. Rv 1:5-8. Jn 18:33-37 Deacon Jim McFadden The last Sunday of the Liturgical Year ends with the affirmation by Jesus who says, “I am a king” (Jn 18:37). He utters these words in front of Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Palestine,…
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The Definitive Encounter with God
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); 11-17-2024 Dn 12:1-3. Ps 16. Heb 10:11-14,18. Mk 13:24-32 Deacon Jim McFadden Many decades ago as a graduate student at Tulane University in New Orleans, I was out for an evening jog in the grassy area near the dorms. Behind me, I hear this abrupt command: “Stop where…
homilies
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…
Respect a Person’s Dignity!
6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 15, 2026 Sir 15:15-20. Ps 119. 1 Cor 2:6-10. Mt 5:17-37 Deacon Jim McFadden It can begin with the smallest gesture: an interested glance across a classroom, the brushing of a hand,…
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