Armageddon. There have been many signs of it lately: drought, bushfires, dry lightning, hailstones, now plague. COVID-19 has killed, infected or isolated people, and put much of ordinary life on hold.
22
Mar
2020
20
Mar
2020
HOMILY FOR MASS FOR FRIDAY 3RD WEEK OF LENT + FAIRFIELD PARISH VISITATION
Ecology, ecowarriors, ecoterrorists, climate change campaigners, climate change deniers, environmental science, even environmental ethics.
19
Mar
2020
HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH SPOUSE OF MARY
We all know the stories of St Joseph: the long telling of his family tree; the Betrothal to the Blessed Virgin; the Annunciation by an angel in a dream; the journey to Bethlehem
18
Mar
2020
Directions for the Archdiocese of Sydney from 18 March 2020 until further notice
With respect to the Celebration of Mass and other Liturgies. Many people are already self-selecting to stay at home and attendance at many Masses will predictably be under 100.
18
Mar
2020
Pastoral Letter to the Pastors and People of the Archdiocese of Sydney in a Time of Pandemic
Apocalypse now? Drought, fires, storms and now plague. It can feel like the end of the world is coming. In a sense it is.
15
Mar
2020
HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE 3RD SUNDAY OF YEAR LENT A + OPENING OF CATHOLIC INSTITUTE OF SYDNEY ACADEMIC YEAR
At last month’s Academy Awards Joaquin Phoenix was awarded best actor for his performance in the psychological thriller Joker.
21
Feb
2020
HOMILY FOR MASS OF INAUGURATION OF PROFESSOR FRANCIS CAMPBELL AS VICE-CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME AUSTRALIA
New beginnings. The first Christians experienced the encounter with Christ as so inside-outing that they compared it with being born again
20
Feb
2020
HOMILY FOR THE VOTIVE MASS OF OUR LADY TO LAUNCH THE CAUSE FOR THE CANONISATION OF EILEEN O’CONNOR
In the lead up to Mary MacKillop’s canonisation journalists and faithful asked: what is a saint, who decides and how? Is MacKillop someone we all can be proud of, or only Catholics or Josephites?
20
Feb
2020
RELIGION AND MENTAL HEALTH
One in five Australians suffers some form of psychological illness in any particular year, and nearly half do so at some stage in their life. It affects all age groups, sexes, ethnicities, beliefs, professions. The figures are staggering, and mean a lot of people are hurting out there, many of them silently, without professional help
18
Feb
2020
HOMILY FOR MASSES FOR THE OPENING OF THE YEAR OF SYDNEY CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
The etymology of the word education, like so much else in education, is much contested. Its roots are the Latin words educare, meaning to train or mould, and educere, meaning to draw forth or lead away.
14
Feb
2020
“CONSCIENCE, RELATIVISM AND TRUTH: THE WITNESS OF NEWMAN”
On 13 October last the Church canonised a man whose life and work has been described by Pope Benedict XVI as ‘one great commentary on the question of conscience’, who was praised by St John Paul II for his “deep intellectual honesty [and] fidelity to conscience and grace”
26
Jan
2020
HOMILY FOR AUSTRALIA DAY MASS
Our readings today address the trials of Australians today. Amidst great hardship Paul urges us to persevere (Rom 12:9-13) and Isaiah prophesies a time when deserts will become fertile and scrub a thick forest, when the endangered will be secure at last and all dwell in domestic tranquillity (Is 32:15-28).
12
Jan
2020
HOMILY FOR A MASS IN TIME OF FIRE
Fire and water – which along with earth and air are the four classical elements – have always been both gifts and challenges for humanity. Water is the source of life, critical to hydration and growth, cleansing for bodies, clothes and land, and beautiful to view in lakes and seas.
25
Dec
2019
HOMILY FOR THE MORNING MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
Identity. Adolescents have been searching for it since the 1960s and still take decades to find it. After that it’s nearly time for a mid-life identity crisis. The search goes on – until you don’t care who you are anymore…
25
Dec
2019
HOMILY FOR THE MIDNIGHT MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
Some of our I.D. comes from family, nation and culture. But modernity prefers self-generated identities.Much of it is said to be about what we identify with: ethnicity, sexuality, profession, politics, loyalty groups.