Catholic Weekly - Archbishop News

Jesus the Good Shepherd. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of a homily for the feast of St Mary Magdalene, Apostola Apostolorum and co-patroness of the Dominican Order. It was given on 22 July during a retreat for the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia at their motherhouse in Nashville, Tennessee.   Forty years ago, I went […]

We can live justly, tenderly, and humbly with our God. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. This is the edited text of the Homily for Mass on Monday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time (Year 2) at the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia Retreat, Motherhouse Nashville Tn., 20 July 2026. It’s one of the most iconic lines in cinematic history. […]

Portrait of Pope Pius V by Palma il Giovane, 1504-1572 AD, Painting, Rome, Italy. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for the Mass on 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia Retreat, Motherhouse Nashville Tn., 19 July, 2026. Born in 1504, he was named Antonio Ghislieri in […]

Jesus the Good Shepherd. Photo: Flickr.com. This is the edited text for the homily for Friday Mass on the 15th Week in Ordinary Time (Year 2) at the Dominican Sisters of St Cecilia Retreat, Motherhouse Nashville Tennessee, 17 July, 2026. “Put your affairs in order and get ready to die,” the prophet says in his rather unornamented way (Isa 38:1-8,21-22). It’s good […]

SILVER JUBILEE Jubilarian Group with Mother Anna Grace. Photo: Supplied. Homily for Mass of the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) and Silver Jubilee of Vows of Srs Marie Karol, Perpetua, Marie Hannah, Miriam, Cecilia Joseph and Anna Christi OP. Dominican Sisters’ of St Cecilia Retreat, Motherhouse Nashville Tennessee, 12 July, 2026. The 17th century […]

Jesus teaches, that the end to which God plants His Vine the Son, grafts us onto that vine, prunes us in our seasons, and sustains us with the grace that flows through His trunk, is that we might bear fruit. Photo: Magda Ehlers/Pexels.com. This is the edited text for the Homily for the Pontifical Mass […]

Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral for the launch of Eucharist28. mages by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 ADORING THE EUCHARISTIC LORD: “LET US KNEEL BEFORE THE GOD WHO MADE US” (PS 94:6): Pastoral Letter to the Priests, Religious, and People of the Archdiocese of Sydney on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood […]

Dominican sisters with Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. Photo: Patrick J Lee. This is the edited text of the homily given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP for the Mass of the fourth Sunday of Easter Year A for Consecrated Life at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney 26 April 2026. Sheep and goats. They were crucial for Ancient […]

Anzac Day Mass. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. This is the edited text of the homily for the Vigil mass of Anzac Day, Friday the 3rd week of Easter at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney 24 April 2026. It was perversely codenamed Unternehmen Mondscheinsonate (Operation Moonlight Sonata) as more than 500 Luftwaffe bombers razed the industrial City of Coventry through the night of 14 […]

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP giving the homily for the Paschal Eucharist. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 This is the edited text of the Homily for the Paschal Eucharist, Third Sunday of Easter (Year A), 19 April, 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. The reality show Shark Tank has had six Australian seasons so […]

The Annunciation. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text for the Homily of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, 25 March 2026 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. Every now and then, a single sentence captures an historical moment. We think: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” “I […]

A young altar server raises a palm frond during Palm Sunday Mass at Gaza City’s Holy Family Church March 29, 2026. (OSV News photo/Dawoud Abu Alkas, Reuters) This is the edited text of the Homily for the Solemn Mass of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A on 29 March, 2026 at […]

Pink rose for Laetare Sunday. Photo: Pexels.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), Year A, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 15 March 2026. In late 2011, economist Steve Hanke and astrophysicist, Richard Conn Henry, produced a new calendar for the modern world. Like the […]

St Mary’s Cathedral. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. Homily for Mass for on the 3rd Sunday in Lent Year A + opening of the Catholic Institute of Sydney academic year at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 8 March 2026. It’s the most ordinary of errands. A woman from a hot dusty town makes her way to the well, […]

Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral for the launch of Eucharist28. mages by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2026 This is the edited text of the Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent and the launch of the National Year of Prayer for Eucharist28, given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, on 1 […]

St Josephine Bakhita with the staff and pupils of St John Fisher Secondary School in Peterborough. Photo: Flickr.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for Mass for the feast of St Josephine Bakhita at the Chapel of our Lady of the Rosary and St Peter Chanel, Domus Australia, Rome, Tuesday 8 February 2022. […]

Flag of Australia. Photo: Supplied. This is the edited text of the homily for the Mass of Australia Day, at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary, at Domus Australia, 26 January 2026. The Australian national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, was written by Scotsman Peter Dodds McCormick under the pen name Amicus. First performed by […]

Claudio Coello, Holy Family. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for a solemn Mass for the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (Year A) and close of the Jubilee year 2025 at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 28 December 2025. In Rembrandt’s painting of the Holy Family with Angels (1645), […]

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP giving his Homily at Christmas Mass 2025. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 This is the edited text of the homily for the morning Mass of the Nativity of the Lord at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 25 December 2025. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We […]

Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness – painting by Annibale Carracci (MET, 2009.252). Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text of the homily of the Lourdes day Mass for the Order of Malta at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney 6 December 2025.  A recent McCrindle report offers a fascinating snapshot of trends in naming our bubs. For over […]

Preaching of St John the Baptist by Domenico Ghirlandaio, between 1486 and 1490. Photo: Wikimedia Commons During the week before Christmas, as we celebrate with the Christmas at the Cathedral each night in Sydney, the Church sings a series of ancient Advent acclamations known as “The O antiphons.” At Vespers each night the Church prays to Christ […]

It is in ordinary deeds that we imitate the selfless love of Christ and are conformed to being like Him. It is there that we build up our families, community, Church. Photo: Pexels.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for the Solemn Mass for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), at St […]

Heavenly treasure is what our hearts most deeply crave: the riches of grace, mercy, love. Photo: Pexels.com. This is the edited text of the homily for Monday of the 19th week of ordinary Time. Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Chester Hill, 20 October 2025.  The idea of a treasure hunt might seem a vestige of the old world – a […]

Life, Marriage and Family Sunday at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. Photo: Giovanni Portelli 2025. This is the edited text of the homily given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP on the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C + for Life, Marriage and Family Sunday at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 19 October 2025. It’s a bit of […]

Stunning View of Interstellar Nebula in Deep Space. Photo: Pexels.com/Yihan Wang. This is the edited text of the Homily for Mass at the ARC Conference, Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time, St Margaret’s and All Saints London, 18 February 2025 (Feast of Blessed Fra Angelico). In December of last year, NASA telescopes in […]

St Pier Giorgio Frassati. Photo: Luciana Frassati/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain This is the edited text for the Homily for the Solemn Mass of Twenty-Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C) St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 28 September 2025. Sixty-seven episodes were screened of the reality TV series The Secret Millionaire in the UK (2006-12), 25 in America, eight in Ireland and eight more […]

A portrait of Jiddu Krishnamurti. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for Evening Mass of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 10 August 2025. A hundred years ago this year, a 2,000 seat open-air arena was constructed at Balmoral Beach at the considerable cost of […]

St Pier Giorgio Frassati. Photo: Picryl.com. This is the edited text of the Homily for Mass of the Memorial of St John Vianney — in the Company of St Catherine of Siena, Bld Fra Angelico and St Pier Giorgio Frassati Youth Pilgrimage for the Jubilee of Hope Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome, 4 […]

This is “Christ’s Appearance to Mary Magdalene After the Resurrection” by the Russian painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov. Because Mary’s heart has been turned toward Christ through conversion and repentance, she becomes one of his most fervent, faithful disciples. (CNS photo/Wikimedia Commons) This is the edited text for the Homily of the Mass for the Feast […]

The Virgin in Prayer by Sassoferrato. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text for the homily for the Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary-Youth Pilgrimage for the Jubilee of Hope 2025.  Many years ago I saw a very beautiful image of The Virgin at Prayer in the Dominican church of St Clemente near […]

Archbishop W. Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kan., displays his pallium at the Pontifical North American College in Rome after receiving it from Pope Leo XIV during a Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul in St. Peter’s Basilica June 29, 2025. The pallium is a woolen band worn by metropolitan archbishops to […]

Vatican Obelisk St Peter’s Square. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text of the Homily during the Mass of the Apostles Peter and Paul Youth Pilgrimage for the Jubilee of Hope 2025 at the Altar of the Chair, St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, 28 July 2025. You’ll have noticed the granite obelisk, reaching 41 metres […]

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP giving his homily for the Solemn Mass of the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time and Dempsey Medal awards. Photo: Patrick J Lee. This is the edited text for the homily for the Solemn Mass of the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) + Dempsey medal.  The first Hobbit film was […]

PURPOSE FESTIVAL 2025 – Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 This is the edited text for the homily for Votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist, Sydney Catholic Youth “Purpose Fest” 2025.  The Guardian recently ran an article on “aura farming”—curating the coolest, most confident or most mysterious version of yourself. Popularised by video games, […]

The Holy Trintiy. Image: rawpixel.com This is the edited text of the homily given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP for the Homily for Mass For the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Year C) + St Anthony’s Day + 60th Anniversary of Austral Parish at St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, Austral, 15 June 2025 […]

Jubilate Deo Choir singing at the Mass for the Jubilate Deo Program on the Memorial of St Anthony of Padua. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2025 This is the edited text of the homily for the the Jubilate Deo programme Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on the Memorial of St Anthony of Padua, 13 […]

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP at the ordination of his Dominican brothers in Washington DC. Photo: Supplied. Homily for the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood of Brs Louis Mary Bethea, Gregory Marie Santy, Bertrand Marie Herbert, Basil Mary Burroughs, Titus Mary Sanchez, Nicodemus Maria Thomas and Linus Mary Martz of the Order of Preachers at […]

Jesus ascending to heaven. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. This is the edited text for the Homily for Mass of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Year C St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 1 June 2025. There are many stories from the Middle Ages about court jesters teaching their masters a thing or two. In one, […]

Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP at the Paschal Eucharist Mass. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. This is the edited text of the Homily for the Paschal Eucharist, Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C), St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 25 May 2025. In 1963, at the height of the Cold War, US President John F Kennedy gave his “Peace Speech” […]

Our term “digger” has a contested history. Some date it back to the gold rushes, others to the Aussie miners in South Africa around the time of the Boer War. More obviously, it was the nickname Australian and New Zealand soldiers got for digging trenches in Gallipoli, the Somme and elsewhere. Photo: Alphonsus Fok. This […]

Solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass for Pope Francis. Photo: Giovanni Portelli. This is the edited text of the Homily for the Solemn Pontifical Requiem Mass for Pope Francis, St Mary’s Basilica, Sydney, 1 May 2025. “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the wise and learned, and revealing them […]

Bishop Peter Murphy as the 11th Bishop of Armidale. Photo: Supplied. The is the edited text for the homily for the Mass of ordination to the episcopate of Most Reverend Peter Murphy and installation as 11th bishop of Armidale at the Cathedral of Sts Mary and Joseph, Armidale, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary […]

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has chosen the papal name Leo XIV, appears on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican May 8, 2025, following his election during the conclave. He is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo/Claudia Greco, Reuters) “Habemus papam” — we have a pope, a new […]