Homily For Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Year B) + Investiture in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

Nov 24, 2024

Homily For Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Year B) + Investiture in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem

St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 24 November 2024 Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper follows the lives of two young boys, Tom Canty and Edward Tudor, born on the same day in 1537 and looking strikingly alike. For all the similarities their lives could not be more different: Tom lives in poverty with his alcoholic […]

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-THIRD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR 253RD INTERNATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS, QUITO, ECUADOR

Sep 09, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-THIRD WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR 253RD INTERNATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS, QUITO, ECUADOR

SEÑOR DE LA ASCENSIÓN CONCEPCIÓN PARISH, LA PRIMAVERA, CUMBAYÁ, QUITO “Stretch out your hand.” Simple words spoken to a man suffering from a withered hand—Luke tells us (Lk 6:6-11) it was his right one—which in the ancient world would have limited his ability to shake hands, do many jobs, earn a livelihood. It may well […]

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HOMILY FOR SOLEMN MASS FOR THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Aug 12, 2024

HOMILY FOR SOLEMN MASS FOR THE NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

The British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has an illustrious CV. For 13 years he held the University of Oxford’s Chair in the Public Understanding of Science and in 2001 was made a fellow of the prestigious Royal Society. He’s authored nineteen books and countless articles and received numerous honours. His most important work has been on the role of genes and DNA in evolution, culminating in his…

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Homily for Mass of the Feast of the Transfiguration

Aug 06, 2024

Homily for Mass of the Feast of the Transfiguration

Jesus mostly eschewed the limelight, preferring to preach and heal through small gestures that encouraged and persuaded, rather than big ones that wowed and overwhelmed. But sometimes He “let rip”, as it were, and today was such a day. He goes up a mountain as if He were the new Moses. But where the first Moses went to converse with God, this One is revealed to be the very conversation of God, the Logos, communication…

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Homily for the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood of Rev. Mr Adrian Suyanto, Rev. Mr Likisone Tominiko and Rev. Br Charbel Boustany FFI, Memorial of St Benedict

Jul 11, 2024

Homily for the Mass of Ordination to the Priesthood of Rev. Mr Adrian Suyanto, Rev. Mr Likisone Tominiko and Rev. Br Charbel Boustany FFI, Memorial of St Benedict

A recent article in Seek.com outlined the importance of a well-crafted job description for attracting suitable candidates and establishing expectations for the role.[i] According to the experts, a good j.d. must showcase the company, describe the critical functions and core responsibilities of the position, and specify qualifications and rewards.

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF CORPUS CHRISTI THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

Jun 02, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS OF CORPUS CHRISTI THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

It was probably the largest gathering ever held in Sydney. Half a million people packed the streets for a week. The opening and closing ceremonies gathered people of every stripe from all around our city, country and globe, ordinary people both young and old, and a Who’s Who of celebrities. Despite adverse publicity in the lead up, Sydney was a joyful host, and in the end almost everyone judged it a great success…

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, YEAR B

May 26, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, YEAR B

There’s a million dollar purse just waiting for you. All you have to do is be the first person to solve one of seven extremely complex maths problems.[1] Some of the conundrums are centuries old and have been attempted by some of the most brilliant minds in history. But in the 24 years since the Millennium Prize Problems were set and the reward offered by the Clay Mathematics Institute…

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HOMILY FOR MAXIMUS MEN’S MINISTRY NETWORK MASS

May 22, 2024

HOMILY FOR MAXIMUS MEN’S MINISTRY NETWORK MASS

The Irish poet, dramatist and senator, William Butler Yeats, was one of the foremost literary figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1923 he won the Nobel Prize in Literature for “his always inspired poetry, which in highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.”[1] A central figure in the resurgence of Irish literature,[2] his influence stretched…

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR CONSECRATED LIFE

May 21, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR CONSECRATED LIFE

Twenty-eight years ago, following the Synod on consecrated life, Pope St John Paul II released his Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata.[1] Its opening sentence reads: “The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit.”…

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HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMN MASS OF PENTECOST (YEAR B) + ADULT CONFIRMATIONS

May 19, 2024

HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMN MASS OF PENTECOST (YEAR B) + ADULT CONFIRMATIONS

Around 1600 Doménikos Theotok/ópoulos—known as El Greco—painted his Pentecost, now in the Prado in Madrid. Born in Crete, where he studied Byzantine iconography, he honed his skills at the feet of the master Titian, while imitating the likes of Michelangelo, Raphael and Tintoretto. Yet he had his own distinctive style, with tortuously elongated figures and phantasmagorical pigmentation…

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HOMILY FOR THE REQUIEM MASS FOR MOST REV. PETER INGHAM

May 08, 2024

HOMILY FOR THE REQUIEM MASS FOR MOST REV. PETER INGHAM

I was there when Bishop Peter Ingham, during an Ad limina visit of all the Bishops of Australia to Rome, asked one of the gloriously dressed Vatican soldiers what country he was from. “Switzerland,” the guarded guard answered. “Switzerland?” Peter said, “I didn’t know there were Catholics in Switzerland.” Then he asked another of the guards, “And what country are you from?” “Switzerland,” the puzzled youth answered, to which the elderly Australian bishop responded…

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B + ACBC PLENARY

May 05, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B + ACBC PLENARY

The idea of the ‘golden ticket’ was first popularised in Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and its subsequent film adaptations. A poor paperboy named Charlie Bucket has his life turned upside down when he finds a golden ticket in a chocolate bar, inviting him to visit Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. He tours the chocolate palace with four other children: the gluttonous Augustus Gloop, the snobby Veruca Salt…

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HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY

Apr 24, 2024

HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY

Is war just human nature? According to a recent article in Scientific American, answers to this question tend to fall into two camps. The ‘Hawks’ hold that taking up arms is an evolved human behaviour aimed at eliminating competitors. War is an expression of natural animal aggression and defensiveness, preferencing survival of the group…

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Homily for Mass for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Apr 23, 2024

Homily for Mass for Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter

In today’s Gospel Jesus is in the Temple on the winter Feast of the Dedication or ‘Hannukah’ (Jn 10:22-30). Just as it is today, it was celebrated around the time of His birthday. Jewish holy days are Scriptural in origin: Shabbat, the Saturday day of rest and weekly observance of God’s completion of creation; Rosh Hashanah…

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HOMILY FOR “PASCHAL EUCHARIST”

Apr 21, 2024

HOMILY FOR “PASCHAL EUCHARIST”

The Washington Post calls him “Britain’s rock-star shepherd”.[1] The “shepherd-author-influencer” with over a hundred thousand social media followers, James Rebanks rose to prominence off the back of his autobiography, The Shepherd’s Life (2015)…

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“HOLY STONE”: HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT

Mar 30, 2024

“HOLY STONE”: HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT

It’s the holiest place on earth—the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem—and on entering it the first thing you see is the Stone of Unction, traditionally the slab upon which Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid out the dead Jesus to embalm Him (Jn 19:39-40). Last year I was blessed to visit that place with Father Lewi…

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“HOLY LANCE”: Homily for the Celebration of the Passion of Our Lord

Mar 29, 2024

“HOLY LANCE”: Homily for the Celebration of the Passion of Our Lord

The Holy Lance or Spear of Destiny is the one that pierced Jesus’ side in today’s Passion of St John (Jn chs 18 & 19 at 19:34). Like the Grail (or chalice) of the Last Supper, the Lance became the subject of various extrabiblical traditions, including the Arthurian legend. In Chrétien de Troyes’ medieval poem Perceval, the Fisher King has keeping of both Lance and Grail…

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“HOLY GRAIL”: HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Mar 28, 2024

“HOLY GRAIL”: HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

The quest for the Holy Grail was part of the Arthurian legend that evolved in the Middle Ages, first in Celtic ballards and then French romances.[1] In Chrétien de Troyes’ Perceval, the grail was a miraculous food salver, protected by the Fisher King.[2] When Robert de Boron retold the tale in his Joseph of Arimathea, it had become the Chalice used by Our Lord at His Last Supper, now with healing powers…

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“LIQUID GOLD” – Homily for the Chrism Mass

Mar 28, 2024

“LIQUID GOLD” – Homily for the Chrism Mass

Liquid gold. Homer’s ancient name for olive oil[1] has made a comeback, following a surge in prices across the Mediterranean.[2] Drought and a bacterial infection have seen global production fall this past year and the price of a litre of olive oil rise from €5 to as much as €20. Last week it was reported that olive oil is now the most shoplifted product in Spain, surpassing even razor blades, alcohol and ham, and shops…

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Homily for Mass of the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

Mar 03, 2024

Homily for Mass of the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B

It was thought to be a rather ordinary Baroque painting, by an unknown disciple of Guido Reni, so its reserve price at a Paris auction house was €6,000. But the baroque depiction of Moses sold just over a year ago for a staggering €600,000.[1] Art dealer Fabrizio Moretti was so convinced of its worth, he outbid all the competition.[2] He had the painting restored, uncovering a striking luminesce beneath the ageing varnish and centuries of filth, and confirmed that it was by the Baroque master Giovanni Barbieri, known as “Guercino”—the squinter—because of a lazy eye that clearly didn’t compromise…

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Homily for Mass of the 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B

Feb 25, 2024

Homily for Mass of the 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B

It was known as The Nuremberg Defence. Following the Second World War, an International Military Tribunal was established by the principal Allied powers, tasked with prosecuting those responsible for the most heinous of the Nazi “crimes against humanity”. The so-called ‘Nuremberg Trials’ convicted nineteen officials for their roles in planning…

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Homily for Mass for the Feast of the Chair of the Apostle Peter

Feb 22, 2024

Homily for Mass for the Feast of the Chair of the Apostle Peter

The recently aired ABC docuseries Nemesis offers a dramatic account of the internal wars, external challenges and multiple leadership coups of the Liberal-National Party coalition when in power from 2013 to ’22. In particular, it charts the rise and fall of Prime Ministers Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, based on interviews with two of them and a supporting cast of ministers and staffers. It’s a captivating tale of the perils of power and personality, the egos…

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Homily for Mass for the 1st Sunday of Lent, Year B

Feb 18, 2024

Homily for Mass for the 1st Sunday of Lent, Year B

Whether it’s ads on TV or your smartphone, flyers in doctors’ surgeries, billboards at railway stations, everywhere we look, we’re challenged to “torch, tone and transform”—torch the fat, tone the muscles, transform our fitness. There are workouts designed for your particular body-shape and goals, dietary exclusions and supplements, lifestyle fixes, coaching and motivational techniques…

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Homily for Ash Wednesday Mass

Feb 14, 2024

Homily for Ash Wednesday Mass

‘Life-extensionists,’ ‘immortalists’ or ‘longevists’—their goal is to live for as long as they can. Using tissue rejuvenation, regenerative medicine, molecular and gene therapy, stem cells, organ replacement, and pharmaceuticals, they try to push the boundaries of the human life span. The American tech entrepreneur, Bryan Johnson, has gone to extreme lengths, including multimillion-dollar…

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Homily for Mass of the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Feb 11, 2024

Homily for Mass of the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Rod Serling’s popular sci-fi series, The Twilight Zone, ran for five seasons between 1959 and 1964. : Ranked amongst the most successful television series of all time, it had a reputation for suspenseful, mind-bending narratives that ended with a clever, unforeseen twist. The Twilight Zone has since been remade three times as a TV series and twice as a movie…

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF ST JOHN BOSCO + OPENING OF SEMINARY YEAR 2024

Jan 31, 2024

HOMILY FOR MASS OF ST JOHN BOSCO + OPENING OF SEMINARY YEAR 2024

A while ago TIME magazine published an article on “How to Raise Happy Kids.”[1] It began by noting that whilst there’s a plethora of information on how to raise successful and clever children —whether traditional, personal, pop cultural or more scientifically validated. But the overwhelming concern of parents is their children’s happiness. Moreover, wise…

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Homily for the Red Mass

Jan 29, 2024

Homily for the Red Mass

Previously Chief Justice of Newfoundland, the Bermuda-born Scots lawyer, Francis Forbes, arrived in Sydney Town in March 1824 to assume the office of Chief Justice of New South Wales.[1] In May the Charter of Justice establishing the Supreme Court was proclaimed, and the oath of office administered to the newly appointed Attorney-General and Registrar. Practicing certificates were granted soon after. At that stage Forbes was not only the chief judge but the only one…

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Homily for the Australia Day Mass

Jan 26, 2024

Homily for the Australia Day Mass

The idea of Terra Australis Incognita, a huge and mysterious southern continent, was born of two ideas in the ancient world.[1] First, it was hypothesised that if the world was round—as most experts in the ancient world agreed it was—then to keep the balance there would likely be a great land mass in the Southern hemisphere as big as Eurasia in the North, sustaining a large antipodean population….

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Homily for the Memorial Mass for George Cardinal Pell

Jan 10, 2024

Homily for the Memorial Mass for George Cardinal Pell

Years ago, I was in a lift in Goold House, then the Archdiocese of Melbourne’s chancery building, when I overheard some officials discussing the translation of George Pell to Sydney. One remarked that his motto had been “Be not afraid” and wondered what his successor’s watchword would be. From the back of the lift I whispered, “Be very afraid!”…

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HOMILY FOR THE MORNING MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

Dec 25, 2023

HOMILY FOR THE MORNING MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

“On the twenty-fifth day of December in the Year of Our Lord 2023, when ages beyond number had run their course since the redemption of the world; when century upon century had passed since the Cross called all humanity to peace; in the twenty-first century since the apostles went out to all the world; in the 78th year of the reign of the United..

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The Christmas Gift of Happiness

Dec 21, 2023

The Christmas Gift of Happiness

Only four sleeps till Christmas or three for those attending the Midnight Mass. Three or four sleeps till we receive the greatest ever gift. What shall we call it? The Prophet Isaiah names it עִמָּנוּאֵל Emmanu-ēl, God-with-us (Isa 7:14; 8:8). But what kind of God is this God with us? A few verses later Isaiah gives us more names: פֶּלֶא יוֹעֵץ‎ אֵל גִּבּוֹר אֲבִיעַד שַׂר־שָׁלוֹם‎  Pe-leʾ yōʿēṣ  ʾēl gībbōr  ʾáḇīʿaḏ  śar-šālōm, Wonder Counsellor…

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Homily for Mass of 21 December + CAS End of Year Celebration

Dec 21, 2023

Homily for Mass of 21 December + CAS End of Year Celebration

Harald Gormsson (911- c. 985), son of Gorm the Languid, was a tenth-century King of the Danes (c. 958 – c. 985). He united what are today Denmark, Norway and Sweden as one Viking kingdom. He was the father of Sweyn Forkbeard, and grandfather of King Canute, the King of England who famously ordered the tide to halt and not wet his toe…

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Homily for Mass of Gaudete Sunday (3rd Sunday of Advent) Year B

Dec 17, 2023

Homily for Mass of Gaudete Sunday (3rd Sunday of Advent) Year B

“Enjoy!” the young lady said to me as she handed me a café latte recently. My instinct was to correct her grammar, to suggest that “Rejoice” would be a better imperative or subjunctive verb. But you can’t complain when a young person is wishing you well, maybe even blessing you without realising it. And today is Gaudete or Rejoice Sunday, as if the Church…

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Homily for Memorial Mass for George Cardinal Pell and Margaret Pell

Dec 16, 2023

Homily for Memorial Mass for George Cardinal Pell and Margaret Pell

The Book of Genesis has many tales of sibling rivalry. The first brothers fight, and Cain kills Abel (Gen 4). There’s tension between Abraham’s son Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael (Gen 21). Isaac’s son Jacob fights with his twin Esau even in the womb and eventually steals his brother’s birthright (Gen 25 & 27). Jacob’s sons demonstrate the same family…

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Homily for the Lourdes Day Mass for the Order of Malta

Dec 04, 2023

Homily for the Lourdes Day Mass for the Order of Malta

Cappadocia is now one of Turkey’s hottest tourist destinations, alongside Istanbul, Ephesus and Gallipoli. Sitting atop the plateau of the Anatolian peninsula with its idyllic rock formations, including caves, cliffs and sweeping valleys, it now attracts millions each year. But it’s not just a place of natural wonder. Cut into the rock are some the best-preserved churches…

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Homily for Mass for Monday of the 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Year 1

Dec 03, 2023

Homily for Mass for Monday of the 34th Week of Ordinary Time, Year 1

It’s the tenth largest ‘economy’ in the world, with a turnover of between $US1.7T to 4.5T per year, placing it somewhere between Canada and Germany as an economic power.[1] Yet it’s illegal and costs far more jobs than it creates. I’m talking about the counterfeit economy. Not counterfeit currency: that’s going out of vogue. But counterfeit luxury…

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Homily for Mass of the Memorial of Sts Cosmas and Damian

Sep 28, 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…

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Homily for Mass for Tuesday 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1

Sep 28, 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…

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Homily for Mass of the Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

Sep 04, 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…

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Homily for Mass for Wednesday 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Year A

Jul 17, 2023

Homily for Mass for Wednesday 14th Week of Ordinary Time, Year A

José Salvador Alvarenga is hardly a household name, but perhaps it deserves to be. In 2012 José and his mate Ezequiel set out on a seven-metre fibreglass boat for a night of fishing off the Mexican coast. It proved to be a nightmare. A catastrophic five-day long storm left them with no engine or radio. They had no instruments to figure out their location…

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE FEAST OF ST JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ DE BALAGUER

Jun 27, 2023

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE FEAST OF ST JOSEMARÍA ESCRIVÁ DE BALAGUER

As a Fisher I am pleased to observe that there’s plenty of Anglophone idiom about fish. When asked before the last conclave if he was in the running for pope, the late great Cardinal Pell said it was one thing to be “a big fish in a small pond” like Australia, but that there were “plenty of fish” in the sees of the universal Church. He was himself subsequently the victim…

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FERVORINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”

Jun 13, 2023

FERVORINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”

C. S. Lewis said that “In Heaven, everything is either silence or music.”[1] The Christian God is the Word, the God who speaks. Yet, paradoxically, He dwelt voiceless in His mother’s womb for nine months, entered the world as a wordless baby, lived in obscurity in Nazareth for most of His life, and accomplished His redemptive work muted in His Passion…

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, YEAR A

Jun 05, 2023

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY, YEAR A

It’s a scene you could picture on the beach of Bondi or Manly on a summer’s day. A boy is digging a hole in the sand, frantically running backwards and forwards to the water’s edge to fill his little well with a seashell-full of seawater at a time. But strangely, instead of a lifesaver or bikini girl coming up to him, a bishop in full liturgical vestments…

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Homily for Solemn Mass of Pentecost, Year A, + Adult Confirmations

May 29, 2023

Homily for Solemn Mass of Pentecost, Year A, + Adult Confirmations

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” These eight words, together with a rather catchy theme song immediately evoke the Mission Impossible franchise. I grew up with the TV series (1966-73, 1988-89) about a small team of secret agents who apply their strategies and skills against existential threats from cold war enemies, corrupt government…

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III. DEATH OVERCOME: HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT

Apr 11, 2023

III. DEATH OVERCOME: HOMILY FOR THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT

Health officials called her the Mystery Girl, following her rescue from the devastating earthquake in southern Türkiye and neighbouring Syria earlier this year. Three-and-a-half-month-old Vetin Begdas had been buried for five days beneath the rubble of her family home in Hatay province. Amongst the more than 50,000 dead were all Vetin’s siblings…

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HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

Apr 06, 2023

HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

We know what the proverb means, but not where it comes from. “The eyes are the window to the soul” has been attributed to Sophia Loren,[1] Charlotte Brontë,[2] Ben Jonson,[3] Shakespeare,[4] da Vinci,[5] Cicero[6] and the Bible[7], though none of them actually said it. The thought is that you can read on someone’s face and eyes what’s going on underneath and who they really are. Eyes are more than receptacles for light; they also give back…

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Apr 03, 2023

Homily for the Mass of Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A

‘The Wisdom of Crowds’ is the idea that by pooling information, experience and judgment, groups of people make better decisions than individuals alone. Writers in social psychology, market economics, evolutionary biology and other fields argue that, as social animals, we achieve much more by collaborating with others. It’s not a new idea: in the Politics…

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Mar 28, 2023

Homily for Mass for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year A + Day of the Unborn

‘Jesus wept.’ (Jn 11:35) It’s the shortest and most moving verse of the New Testament. In two powerful words we glimpse the fullness of Jesus’ humanity: that rather than expressing a divine distance, impassability and indifference, Jesus is God come close, so close He could be overwhelmed with compassion for the suffering sisters, so close He could know for Himself…

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Homily for Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), Year A

Mar 20, 2023

Homily for Mass for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday), Year A

Mr Beast is the YouTube moniker of 24-year-old American internet sensation, Jimmy Donaldson. After a youth misspent watching silly video clips, he decided to go viral himself with a series of outlandish stunts: going to the same fast-food outlet a thousand times in a row; building an exact replica of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory; reading every word in the dictionary; eating a golden pizza…

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Homily for Mass for Beginning Teachers For Sydney Catholic Schools

Mar 10, 2023

Homily for Mass for Beginning Teachers For Sydney Catholic Schools

Launched in 2010 by then Education Minister, Julia Gillard, the My Schools website was a smash hit from the get-go, amassing 1.5 million hits on its first day—and causing more than a few technical glitches. It was intended to offer parents, educators and community as much accessible information as possible about our schools. Student population data would socio-economic advantage…

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Homily for the Red Mass

Jan 30, 2023

Homily for the Red Mass

In a recent Quarterly Essay entitled “Uncivil Wars: How contempt is corroding democracy”,[1] Waleed Aly and Scott Stephens addressed the contemporary phenomenon that every demographic feels victimised, and every issue draws sharp lines between us. Opposing sides consider themselves shamed and cancelled and regard the others as bullies and “deplorables”. Outrage and contempt are the emotions of the age. This undermines our ability to dialogue and govern…

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Homily for the Midnight Mass of the Nativity of the Lord

Jan 03, 2023

Homily for the Midnight Mass of the Nativity of the Lord

“He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not,” so the game goes as petal after petal is plucked from a daisy until the last petal answers the question. The history of ‘the Daisy Oracle’ has been traced through 19th-century classics such as Goethe’s Faust (1808) and Adam’s ballet Giselle (1841) back to the songbook of a 15th-century German nun (Clara Hätzlerin 1471) and before…

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Homily for Mass of the 4th Sunday of Advent, Year A

Dec 21, 2022

Homily for Mass of the 4th Sunday of Advent, Year A

There are a few contenders for the most iconic line in an Aussie film. Who could forget Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee (1986) saying: “That’s not a knife”? Or Farmer Hogget (played by James Cromwell) at the end of Babe (1995): “That’ll do pig, that’ll do”? But perhaps the most popular Aussie film line, if sheer recitations are anything to go by, are four words uttered by Darryl Kerrigan…

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Homily for Lourdes Day Mass for the Order of Malta

Dec 05, 2022

Homily for Lourdes Day Mass for the Order of Malta

Professionally speaking, Luke was an overachiever. His ancient near eastern LinkedIn entry has him as a physician (Col 4:14), missionary (Acts 16:8-10; 20:5; Philem 24; 2Tim 4:11), and historian, whose publications include the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles (Lk 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2) both of which made the New York Times Best Sellers list. Likely of Syrian background like Paul…

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Homily for Mass for 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A

Nov 28, 2022

Homily for Mass for 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A

I suspect the groggy eyes of some of the congregation today have something to do with a certain football tournament taking place on the other side of the world. Some fanatics might have stayed up to watch Australia defeat Tunisia, and three more matches before coming to Mass! A few here might even have been interested in Croatia’s draw with Morocco last Wednesday or be up to see it go head-to-head with Canada…

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MONDAY 32nd WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR 2 ACBC Plenary

Nov 11, 2022

MONDAY 32nd WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR 2 ACBC Plenary

Recently three Catholic University of America researchers published Well-being, Trust and Policy in a Time of Crisis: Highlights from the National Study of Catholic Priests. It paints a rather bleak picture of priests’ fears of false accusations of abuse and of being abandoned by their bishop if that happened.[1] Ever since the U.S. Bishops’ instigated the Dallas Charter…

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Homily for Mass of the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Sep 26, 2022

Homily for Mass of the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

He was only 15 when the Nazis deported him and his family to Auschwitz. His mother and younger sister were killed on arrival. He felt his God and his soul died that day also, and all his dreams turned to dust. But the boy and his father were able-bodied and selected for hard labour. They were transferred to Buchenwald in Germany where the father died soon after. But the boy survived to be liberated …

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Homily for Mass for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Aug 22, 2022

Homily for Mass for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

In the introduction to his book, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention, best-selling British author Johann Hari offers a striking illustration of our declining ability to be present and attend to the things right in front of us. On a recent visit to Elvis Presley’s Graceland estate in Memphis, he encountered devout pilgrims of the King of Rock and Roll, both young and old, taking in the experience …

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FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”

Jun 19, 2022

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER “WALK WITH CHRIST”

Thank you all for joining us for the Walk With Christ procession on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—Corpus Christi. First the construction of the George Street tram, then the COVID pandemic and associated limitations on public gatherings, have in recent years interfered with this particular tribute of love and public witness.

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Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial for Richard Connolly

May 19, 2022

Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial for Richard Connolly

In 1967 a rather precocious young Anthony Fisher complained to Sr Mary Eucharia RSM that the new hymn she was teaching us—Sr Miriam Therese Winter’s “I saw raindrops on my window: joy is like the rain”—seemed barely to mention God. In response Sister offered us a better hymn: she taught us Richard Connolly and James McAuley’s ♪♪ Seek, O seek the Lord, while He is near, Trust …

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST PETER CHANEL

Apr 28, 2022

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST PETER CHANEL

n the extreme sport of free-diving, competitors hold their breath unaided for as long as they can and drop to a depth of water as low as they can before resurfacing: some of you here tonight may have tried this as kids and given your mothers a fright! The king of this sport is Viennese-born Herbert Nitsch…

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DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY- Vigil Mass of ANZAC Day

Apr 24, 2022

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY- Vigil Mass of ANZAC Day

Just across the way from us, at the heart of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, stands what some consider to be Australia’s greatest sculpture.1 Rayner Hoff’s bronze of ‘Sacrifice’ (1930-34) is in the Hall of Silence amidst many other features created by him. At remembrance services and other times, the sculpture is the object of contemplation for staff, pilgrims and tourists.

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Homily for the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Apr 16, 2022

Homily for the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

When people come to church on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, All Souls Day or even Easter, most don’t do so out of sentimentality or habit as they might at Christmas, but rather because the feast itself and the ritual speaks to some challenge in their lives. This year’s Triduum has come in dark times …

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HOMILY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Apr 15, 2022

HOMILY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Last Sunday’s Passion of St Luke and today’s of St John are in different keys. At Luke’s Passover-turned-Eucharist Jesus spoke ominously of betrayal to come and communing in His broken body. He told His men to bring swords to Compline in the Garden. He sweated blood while begging the Father to relieve Him of what was coming.

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Homily for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Apr 14, 2022

Homily for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper

They’ve been dark times of late. The world has recoiled at the invasion of a free nation by a bully power, and at the numbers dead, damaged or driven out. Closer to home we’ve had bush-fires, floods, mice, COVID. Lockdowns and other public health measures have taken their toll psychologically, educationally and financially.

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HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

Apr 14, 2022

HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

Listening has been a particular theme of Pope Francis’ pontificate. Amidst the information overload and polarisations of modernity, and while promoting a more synodal Church, the Holy Father has regularly called us to listen more closely to what God and His people are saying. He begins his message for next month’s World Communications Day[ii] with the deep human need to be heard …

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HOMILY FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, Year C

Apr 03, 2022

HOMILY FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT, Year C

In 1971 Japanese salesman Goro Hasegawa rebooted a popular nineteenth century board-game with the new name Othello, in homage to its black-and-white discs. Two players take turns laying down their counters on an 8×8 squared board; when one surrounds the other’s disc it is ‘captured’ by being turned over as the other colour …

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HOMILY FOR MASS 3rd SUNDAY IN LENT YEAR C

Mar 21, 2022

HOMILY FOR MASS 3rd SUNDAY IN LENT YEAR C

St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 20 March 2022 At a recent meeting with some very impressive young school leaders I was asked why God allows innocent people like those in Ukraine to suffer. The question was heart-felt and others may have had other examples of innocent suffering on their minds, such as the victims of Australia’s […]

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 2ND SUNDAY IN LENT YEAR C

Mar 14, 2022

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 2ND SUNDAY IN LENT YEAR C

Late last year Netflix aired a documentary, 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible, that told the story of Nirmal Purja, known to his friends as ‘Nims’. A former Gurkha turned mountaineer, on 23 April 2019 he climbed Annapurna, the deadliest mountain in the world.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. JOSEPHINE BAHKITA

Feb 10, 2022

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE FEAST OF ST. JOSEPHINE BAHKITA

Born in Darfur, Sudan, around 1869, a girl was kidnapped when aged 7 or 8 by Arab slave traders. She was made to walk barefoot 1,000 km to El-Obeid, forced to convert to Islam, and given the Arab name ‘Bakhita’ meaning lucky. Sold as a slave five times in all, she suffered repeated abuse, including elaborate scarification of her breasts, belly and arms, and being repeated lashed.

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HOMILY FOR THE MIDNIGHT MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

Dec 25, 2021

HOMILY FOR THE MIDNIGHT MASS OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD

We all love a good ghost story. : In the highest grossing film of 1990, Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, there was romance, comedy, mystery and cheesiness. But like many such films, it bumped up against the metaphysical problem of bringing spiritual and material beings together.

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HOMILY FOR THURSDAY 4TH WEEK OF ADVENT

Dec 23, 2021

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY 4TH WEEK OF ADVENT

If ever you get to travel overseas again, and you find yourself in Florence, I suggest you stop at the Dominican Priory of San Marco. There between 1438 and 1452 the great Dominican painter, Blessed Fra Angelico, and team made over fifty frescoes and altarpieces, many of which are still in situ, making it the largest surviving group of related works by any Italian renaissance artist.

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HOMILY FOR END-OF-YEAR CAS STAFF MASS

Dec 22, 2021

HOMILY FOR END-OF-YEAR CAS STAFF MASS

‘The great slave revolt’: so the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called the triumph of Christianity in the ancient world and he thought it no good thing.[1] Before Judaeo-Christianity came to dominate the West, he thought, morality was based on a distinction between virtuous individuals

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH

Dec 12, 2021

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH

“You are the rock on which I will build my Church,” Jesus says to Peter this morning (Mt 16:13-19). “You are God’s building… the temple in which the spirit dwells,” St. Paul says to the Corinthians as well (1 Cor 3:9-17). Why, then, do we bother to build churches for God of dead stones when each of us is His living building?

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HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

Dec 04, 2021

HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

“When Jesus saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them, because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:35-10:8). Our translation “felt sorry for” misses the mark: it’s both mild and aloof. But our English word ‘sorry’ does share the same root as the word ‘sore’, just as our words ‘sympathy’ and ‘compassion’ share roots with ‘pathos’ and ‘passion’.

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HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV. ANDERSON RODAS & REV. RAFAEL GALICIA

Dec 03, 2021

HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD OF REV. ANDERSON RODAS & REV. RAFAEL GALICIA

Theodor Geisel—‘Dr. Seuss’ to those who grew up on his stories—was a Pulitzer Prize and Academy Award winning children’s author. He composed and illustrated more than sixty children’s books, mostly in anapestic tetrameter, the preferred meter of poets like Byron. Over 600 million copies of his books were sold in his lifetime, and translated into 45 languages, including Spanish, so Mexicans and Columbians could read him

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Sep 27, 2021

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

We like to think of Him as “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild”—for He is indeed love and mercy personified. But as Charles Wesley’s hymn continues, “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child, pity my simplicity”. Aware as He is of the vulnerability and innocence of the little ones, Our Lord pulls no punches when it comes to those who hurt or corrupt them.

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 23RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Sep 05, 2021

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 23RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

“Say to all faint hearts: ‘Have courage! Do not be afraid!’” (Isa 35:4-7) It’s a recurring antiphon in the Bible. Jesus said it to His disciples so many times you’d be excused for thinking He was getting repetitive! God, His Son, the prophets and evangelists come again and again to quell our anxieties and strengthen our resolve.

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HOMILY FOR 11TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

Jun 13, 2021

HOMILY FOR 11TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

There’s an old Peanuts comic in which everybody’s self-appointed life-coach, Lucy, is telling her younger brother Linus about the many uses of a tree. “They provide shade from the sun,” she tells him, “and protection from the rain. They prevent erosion, and their wood is used to build beautiful buildings.”

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HOMILY FOR SOLEMN MASS OF PENTECOST  (YEAR B)

May 23, 2021

HOMILY FOR SOLEMN MASS OF PENTECOST (YEAR B)

Happy birthday! We gather today, as we would for any birthday party, so we can celebrate the Church’s birthday together. The Acts of the Apostles tell us that before Pentecost the disciples gathered in the upper room with Mary to pray for the wisdom to know what to do next (Acts 1:13-14).

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

May 09, 2021

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

They were practical men. The Apostle Peter, hero of our first reading (Acts 10:25-48), insisted he was “only a man”, a simple man, a fisherman (Mk 1:16); though Christ made him a fisher of men (Mk 1:17), he reverted to his old craft from time to time (Mt 17:27; Jn 21:3-19; cf. Mt 14:22-32).

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HOMILY FOR VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY

Apr 24, 2021

HOMILY FOR VIGIL MASS OF ANZAC DAY

Myth. We often use the term to mean some supposed ‘fact’ or version of events that is untrue but commonly believed. We might think of the ‘urban myths’ that using a mobile phone near a petrol pump risks blowing up the petrol station,[i] or using one on a plane will interfere with the navigation instruments.

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HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

Apr 01, 2021

HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

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.

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 4TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (Year B)

Jan 31, 2021

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 4TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (Year B)

In 1925 the Star of the East sect of Theosophists built a 200-seat amphitheatre here in Sydney. Krishnamurti, their ‘World Teacher’, was expected to preach there. He was said to have prophesied Christ’s imminent return, walking on water through the heads of Sydney harbour, and so the theatre was built at Balmoral Beach.

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HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

Dec 05, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

You have to admit that grown men and women dressing up in the robes, medallions and eight-pointed crosses of mediaeval knights is rather strange! I say that as someone who wears a mediaeval habit every day and has quite a collection of silly hats… So what’s it all about, apart from the fun of fancy dress?

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INTRODUCTION TO MASS OF CONFIRMATION

Nov 18, 2020

INTRODUCTION TO MASS OF CONFIRMATION

What a time to be Confirmed! Tonight, our young people complete their initiation into the Christian life, membership of the Church, and the communion of saints. But we gather in the face of a word that’s been on almost everyone’s lips for months now, a word most of us never used and many not even have known until the beginning of this year: pandemic.

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HOMILY FOR THE MASS FOR 33RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Nov 15, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE MASS FOR 33RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

One of my Dominican brothers, long since gone to God, wasn’t great at picking his audience or occasion. He was legendary for preaching on contraception in nursing homes. He used also to promise to “give ‘em hell” at Christmas, as he thought (rather uncharitably), that it was the likely destination for those who attended only annually!

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HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS

Nov 02, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE MASS OF THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS

All Saints is not really the feast of all saints. It is not a celebration of those ‘living saints’ who are among us, transparent with God’s grace, demonstrating remarkable virtue. Nor is it a celebration of those becoming saints, whom St Paul dared call ‘saints’ already. No, All Saints is not about living saints.

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HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

Oct 28, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE CHRISM MASS

It arrived in Australia in the dying days of the First World War. Ultimately the Spanish Flu would infect a third of the world’s population and kill at least 50 million people. All those docking in Sydney were isolated at North Head, next door to St Patrick’s Seminary.

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HOMILY FOR THE MASS FOR 25TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME A

Sep 20, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE MASS FOR 25TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME A

It’s just not fair! When we hear this morning’s parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-16), the shop steward deep within each one of us irks with sympathy for those who’ve laboured all day under the hot sun. Why do those who worked only an hour, in the cool of the evening, get the same wages and even get paid first!

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 19TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Aug 09, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 19TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Most of Jesus’ miracles addressed people’s particular needs. Last Sunday He multiplied loaves and fishes to satisfy the hunger of the multitude.[1] The haul of fish and the changing of wine into water were on a similarly extravagant scale.[2] You might wonder if anyone really needed so much wine as He made for them at Cana, but if you watch the crowd-funded TV series, The Chosen, you’ll pick up the emotions, tension and potential humiliation around that wedding reception, and why the wine mattered so much.

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Homily for Mass for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

Aug 02, 2020

Homily for Mass for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

For some, this pandemic-enforced retreat has been an opportunity to connect more deeply with family and God – to give time to conversation and prayer so often crowded out by the busyness of our lives. Many have maintained their connection to Mass and parish by live-streaming; others, who can’t normally come to Mass, have enjoyed Mass coming to them at home.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE 16TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

Jul 19, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE 16TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A

“To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power… to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking – knowledge which in fact we do not possess – is likely to make us do much harm.”[1] So said the Austrian-British thinker Friederich August von Hayek in his 1974 Nobel Prize acceptance speech.Hayek was an economist, political philosopher and social theorist. Having survived fighting in the First World War and being infected by the Spanish flu, he dedicated his life to building a better world through economics.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE MEMORIA OF ST. BONAVENTURE + RITE OF CANDIDACY

Jul 15, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR THE MEMORIA OF ST. BONAVENTURE + RITE OF CANDIDACY

The Second Ecumenical Council of Lyons of 1274 was one of the largest the Church ever held. Presided over by Pope Gregory X, it was attended by five hundred bishops, observed by kings and ambassadors, and advised by another thousand prelates and periti. On the agenda were the conquest of the Holy Land and the reunion of the Eastern and Western churches, and so it welcomed representatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople, of the Byzantine Emperor and even of the Khan of the Tartars.

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HOMILY FOR TO MASS FOR 15TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR A + ANNUAL ARCHDIOCESAN MARRIAGE MASS

Jul 12, 2020

HOMILY FOR TO MASS FOR 15TH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR A + ANNUAL ARCHDIOCESAN MARRIAGE MASS

It was the most consequential wedding in history and it nearly didn’t happen. Mary’s marriage was threatened by misunderstanding and gossip, but righted by an angelic visitation and Joseph’s acceptance of her innocence (Mt 1:18-25). In the Joseph window here in St Mary’s Cathedral, Mary is dressed in the white and gold of a virgin queen, her long golden hair crowned with a floral tiara and rosary roses at her feet.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR PENTECOST, YEAR A

May 31, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR PENTECOST, YEAR A

In January this year NBC premiered a sit-com about a young computer programmer who, through a freak accident, develops the power to hear people’s innermost thoughts and feelings as classic songs. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is a quirky, funny series that doesn’t shy away from deeper questions raised by people’s ‘heart songs’, as Zoey calls them.

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HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR A)

Apr 26, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS OF THE 3RD SUNDAY OF EASTER (YEAR A)

If you had to stand up today and introduce the Risen Christ to a crowd, what would you say? A man is given that daunting task this morning. (Acts 2:14-33). He is called upon to be the very first Christian preacher. He’s Simon Johnson, an uneducated fisherman from the country, of vacillating and impetuous temperament, nicknamed Peter or Rocky by Jesus.

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HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS FOR ANZAC DAY

Apr 24, 2020

HOMILY FOR THE VIGIL MASS FOR ANZAC DAY

“The effects of war are widely spread and can be long term or short term. Soldiers experience war differently than civilians, although [both] suffer in times of war…” So begins the 5,000 word Wikipedia entry on ‘Effects of war’. Yet strangely, apart from a passing mention of ‘trauma’, there is no discussion of war’s emotional and spiritual toll.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER(YEAR A)

Apr 19, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 2ND SUNDAY OF EASTER(YEAR A)

Painted for the Marchese Vincenzo Giustiani at the beginning of the 17th century, The Incredulity of St Thomas was the most copied of all Caravaggio’s paintings in its day. It now hangs in the Sans Souci Picture Gallery—not in Southern Sydney but in Potsdam, Germany.

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Ferverino for Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Apr 10, 2020

Ferverino for Good Friday Stations of the Cross

The recently restored paintings of the Stations of the Cross here at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney are massive French oils, each weighing 200kg, bought in 1885 by Cardinal Moran from the Chovet studio in Paris. In most, Jesus looks at us, to engage, scrutinise or console.

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HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT A

Mar 29, 2020

HOMILY FOR MASS FOR 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT A

This is not the first time that the public celebration of Mass has been impossible in Australia. In fact it’s the fifth time. For the Aborigines of the East coast of Australia, ‘first contact’ with Christianity was the arrival of James Cook’s expedition exactly 250 years ago next month.

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HOMILY FOR AUSTRALIA DAY MASS

Jan 26, 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).

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HOMILY FOR A MASS IN TIME OF FIRE

Jan 12, 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.

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HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

Dec 07, 2019

HOMILY FOR THE LOURDES DAY MASS FOR THE ORDER OF MALTA

Not a bad second best. Mattia Preti had studied the techniques of the Order of Malta’s most famous – or infamous – painter, Caravaggio, and made his own major contributions to the exuberant baroquing of Italy’s churches and civic buildings. But now he followed his Master into the Order, being admitted as a Knight of Grace, and was thereafter known as Il Cavalier Calabrese, the Calabrian Knight.

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HOMILY FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME AUSTRALIA GRADUATION MASS

Dec 04, 2019

HOMILY FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME AUSTRALIA GRADUATION MASS

In the aftermath of the Second World War, hostility, not surprisingly, abounded. In an effort to rekindle old friendships and build new ones, French President Charles de Gaulle conceived of a series of televised games, originally played between French and German youths but quickly enlarged to twenty European nations over the following two decades.

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FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER WALK WITH CHRIST

Nov 24, 2019

FERVERINO FOR BENEDICTION AFTER WALK WITH CHRIST

Thank you all for taking part in the annual Walk With Christ procession, this year on the Solemnity of Christ the King. I acknowledge today the presence of the auxiliary bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful who helped organise or assisted in today’s procession.

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