My homiletic preparation has been influenced by Pope Francis. I prayerfully prepare the homily under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who is the Doer and I am the instrument. In so doing, I focus on one major theme, which guards against wandering and freely associating. The spotlight is on the Lord, not on me the homilist. In terms of length, the sweet spot seems to be 8 minutes, no more than ten. Preaching is a lot like drilling for oil: if you haven’t struck oil at 8 minutes, stop drilling! Finally, I try to address the “so what” factor: i.e., given what has been
preached regarding the Lectionary readings, especially the Gospel, now what? A good faith-filled homily must inspire the assembly to action; otherwise, it’s just a lecture.
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 desert, tempted by the Devil. There are several descriptions of Satan, but one thing is…
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 God, each other, and Creation. At the beginning of our Lenten journey, the Word…
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, asking for that first date when your stomach is in a knot. Lifelong love builds…
The World really needs us to be light and salt!
5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); February 8, 2026 Is 58:7-10. Ps 112. 1 Cor 2:1-5. Mt 5:13-16 Deacon Jim McFadden The Sundays leading up to Lent, the liturgy offers us teachings from the Sermon of the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. The Beatitudes launch the Sermon, providing the structure for subsequent teachings,…
the eucharist: happiness now!
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); February 1, 2026 Zep 2:3; 3:12-13. Ps 146. 1 Cor 1:26-31. Mt 5:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden In Charles Dickens’ famous tale A Christmas Carol, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited on Christmas Eve by the ghost of his partner, Jacob Marley, and is then shown three ghostly scenes…
The Light that Radiates from the Periphery
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A); January 25, 2026 Is 8:23-9:3. Ps 27. 1 Cor 1:10-13,17. Mt 4:12-23 Deacon Jim McFadden Usually, Catholic homilists dive right into the Gospel to unpack its meaning for the community. What I’d like to do is to reflect upon our first reading, which is the take-off point for…
Our Leader is a Lamb
2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A); January 18, 2026 Is 49:3,5-6 Ps 40 1 Cor 1:1-3 Jn 1:29-34 Deacon Jim McFadden Ever since we were kids, we’ve learned to follow the leader. As children, the leader makes a simple challenge: “can you do what I can do?” As we get older following the leader can…
“The Heavens Were Opened”
THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (A); January 11, 2026 Is 42:1-4,6-7. Ps 29. Acts 10:34-38. Mt 3:13-17 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we are celebrating the Baptism of our Lord Jesus. Baptisms have a special place in my heart as it is one of my cherished ministries as a deacon. Many years ago on a…
Am I a Christian Who Worships?
The Epiphany of the Lord (A); January 4, 2026 Is 60:1-6. Ps 72. Eph 3:2-3. Mt 2:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we have observed his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Mt 2:2). These men, traditionally described as…
Mary Kept and Pondered
Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, January 1, 2026 Nm 6:22-27. Gal 4:4-7. Lk 2:16-21 Deacon Jim McFadden There is an old tradition that Luke the evangelist knew the Blessed Mother and he wove her memories into his Gospel account. This view resonates because he presents the Annunciation, the birth and infancy of…
The Holy Family Were Refugees
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; 12-28-2025 Sir 3:2-6. Ps 128. Col 3:12-21. Mt 2:13-15, 19-21 Deacon Jim McFadden On this first Sunday after Christmas, the Liturgy invites us to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth. We are very accustomed that every nativity scene shows the infant Jesus together…
a God who gathers
Christmas (A) ; 12-25-2025 Is 52:1-7. Ps 97. Heb 1:1-6 . Jn 1:1-18 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,…
History is Going Somewhere and it rhymes
4th Sunday of Advent (A); December 21, 2025 Is 7:10-14. Ps 24. Rom 1:1-7. Mt 1:18-24 Deacon Jim McFadden As we enter into the 4th Sunday of Advent, let us remember that salvation history has a trajectory which comes to fulfillment in the Messiah. All the fragments of history are gathered together in him. …
god always astonishes
3rd Sunday of Advent (A); December 14, 2025 Is 35:1-6a,10. Ps 146. Js 7:5-10. Mt 11:2-11 Deacon Jim McFadden Our Gospel for the 3rd Sunday of Advent is taken from the 11th chapter of Matthew, where we’re moving right in to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which occurs in the middle of Matthew’s Gospel. …
HERE I AM
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception; 12-08-2025 Gn 3:9-15,20. Ps 98. Eph 1:3-6,11-12. Lk 1:26-38 Deacon Jim McFadden Today’s readings present us a stark choice. In the first reading from the book of Genesis, there is a man, who, at the very beginning of his origins, says “no” to God. And, in the Gospel reading…
John the Baptist Doesn’t put up with duplicity
2nd Sunday of Advent (A); December 7, 2025 Is 11:1-10. Ps 72. Rom 15:4-9. Mt 3:1-12 Deacon Jim McFadden On the second Sunday of Advent, Matthew calls us to encounter the intriguing figure of John the Baptist, a gritty, down-to-earth, ‘in your face’ prophet. The text says that John “wore a garment of camel’s…
“Turn your swords into plowshares
1st Sunday of Advent (A); November 30, 2025 Is 2:1-5. Ps 122. Rom 13:11-14. Mt 24:37-44 Deacon Jim McFadden The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of our preparation for the celebration of Christmas. Today’s readings offer us a vision, which suggests that Advent is a time of hope and challenges. This vision…
Jesus, lord of our lives
Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe; 11-23-2025 2 Sm 5:1-3. Ps 122. Col 1:12-20. Lk 23:35-43 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we come to the end of the liturgical year, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The Gospel from Luke presents the kingship of Jesus as the culmination of…
My own special possession
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (C); November 16, 2025 Mal 3:19-20a. Ps 998. 2 Thes 3:7-12. Lk 21:5-19 Deacon Jim McFadden “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my own special possession…and I will have compassion on them” (Mal 3:17): these words come to us from the last page of the…
why be catholic?
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica; 11-09-2025 Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12. Ps 46. 1 Cor 3:9c-11,161-7. Jn 2:13-22 Deacon Jim McFadden Today we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which was dedicated by Pope St. Sylvester in 324 who was the 33rd pontiff (314-335). Sylvester honored the episcopal seat of the pope as the bishop…
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