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…
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Bring Jesus your “Leprosy”
6th Sunday in O.T.; February 11, 2018 Lv 13:1-2,44-46 Ps 32 1 Cor 10-31-11:1 Mk 1:40-45 Deacon Jim McFadden Last Sunday we saw that in his public life Jesus healed many sick people, revealing that God wants us to be well—indeed, that our joy may be full; that we live life to its fullness.…
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Give ‘Pax et Bonum’ a Chance
Pax et Bonum Mass; January 31, 2018 Sir 50:22-24 Ps 145 Eph 1:3-14 Jn 16:20-22 Deacon Jim McFadden; St. Francis High School I first came across the greeting Pax et Bonum 50 years ago as a young man entering a Franciscan monastery in upstate New York to discern whether I had a vocation to…
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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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The Cost of Discipleship
23rd Sunday in O.T. (C); September 4, 2016 Wis 9:13-18b Ps 90 Phlm 9-10,12-17 Lk 14:25-33 Deacon Jim McFadden; (New) Folsom Prison Luke tells us that great crowds were following Jesus; he was a very popular man, a fascinating figure. If Jesus were physically with us today, he’d be all over the Internet, the…
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Discipleship–We’re All Unworthy
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); 2-7-16 Is 6:1-8 Ps 138 1 Cor 15:1-11 Lk 5:1-11 Deacon Jim McFadden; Folsom Prison One of my spiritual heroes is the Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once wrote that Christianity without discipleship is cheap grace. He walked the talk as he sacrificed his life in his…
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Catholic Educator as Formator
Cardinal Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles once said, “It is not so much that the Church has a mission; it is rather more that the mission has a Church.” What is the mission of the Church? According to Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution of the Church), the mission is to be a…
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Let’s Dance!
4th Sunday of Advent (C); 12-22-12Mi 5:1-4a Ps 80 Heb 10:5-10 Lk 1:39-45The image of John the Baptist leaping for joy in the womb of his mother at the sound of the greeting of the Blessed Virgin Mary harkens back to the Old Testament image of David, leaping and dancing before the Ark of the…
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Cardinal Dolan on Religious Liberty
Dear Folks, The “WSJ” recently ran an interview with Cardinal Dolan (NY), President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which offers a very focused, clear, and convincing apologia for the Church’s position regarding the current controversy over the Affordable Care Act. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577311800821270184.html Peace and good will, Deacon Jim
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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