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…
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…
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,…
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…
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) November 10, 2024 1 Kgs 17:10-16. Ps 146. Heb 9:24-28. Mk 12:38-44 Deacon Jim McFadden The scene in today’s Gospel takes place inside the Temple of Jerusalem, where Jesus is looking at what’s happening in this most sacred place in Judaism, where heaven and earth are supposed to…
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); November 3, 2024 Dt 6:2-6. Ps 18. Heb 7:23-28. Mk 12:28-34 Deacon Jim McFadden Mark’s gospel, the first written in the mid-60s, is the shortest of the four gospels consisting of only 16 chapters and is one of breath-taking action after another. As such, not a word, sentence,…
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 20, 2024 Is 53:10-11. Ps 33. Heb 9:14-16. Mk 10:35-45 Deacon Jim McFadden The Gospel for today’s Holy Mass (Mk 10:35-45) narrates that two disciples, James and John, ask the Lord to one day sit beside him in glory as if they were key figures of his…
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 13, 2024 Wis 7:7-11. Ps 90. Heb 4:12-13. Mk 10:17-30 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s Holy Mass offers us the encounter of Jesus and the man who “had many possessions” (Mk 10:22) and he goes down in history as “the rich young man.” Interestingly, we do not know…
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B); October 6, 2024 Gn 2:18-24. Ps 128. Heb 2:9-11. Mk 10:2-16 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s readings offer reflections on humanity’s unitive relationship with God, one another, and the created order—all of which obtain in the Holy Mass: we are meant to be together! The readings also show an…
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…
