In 1792 the baby-faced Louis Saint-Just made his maiden speech in the National Convention, the new-formed parliament of the First French Republic. For the ambitious and idealistic young…
28
Nov
2023
20
Nov
2023
Walking Together in Communion, Participation and Mission Reflections on the Synod on Synodality
I recently returned from the month-long first assembly of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, held in the Vatican from 4th to 29th October at the behest of Pope Francis. The Synod is a representative episcopal body established by St Paul VI following…
20
Nov
2023
Homily for Mass of the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A + Parish Visitation
The proverb ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’, is simple enough to understand: the promise of less is preferable to the possibility of more; security to be preferred to risk-taking; certainty over mere hope. The saying comes down to us from the late medieval Austin friar, John Capgrave…
07
Nov
2023
HOMILY FOR MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OFREV. ŽELJKO EVETOVIĆ AND REV. RONNY D’CRUZMEMORIAL OF ST CHARLES BORROMEO
I’ve recently returned from the month-long Synod on Synodality in Rome. Much of the media buzz around that meeting was about whether it would commend the ordination of women to the Pope. It didn’t. But it’s an elephant in the cathedral…
28
Sep
2023
Homily for the Feast of St Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist + Mass for Consecrated Life
Last week the Governance Institute of Australia released their eighth annual Ethics Index which charts popular perceptions of how ethical is the conduct of those in particular professions and sectors. The 2023 results indicate that, as a nation, we expect more in terms of integrity, professionalism and honesty…
28
Sep
2023
Homily for Mass of the Memorial of Sts Cosmas and Damian
In ancient times the celestial spheres were thought to influence our health, moods, actions, fate. It’s not so crazy: after all, the sun is crucial for days and seasons, sleep and wake, photosynthesis and life. It’s light and warmth affects our moods, and some people suffer seasonal affective disorders. Its partner, the moon, influences the earth’s axis and wobble…
28
Sep
2023
Homily for Mass for Tuesday 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Over the last fortnight, the world has watched on in horror as two disasters struck North Africa. First, a magnitude-6.8 earthquake claimed around 3,000 lives as it devastated Morocco’s capital Marrakech and wiped-out whole villages in the Atlas Mountains. Those mountains rise by 1mm per year as tectonic plates press against each other, but roughly once-in-a…
11
Sep
2023
HOMILY FOR THE RITUAL MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OFREV. RICHARD SOFATZIS AND MATTHEW LUKASZEWICZ
In our highly sexualised culture, celibacy is often despised or belittled. It’s said no normal man would commit to it. Yet here in the Archdiocese of Sydney we will have four ordinations to the priesthood this year, we had five last year, six in COVID time, and six in the year before…
04
Sep
2023
Homily for Mass of the Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A
He was at the height of his powers going into the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The British sprinter, Derek Redmond, held the British record over 400m and the year before was on the relay team that upset the red-hot US squad, winning the world championships. His Olympic campaign couldn’t have started better: he blitzed the field in his qualifying heat and…
01
Sep
2023
Philippa Martyr: Convert or cradle, we aren’t so different
During the Rite of Election ceremonies in St Mary’s Cathedral on 26 February, candidates and catechumens were supported by both sponsors and godparents. Photo: Alphonsus Fok About 20 years ago when I was living in the UK, I remember browsing a hardcover annual Catholic directory published by the Catholic bishops’ conference. They had the numbers […]
