It’s a smelly Mass, the Chrism Mass. The scent of palms is still in the air from last Sunday. Then that of the olive permeates the cathedral, as deacons heave vats of oil up the sanctuary stairs. Then perfume fills the basilica as it is mixed with the sacred Chrism for the fragrance of Christ.
Three years ago, when last we heard St Mark’s Passion (Mk chs 14 & 15), I observed that only he includes the flight of the stark-naked youth from the Garden.
Welcome to our first Clergy Conference of 2021. It’s always a joy to be with you, but after a year of pandemic, lockdown and virtual conferences, it’s all the more so.
A while back an eclectic Spanish art collection was offered for auction by Christie’s in London. The standout item was a life-sized painting of St Joseph and the Christ Child by the 17th-century painter, Bartolomé Murillo, estimated to be worth millions of pounds.
Fr Noel Custodio is another recently ordained young priest and will join us to talk about fatherhood and St Joseph, particularly with reference to the titles given him by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde.
What a strange choice of readings for a day we call ‘Lætare’ or ‘Rejoicing Sunday’! Our first reading from the Book of Chronicles tells how all the faithful – including the leading clergy – proved unfaithful.
Cathedral of Sts Mary & Joseph, Armidale. Before Armidale was… 32 years they had waited for a priest. Sure, a convict priest (Fr James Dixon) had been permitted to celebrate Mass for ten months in 1803
Jacob and Wilhelm were brothers, renowned scholars in philology and lexicography, and authorities on the Indo-European language from which the languages of the continent and the sub-continent evolved.
Peter, James and John are Jesus’ executive team. They join Him on occasions marked ‘private and confidential’, when healing in homes or contemplating Jerusalem or agonising in the garden. Paul calls them ‘the three pillars’ of the early Church (Gal 2:9).
‘Take me for your model, as I take Christ.’ These words of St Paul give us a template for the Christian life (1Cor 10:31-11:1). St Paul stands as a reflection of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the love of God, and of the communion of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:3), pointing our gaze towards the source of that grace, love and fellowship.
