09 Aug 2018
Mass For Thursday 18th Week Ordinary Time Year II

Mass For Thursday 18th Week Ordinary Time Year II

When people complained to Picasso that his portrait of Gertrude Stein did not look like her he famously replied, ‘No matter – it will.’ Picasso’s point was not merely that as Stein aged she would become more likely the unflattering face he had painted

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07 Aug 2018
Funeral Mass For Fr Paul Ryan

Funeral Mass For Fr Paul Ryan

I was not lucky enough to have Rev. Professor Paul Ryan as one of my philosophy teachers when I was in the seminary. But I do recall with gratitude many things I learnt in philosophy that underpinned my theology, pastoral life and administration ever since.

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29 Jul 2018
Mass for the 17th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

Mass for the 17th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year B

The miracle of the loaves and the fishes is the most reported of all Jesus’ miracles: it appears in all four Gospels and in two of them twice! John’s account (Jn 6:1-15) underlines the connection with the mystery of the Eucharist.

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27 Jul 2018
The Annual Mass For Consecrated Life

The Annual Mass For Consecrated Life

When the great art historian, museum director and broadcaster, Kenneth Clark, finally entered the Catholic Church on his deathbed, he fulfilled an earlier prediction. He had said that when that time came it would be like a painting entering the Louvre: “It would find itself in some pretty queer company, but at least it would be sure that it had a soul.”

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18 Jul 2018
Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea

Book Launch for Educating in Christ by Gerard O’Shea

When I was a young ‘seminarian’ and then priest in Melbourne Gerard was a rising star in the educational scene. When I was director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family he was one of the first students, eventually ‘doctored’ and one of the lecturers there. When I came back home to Sydney and got involved with UNDA, he was soon contributing here too, now as Associate Professor …

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15 Jul 2018
Installation of Fr Paul Smithers, St. Joseph’s, Rosebery

Installation of Fr Paul Smithers, St. Joseph’s, Rosebery

Where do hymns come from? Well, the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Hindus and Greeks all had their religious songs. Christians were from the start great ones for singing, whether in private devotions or corporate worship (e.g. Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26; Acts 16:25; 1Cor 14:26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; Jam 5:13). Early hymns are recorded in the Scriptures, such as the Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc Dimittis …

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08 Jul 2018
Annual Marriage Mass, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

Annual Marriage Mass, St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

Silence. It can be oppressive, as in today’s Gospel when the people of Jesus’ hometown effectively gag his words and miracles (Mk 6:1-6). Silence can be angry or indolent, as when people sulk or neglect to speak up when they should. It can even be a weapon of passive resistance. The Anglican divine, Adam Ford, tells of a husband and wife he met who hadn’t spoken a word to each other in twenty years.

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