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13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 28 June 2026
The story is told of a king who ruled a small kingdom. It was not famous for its wealth or its power, but it possessed one treasure unlike any other—a magnificent diamond that had belonged to the royal family for generations. The king displayed it where everyone could admire it. People travelled from across the land simply to gaze upon it, and over time the diamond became more than the king’s possession; it became the symbol of the people’s dignity, hope and identity. Then one day a soldier came running to the palace with terrible news. Although the diamond had remained under constant guard and no one had touched it,…
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12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 21 June 2026
Around this time, twenty-one years ago, nine Catholic monks were martyred in Algeria. Thay were Trappist monks who got caught in a conflict not of their making. Kidnapped amidst the violence of civil war and eventually executed, their deaths might have become simply one more tragic footnote in a long history of innocent victims of violence. Yet what continues to move people around the world about them is not simply the manner of their deaths, but the way they lived. The monks knew the risks. They could have left. Others urged them to leave. Yet they remained among the Muslim people whom they had come to love and serve. They…
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Four Podcasts on Educating in Contemporary Culture – 2026 series
Podcast One – An Exciting Age, a Challenging Culture Through this series of four podcasts, we want to explore the culture in which we live and work, the culture in which our young people are born and grow, the culture in which we are seeking to educate our young. Our education seeks to address the whole person, to enable them to become who they are truly, to assist them to become agents of change for a society that enables human flourishing and cultivates the common good of all, and, ambitiously, to encounter Christ and to led into discipleship of him. However, this project is not possible unless we take seriously the…
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Submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion – June 2026
On the evening of 14 December 2025, the Catholic Parish of Chatswood in NSW, along with members of other Christian Churches in the city of Willoughby, gathered on the civic concourse at Chatswood for an evening of Christmas Carols. The night resounded with the sense of gentleness and peace, both of which lie at the very heart of the Christian Christmas story. At exactly the same time, on the other side of the city, at Bondi, others, too, were gathering with festivity to mark the Festival of Lights, Hanukah, itself a narrative of memory and hope. Their evening finished with unimaginable pain and distress. How do we reconcile these two experiences…
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Corpus Christi Sunday – Homily before Eucharistic Procession and Benediction – 7 June 2026
Today the Church throughout the world celebrates the great feast of Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. One of the most beautiful feasts of the Christian year, it invites us to contemplate the mystery that lies at the very heart of our faith: the gift of Christ himself in the Eucharist. Thus as we begin our devotion today, it is important to reflect on what it is that we are doing and why. The great tragedy would be if we came to Mass every week, received Communion faithfully, adored the Blessed Sacrament reverently, and yet remained fundamentally unchanged. For the Eucharist is not simply an object…
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Corpus Christi Sunday – Parish First Holy Communion Homily – 7 June 2026
Today is a very special day. It is the Feast of Corpus Christi, the feast on which the Church celebrates the greatest gift Jesus left us before He returned to His Father: the gift of his very life in the Eucharist. And today is especially joyful because our children will receive their First Holy Communion. Children, today is a day you will remember for the rest of your lives. You have received many gifts over the years. Perhaps a favourite toy, a special book, a bicycle, or a gift for your birthday or Christmas. But today you are receiving something infinitely greater than any present anyone could ever give you.…
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Trinity Sunday – 31 May 2026
On first glance, the connection between theology and technology might seem very slim indeed. What link could the mystery of the Trinity which we celebrate this Sunday possibly have with the rapid rise of new technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence? It is rather remarkable, however, that in this last week leading to our celebration of Trinity Sunday this year, Pope Leo has released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. Just as, in May 1891, Pope Leo XIII saw in the industrial revolution an unmistakable turning point for humanity and published his encyclical Rerum Novarum, “Of New Things”, so now Pope Leo XIV sees ourselves,…
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Farewell Address for Archbishop Randazzo – 28 May 2026
Your Grace, Fathers and Deacons, Friends I have long reflected on the power of the imagination and its significance not only for our ordinary life but also for our life of faith. The images we carry shape our character and our behaviour; they also capture the sense of our self and others. And, indeed, certainly our experience of others leaves us with an impression which translates into an image, and that image holds our memory of the other. There may be many images of Archbishop Anthony that we carry this evening, and may we not embarrass him by calling them forth! Yet, there is one particular image that is uppermost for…
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Ascension Sunday – 17 May 2026
Our celebration of the Ascension comes to us at a strange and uncertain moment in our world. It can feel at times as though our horizon has narrowed, as though we are becoming increasingly trapped within fear, division, and uncertainty. Yet, into this world, the feast of the Ascension speaks a word of hope. How might we understand this hope? Imagine for a little while a moment in our life which was full of possibility. Maybe it was when we first started school, or began our first job, or left home for the first time. Perhaps it was when we married, entered religious life, became a parent, or made some important…
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6th Sunday in Easter – 10 May 2026 (Mothers’ Day)
The tenderness of Jesus towards his friends strikes us from today’s gospel. As he prepares them for his departure, he says to them: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come back to you.” In the midst of all their uncertainty, fear and loss, Jesus assures them that they are not abandoned. His love will remain with them, even when they cannot see him. We know only too well that one of our great fears is the fear of being alone, of being forgotten, of being left without anyone to hold us when life becomes dark or confusing. Yet from the beginning of our lives, most of us first…
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